|
Philosophy 302-04, Fall, 2008 |
Office Hours
in RH-428
(445-4489) |
|
Issues in
Ethics: Developing Philosophical |
M 1:30-2:20
p.m. TU & TH 2:25 -3:15 p.m. |
|
Responses to Moral Challenges |
and by
appointment. |
|
Prof. Michael
Kagan |
Email: kagan@lemoyne.edu |
Objectives
Three goals of this course are to:
(1) introduce students to philosophical debates on moral problems of
present concern;
(2) present criticisms that will aid students in evaluating some of the
relevant arguments;
(3) help students better develop and defend their own positions.
Texts
Carl Wellman's Morals and Ethics,
second edition.
Orson Scott Card's Maps
in a Mirror.
Method
We will consider six moral problems
and
related philosophical ethical issues as follows:
Moral
Problem
Philosophical Ethical Issue
1. Civil
Disobedience The Nature of Right and Wrong
2. Genetic
Engineering
The Good
3. Cheating in
Academia
Moral
Value
4.
Abortion The End of the Law
5. Preferential
Admissions "A Right"
6. Capital
Punishment
Moral Knowledge
These issues will
be
treated in lectures and discussions as the course progresses. During
the
discussions students will have an opportunity to make sense out of and
criticize other positions, and to develop and defend their own reasoned
conclusions.
To confirm students' familiarity with the material
and the
basics of the various positions, a midterm and final exam will be
given. In
these exams, the student will be asked to defend his or her own
position
concerning a moral problem discussed in class and a related
philosophical issue
covered before the exam (not necessarily the issue paired with that
problem in
class; e.g., on the final exam, the student might be asked to consider
whether
or not genetic engineering should be legal given the student's own
views on the
end of the law). ON THE MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAMS, an additional question
will be
asked concerning issues suggested by class discussions, presentations,
reading assignments, and group work.
The exams are primarily related to the first two
objectives
of this course concerning criticism of and familiarity with
philosophical
debates on moral problems of present concern. It is also hoped that
preparation
for the exams will help students satisfy the third goal of developing
and
defending their own positions on these and related issues. For those
student who
wish to do more work in this area. there is
an
optional paper assignment.
EVALUATIONS
AND
REQUIREMENTS
1.
Attendance and Participation. Attendance is
expected.
Participation in discussions will figure to the student's benefit in
determining grades. ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION TOGETHER COUNT FOR 1/3
OF THE
FINAL GRADE. Grades are based on a
10 point
scale as follows:
90-100 - 'A' range (97-100 = A+; 94-96=A; 90-93=A-).
80-89 - 'B' range (87-89 = B+;
84-86=B;
80-83=B-).
70-79 - 'C' range (77-79 = C+;
74-76=C;
70-73=C-).
60-69 - 'D' range (67-69 = D+;
64-66=D;
60-63=D-).
Below 60 - 'F'.
2. Exams. Students are expected to be familiar
with
the material in the lectures, discussions, and the required texts. This
familiarity will be evaluated in the midterm and cumulative
final
(Thursday, December 11, 2008, 3:00 - 5:00 P.M.). These each constitute 1/3 of the grade.
However, if the
final is better, it will be given more weight.
3. Extra credit: Each student will be given a
chance
to develop and defend his or her own position in a paper on one of the
moral
problems or theoretical issues discussed in this course. Students are
encouraged to consider problems not explicitly treated in the course,
e.g.:
1. Is war always wrong?
2. Is the use of psychological testimony in the courts on a par with allegations of witchcraft?
3. Should cigarette smoking be illegal?
4. Is cigarette smoking ever justified?
5. Is the use of alcohol (or marijuana or cocaine or . . . ) good or bad?
6. Should men (or women) have a genuinely equal right to work outside the home?
7. Should men (or women) have a genuinely equal right to work inside the home?
8. Is adultery always wrong?
9. The laws on rape should be . . . . . .
10. Ethical Relativism (pro or con).
11. Why be moral?
12. Ethical Egoism (pro or con).
13. Justification in Ethics.
14. Religion and ethics.
15. Is it wrong to eat meat?
16. Animal rights.
17. Should aborted fetuses be used for research or treatment?
18. The obligations of the living to the dying.
19. The obligations of the dying to the living.
20. Should it be legally permissible to produce clones of lost children as replacements?
21. Would cloning oneself for child-raising purposes produce more good than bad in the long run?
22. Is it ever morally right to require lie-detector tests for employment?
Other topics.
Students
are encouraged to treat topics of their own choosing. If, however, you
decide
to do so, please confirm your topic with me in advance. Whatever your topic, please feel free to consult me regarding
bibliography, style, or as a devil's advocate.
Criteria for evaluation of the extra credit
paper: The
paper is to be a defense of one claim or proposal related to the issue
in
question. Students should explicitly state the claim they are
defending, make a
brief case for its importance, develop their arguments carefully,
consider
objections, show awareness of alternatives
and
criticisms of their own position. Students are to assume they are not
preaching
to the converted: The paper should be structured in form and content as
if it
were being addressed to an audience consisting of the undecided and the
reasonable opposition. The paper should be approximately 5-7 pages in
length.
