Week 1: Introduction
Monday, January 30: Introduction, What is Philosophy
Wednesday, February 1: Chapter 1, "Morality and Moral Philosophy" (pp. 2-5); Chapter 4, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (pp. 27-43)
Week 2: Challenges to Morality
February 6: Chapter 5, "How Not to Answer Moral Questions" (pp. 45-49); Chapter 6, "God and Morality"
Homework Due: Write no more than one page answering the following questions: In your opinion, is there such a thing as an unjust law? Why or why not? If you do think that there can be unjust laws, what makes them unjust?
February 8: Chapter 7, "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" (pp. 54-66); Chapter 9, "Egoism and Moral Skepticism" (pp. 71-82)
Homework Due: In Chapter 6, what is the Euthyphro Dilemma? How is this dilemma resolved?
Week 3: Challenges to Morality
February 13: Chapter 10, "Happiness and Immorality"
Homework Due: Write about a page responding to the following questions: What do you think of the story of Gyges. Do you think that if we could be freed from the consequences of immoral action that we would have no reason to be moral? What would you do if you had the Ring of Gyges?
February 15: CLASS CANCELLED
Week 4: Challenges to Morality
February 20: NO CLASS!!
February 22: Continue Discussions
Homework Due: How does Rachels respond to the ethical egoist?
Week 5: Exam
February 27: Review for Exam
March 1: FIRST EXAM
Week 6: Moral Theories
March 6: Chapter 12, "The Categorical Imperative" (pp. 98-109)
March 8: Chapter 14, "Utilitarianism" (pp. 114-125)
Homework Due: What does Kant mean when he writes, "Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person if any other, never simply as a means but always at the same time as an end."
Week 7: Moral Theories
March 13: Chapter 16, "The Nature of Virtue" (pp. 135-140)
Homework Due: From Chapter 15 in the text, articulate one problem with Utilitarianism. How might a utilitarian respond to this problem?
March 15: Continue Discussions
Week 8: Moral Theories
March 20: Chapter 18, "The Ethics of Care" (pp. 144-149); Chapter 19, "The Social Contract" (pp. 150-157)
Homework Due: Come up with an American Virtue. To do this you first need to think about what the function of an American citizen is. That is, what is the characteristic activity of an American, what is the thing that defines and differentiates Americans from everyone else in the world? Then identify a virtue (a quality or characteristic that allows one to carry out this function to the highest degree), the emotion or appetite that virtue is concerned with, and the vices of excess (too much of that emotion or appetite) and deficiency (not enough of that emotion or appetite).
March 22: Chapter 20, "A Theory of Justice" (pp. 158-163)
Homework Due: What are the advantages and disadvantages of an absolute monarch? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a democracy?
Week 9: Spring Break!!
March 27: NO CLASS!!
March 29: NO CLASS!!
Week 10: Moral Theories
April 3: Watch Film in Class, Crimes and Misdemeanors
April 5: Continue Film and Discuss
Week 11: Exam
April 10: Review for Exam
April 12: Second Exam
Week 12: Food Inc.
April 17: Watch Film in Class Food Inc., Introduction of Paper Topic
April 19: Continue Film, discuss paper writing.
Week 13: Capital Punishment
April 24: Read "The Morality of Capital Punishment" by Berns (pp. 311-315)
April 26: Read "The Death Penalty as a Symbolic Issue" by Nathanson (pp. 316-323)
Homework Due: Bring a thesis statement for your paper to class.
Week 14: Capital Punishment
May 1: No Class. Attend one of the May Day Events on Campus and discuss the ethical issues around May Day and Labor. A link to events and topics can be found here.
May 3: Continue and discuss Capital Punishment.
Homework Due: Write a 1-2 page discussion of some ethical issue surrounding labor and May Day.
Week 15: Posthuman and the Meaning of Life
May 8: Post- and Transhumanism, readings to be announced
May 10: Post- and Transhumanism Continued;
Homework Due: Bring three copies of a draft of your paper to class for in-class peer-editing.
Week 16: Posthuman and the Meaning of Life
May 15: Read Taylor, "The Meaning of Life" (pp. 446-456)
May 17: Read Wolf, "Meaning in Life" and Vitrano, "Meaningful Lives" (pp. 457-464), Final Paper Due
Week 17: Finals
May 22: Review for Final
May 24: Final Exam
ACADEMIC POLICIES:
Student Responsibility to Drop/Withdraw: It is the student’s responsibility to drop all classes in which he/she is no longer attending. It is the instructor’s discretion to withdraw a student after the add/drop deadline (April 14) due to excessive absences. Students who remain enrolled in a class beyond the published withdrawal deadline, as stated in the class schedule, will receive an evaluative letter grade in the class.
Attendance: During the first two weeks of class, students will be dropped for any absence. Starting during the third week, students may be dropped for missing two classes. In addition, students who arrive unreasonably late or leave unreasonably early will be marked absent.
Professionalism: It is assumed that students will conduct themselves in a professional manner with a positive attitude. An open mind is one of the most important tools required for success in academia. If a student is negative and feels as is there is nothing of value to be gained by the college experience or this course, he or she will not do well in this course.
Academic Integrity and Conduct: Mesa College students are bound by the Student Code of Conduct, Policy 3100. In this course, cheating, plagiarism, disruptions of instructional activity, fraud and/or lying will result in, at a minimum, a grade of “F” for the assignment/test with no make up permitted. Any of these infractions may result in formal disciplinary action by the Dean of Student Affairs as described in the code (as published in the catalog or online).
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities who may need academic accommodations should discuss options with their professors during the first two weeks of class. You should also contact DSPS. DSPS can be found at http://www.sdmesa.edu/dsps/ or they can be contacted by phone at 619-388-2780.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN THIS COURSE (Thanks to Professor June Yang):
