The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,

but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. 
- Martin Luther King Jr. ,‘48

SYLLABUS

AVAILABLE WITH LINKS HERE:

http://philosophy302.blogspot.com

Intro to Philosophical Ethics - 48605 - HPHI 302G - 01

Associated Term: Summer 2012 3.000 Credits View Catalog Entry  Scheduled Meeting Times 12:00 pm - 1:20 pm MTWRF Sale Hall 110 Jun 05, 2012 - Jul 13, 2012 Instructor: Nathan Nobis, Ph.D., www.NathanNobis.com Preferred Email: Nathan.nobis@gmail.com   (preferred email); nnobis@morehouse.edu   Please send work to this email and/or turn in in class in hardcopy: nobishomework@gmail.com Telephone: 404-215-2607 Office: Sale Hall 113, Philosophy & Religion Department

Department of Philosophy and Religion: Mission and Objectives:

The two-fold objective of this Department is to prepare students for graduate or professional study in the fields of philosophy and religious studies and to enable them to satisfy the College requirements in the general education program. The courses in philosophy and religion seek to provide the student not only with a firm base in these two academic disciplines, but also with a means for self-examination and self-orientation. The work in philosophy aims to develop a critical and analytical approach to all the major areas of human inquiry. The work in religion aims to describe, analyze and evaluate the role of religion in the life of humans since earliest times and how the religious quest continues as a variegated and often tortuous climb toward human growth and fulfillment.

1.      CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION: Provides an introduction to philosophical reflection about the nature and function of morality. Readings will include both historical and contemporary materials.

EXTENDED COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course provides students with the opportunity to improve their skills at reasoning critically about moral issues. Students will learn some basic logical concepts and argument analysis skills and apply them to theoretical and practical questions about morality. We will practice identifying clear (i.e., unambiguous) and precise moral conclusions (i.e., exact perspectives taken on moral issues) and the premises, or reasons, given for and against these conclusions. We will then practice evaluating these reasons to see if they provide rational support for these conclusions or not.

We will think about what helps people think more carefully and critically about moral issues and what factors and influences discourage this.     

We will discuss influential ethical theories and moral principles – answers to the questions ‘What’s the basic difference between a morally permissible and a morally impermissible (or wrong) action?’ and ‘What makeswrong actions wrong and what makes permissible actions permissible?’ – and apply our argument analysis skills to moral issues such as the treatment of disabled newborns, female genital mutilation, homosexuality, abortion, absolute poverty, racism, sexism, and speciesism, vegetarianism and the treatment of animals, euthanasia and assisted suicide, drug use, and capital punishment, among others.

2.      COURSE PREREQUISITES: There are no formal prerequisites for this course. However, students will benefit most from the course when they enter it with the abilities to:

a.       read critically and identify the structure and components of an argumentative essay or passage, i.e., the conclusion(s), the premises(s) or supporting elements, and so forth;

b.      write clear, concise and simple grammatical, spelling-error-free sentences and well-organized expository and argumentative essays, as taught in Introductory English courses;

c.       speak clearly, concisely, and grammatically.

·         Basic mathematical and scientific literacy is desirable.

·         Familiarity with moral issues, common positions taken on them and reasons given in favor of these positions is desirable, since we will build on any previous understanding.

·         Intellectual and moral virtues, such as curiosity, patience, and openness to the possibility of error and the need for change, are desirable as well.

3.      COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to use the set ofargument analysis skills below to identify and evaluate moral arguments:

a.       identify whether any presentation (“text”) is “morally argumentative” or not, i.e., whether it presents an argument for a moral conclusion on a moral issue or not;

b.      identify conclusions of morally argumentative presentations, evaluate these conclusions for clarity and precision, and (if needed) reconstruct / restate the conclusion in clear and precise terms; 

c.       identify stated premises or reasons in morally argumentative presentations, evaluate these conclusions for clarity and precision, and (if needed) reconstruct / restate these premises in clear and precise terms; 

d.      identify (if needed) unstated premises in argumentative presentations that are logically essential to the structure of an argument and state them as part of the argument in clear and precise terms;

e.       identify and distinguish factual/empirical/scientific and moral/philosophical premises in moral arguments;

f.       evaluate moral arguments as (1) logically valid or invalid (or otherwise logically cogent) and (2) sound orunsound (or otherwise strong);

g.       identify and explain reasons given to think an argument is sound, reasons to think it is unsound (often using counterexamples to general moral premises), and responses to these reasons.

Students will be able to accurately explain historically influential moral theories and common arguments against them, in light of their implications, explanatory power and theoretical virtues and vices.

Students will be able to accurately explain (in essays and oral presentations) the most common arguments given on a number of controversial moral issues, from a variety of perspectives, and criticisms of these arguments.