The paper is to be turned in TWICE, on the dates indicated below. The
1st draft
will be graded and given comments that I hope will aid you in the
revision. If
you are satisfied with the first grade or decide to accept it for some
other
reason, you have the option of returning the paper "as-is" with its
comments on Nov. 24. If you do so, your grade on the paper will be the
grade
you received on the first draft. If you opt to revise, you will receive
the
grade of the revision, if higher (and the grade on the draft, if not). NOTE:
IF YOU DECIDE TO DO AN OPTIONAL PRESENTATION OF YOUR FINAL PAPER
ON AUGUST 3, YOUR PAPER GRADE WILL BE AT LEAST 2 POINTS HIGHER THAN THE
1ST
DRAFT GRADE. The paper grade will
replace the lower of the midterm or final grade. Students who receive a
C or
better on the paper can choose to accept that grade instead of taking
the final
exam.
SPECIAL NEEDS
In coordination with the Academic
Support
Center (ASC), reasonable
accommodations
are provided for qualified students with disabilities. Please register
with the
ASC Office for disability verification and determination of reasonable
accommodations. After receiving your accommodation form from the ASC,
you will
need to make an appointment with each of us to review the form and
discuss your
needs. Please make every attempt to meet with us within the first week
of class
so your accommodations can be provided in a timely manner. You can
either stop
by the ASC, Library, 1st floor, or email ASC@lemoyne.edu, or call
(445-4118-voice or 445-4104-TDD) to
make an appointment.
IMPORTANT DATES:
No classes or office hours on the following
dates: Mon., Sept. 1, Labor Day; Tuesday, Sep. 30
(Rosh Ha Shanah); Thurs., Oct. 9, Yom Kippur; Oct. 13-14, Fall Break;
Nov. 26-30, Thanksgiving Break.
Last day of class: Dec. 1 (Monday). Project
proposals due Monday, Oct. 20.
In-class midterm exam: October
6
Nov 10 - first draft of
optional paper due.
Nov 24 - 2d draft of optional paper
Optional student
presentations, Monday, December 1.
Final exam: Thursday, December 11,
2008, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE AND
READING
ASSIGNMENTS
#1 (August 25) Introduction to the
subject. The usefulness of worrying ahead.
Theory
and practice.
No classes or office hours, Mon., Sept. 1, Labor Day
#2 (September 8)
Civil Disobedience.
Read Wellman,
Chapter 1. Read Card's "Unaccompanied Sonata."
The Nature of Right and Wrong. Read
Wellman,
Chapter 2.
#3 (9/15) Genetic Engineering. Read
Wellman,
Chapter 3. Read Card's "Gert Fram."
The Good.
Read Wellman, Chapter 4. Read Card's "The Best Day."
#4(9/22) Are cheaters qua cheaters morally evil? Read Wellman,
Chapter 5.
Moral Value. Read Wellman, Chapter
6. Read Card's "The Porcelain Salamander"
and "Middle
Woman."
#5 (9/29) Abortion. Read Wellman,
Chapter 7.
The End of the Law. Read Wellman,
Chapter
8. Read Card's "Prior restraint."
#6 (October
6) Review
session for October 6 midterm exam.
Oct. 13-14, Fall Break
#7 (10/20) Preferential
Admissions. Read Wellman, Chapter 9. Read Card,
"Bicicleta." What is "A Right"? Read Wellman,
Chapter 10.
#8 (10/27) Is Capital Punishment ever
right? Read
Wellman, Chapter 11. Read Card's "A Thousand
Deaths" and "Sandmagic."
#9 (November 3) How can anyone one ever know
which act is
right?
Read Wellman, Chapter 12. Review
"Unaccompanied Sonata" and "Middle Woman."
The challenges of ethical skepticism, relativism,
emotivism,
sophism. Responses to the challenges.
#10 11/10. 1st
DRAFT OF OPTIONAL PAPER DUE . The authoritarian paradox, revelation,
intuitionism, naturalism,
good reasons approach. Read Wellman, Conclusion.
#11 11/17 Ethical systems and the challenge of science.
Taleb, utilitarianism, prediction, and Stoicism. Determinism and free-will, possible implications of
varieties of neuro-philosophy and psychology..
#12 11/24. 2nd DRAFT OF
OPTIONAL PAPER DUE . Read
Rosemarie Tong's article on Feminist Ethics from the on-line Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-ethics/.
Ethical
systems and codification. Critical
theories
and feminist critiques. Theory and
practice again. Instructor
presents
on ethics and philosophy of education. The hidden curriculum and
paradoxes of reward.
#13 (Dec 1.) Course Evaluations (if not already
completed). Review
session for final exam. OPTIONAL
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
OF FINAL
PROJECTS.
Final exam: Thursday,
December 11, 2008, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Questions, comments, additions, and corrections are welcome.
Please send them to KAGAN@lemoyne.edu