Major Ethics Course Questions

Return to Ethics

1. What are moral values and where do they come from?
2. What is the evidence for seeing morality as a product of evolution?
3. To what extent does our psychology and identity explain our political orientation, moral beliefs, and behavior?
4. To what extent is our morality determined by cultural processes?
5. How do we use morality to solve problems?
6. What are the major theoretical approaches to ethics from philosophers?
7. What is justice? What do I owe strangers in my society and beyond?
8. Are there limits to the partiality I should show to my family and friends?
9. Are there “basic liberties”? How are they identified? Is access to abortion services one of them?
10. Should I cultivate empathy for others?
11. Do we have free will? Are we really as responsible for our behavior (including praise and blame behavior) as we think?
12. How should we treat people who violate the law? Should we punish them retributively?