Spring 2013 Ethics Syllabus

Syllabus

Goals of the Course

1. Understand, integrate, and critically assess theories from a wide range of disciplines on the nature of ethics (e.g. philosophy, moral psychology, anthropology, biology).
2. To use this integrated understanding to gain insights on the nature of racism, international justice, and political and religious difference.
3. Acquire the analytic and expressive skills central to the philosophical study of ethics.

Course Description

This introductory ethics course surveys traditional ethical theories using both primary and secondary philosophical literature, and surveys major contemporary research in moral psychology, evolutionary ethics, and the application of game theory to ethics. Throughout the course we consider applied ethical problems, culminating in a focus on ethical issues in international aid and development. For theoretical background, we read selections from Aristotle, Kant, Mill, Rawls, as well as contemporary writers such as Franz de Waal (Primates and Philosophers), Jonathan Haidt, and Daniel Dennett. For development ethics we will read essays by Peter Singer and his critics, some virtue ethics, and contemporary critics and advocates of international aid, such as Sachs, Easterly, and Moyo.

Assessment

Students will be assessed on their achievement of the course goals through the following methods:

• 20% Reading quizes
• 20% Midterm
• 20% 1st paper
• 20% Final project
• 20% Final Exam