Monday	Tuesday 1.       June 5 OVERVIEW OF COURSE; INTRODUCTIONS; INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC	Wednesday 2.       June 6 INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC CONTINUED READ:    “Some Basic Points about Arguments," James Rachels (from The Right Thing to Do) ONLINE LINK BELOW	Thursday 3.       June 7 INTRODUCTION TO MORAL THEORIES READ: James Rachels, "A Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy" (from The Right Thing to Do): (focus on the 2nd half: utilitarianism, Kantianism and social contract theory).   ONLINE LINK BELOW	Friday 4.       June 8 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH 1: Available here if you don’t have the book yet (but it is on reserve in the library: http://goo.gl/XwjJq ) Main topics: moral thinking; disabled newborns and children. End of drop/add period
5.       June 11 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  1 Main topics: moral thinking; disabled newborns and children. Withdrawal period begins	6.       June 12 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  2 Main topics: cultural relativism; female genital mutilation; polyamory.	7.       June 13 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  2 Main topics: cultural relativism; female genital mutilation; polyamory.	8.       June 14 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  3 Topics: homosexuality Additional writing: Arguments lists: state at least 10 reasons people sometimes give to think that homosexuality is wrong.	9.       June 15 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  3 Topics: homosexuality
10.    June 18 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  4 Topics: morality and religion; abortion Additional writing: Arguments lists: state at least 10 reasons people sometimes give to think that abortion is wrong and at least 5 reasons to think it is morally permissible.	11.    June 19 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  4 Topics: morality and religion; abortion	12.    June 20 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  5 Topics: ethical egoism; poverty Midterm week Arguments lists: state at least 5 reasons people give to think that we are obligated to help absolutely poor people and at least 5 reasons to think it is morally permissible to not help absolutely poor people .	13.    June 21 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  5 Topics: ethical egoism; poverty Midterm week	14.    June 22 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  6 Topic: social contract theory; civil disobedience. Midterm week

READINGS:

15.    June 25 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  7 & 8 Topics: utilitarianism; euthanasia, drug use, treatment of animals Additional writing: Arguments lists: state at least 10 reasons people sometimes give to think that eating meat is morally permissible, i.e., not wrong and at least 5 reasons to think that it is morally permissible.	16.    June 26 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  7 & 8 Topics: utilitarianism; euthanasia, drug use, treatment of animals “Reasonable Humans and Animals,” John Simmons: LINK BELOW	17.    June 27 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  7 & 8 Topics: utilitarianism; euthanasia, drug use, treatment of animals	18.    June 28 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  9 & 10 Topic s: Kant’s ethics; war, capital punishment Additional writing: Arguments lists: state at least 5 reasons people sometimes give to think that capital punishment is wrong and at least 5 reasons to think that it is or can be morally permissible.	19.    June 29 Read: RACHELS, ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY CH  9 & 10 Topic s: Kant’s ethics; war, capital punishment Last day to withdraw
20.    July 2 OPEN	21.    July 3 OPEN	July 4 – no class	Reading day 1 – no class	Reading day 2 – no class
July 9 – Final Exam week Final exam day and time TBA	July 10 - Final Exam week Final exam day and time TBA	July 11 – final exam week Final exam day and time TBA	July 12 – final exam week Final exam day and time TBA	July 13 – final exam week Final exam day and time TBA; semester ends
	July 17: grades due by noon

READINGS

10 CHAPTERS OF JAMES AND STUART RACHELS’ THE ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY

·         APPROX 14 PAGES PER CHAPTER; EASY AND INTERESTING READING! LOTS OF INTERESTING EXAMPLES!

·         Read them before class, so have them read for the day on the schedule above; bring the book and reading(s) to class.

·         A copy of the book is available on reserve in the library: photocopy chapters if you need to.  

A few online readings:

·         Day 2: “Some Basic Points about Arguments," James Rachels (from The Right Thing to Do): http://aphilosopher.googlepages.com/rachels-on-arguments.pdf

·         Day 3: "A Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy" James Rachels (from The Right Thing to Do): http://aphilosopher.googlepages.com/rachels-intro-to-ethics.pdf (focus on the 2nd half: utilitarianism, Kantianism and social contract theory).  

·         John Simmons, “Reasonable Humans and Animals,” http://sites.google.com/site/nobisphilosophy/veg.pdf

·         Other items handed out in class: keep them with you and bring to class.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING:

·         DETAILED WRITTEN SUMMARIES OF EACH CHAPTER(S); DUE BEFORE CLASS, TO ENSURE YOU HAVE DONE THE READINGS. 5 points per chapter (50 points total); Please send work to this email and/or turn in in class in hardcopy: nobishomework@gmail.com

·         5 additional list-building assignments where students make lists of reasons given for and against various moral conclusions: these lists can be developed from your own observations and reflections, discussions with other people and/or internet searching; students will also be asked to formulate these arguments as logically valid arguments (explanation forthcoming!). 5 points per list (25 points total). These are due on the day they are noted on the calendar. Please send work to this email and/or turn in in class in hardcopy: nobishomework@gmail.com

·         Two quizzes, midterm and final, in class: 25 points each, (50 points total). Study guides, practice quizes and study sessions will be provided.

·         There may be some extra credit assignments.

·         Attendance will be taken; unexcused absences and tardies beyond 3 will result in 2 points off the final grade. 

·         Any late work will be penalized.

·         Any plagiarized work will be given a zero grade and no chance for makeup or plagiarism will result in failing the course and a report to the dean. Do not use anyone else’s work in this course and do not try to find anything from the internet to submit as an assignment: do your own work without any input from outside sources (except when you are asked to do so).

·         Please do not text or use computers in class for non-class purposes; please put away phones and turn off your internet connection, unless asked to use the internet.