Introduction to Ethics

This page provides general information about my Introduction to Ethics course, which I taught in Spring 2007.

course description

This course examines philosophical approaches to standards of right conduct and the good life through the study of selected important thinkers from ancient Greece, ancient China, and modern Europe (especially Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, and Mill). The course will help students understand how important philosophers have answered the question, "How should I live?" The purpose of this course is to help students learn to develop their own philosophically defensible answers to that question.
texts
  • Morgan, Michael L. Classics of Moral and Political Theory, Fourth Edition. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2005.

  • Selected readings from Confucius, Hursthouse, and Singer.
learning objectives

After this course, students should be able to:

  1. Understand, compare, and contrast the ethical theories of major figures.
  2. Apply selected ethical theories to ethical problems.
  3. Read, understand, and summarize difficult philosophical texts more effectively than they could before.
assignments & assessments
  1. Reading summaries (most sessions)
  2. Two short papers (500–800 words)
  3. A midterm exam
  4. A final exam
syllabus

You can download my Spring 2007 syllabus for Introduction to Ethics below.
notes

I taught PHIL 104 in Spring 2007.
AttachmentSize
Spring 2007 Syllabus for PHIL 104 Introduction to Ethics62.26 KB