Ethics and Society

From the syllabus:

"This course is about how you ought to live. In particular, the course will address ethical questions raised by social problems. The course is not, however, primarily about social policy. That is, it focuses on what you should do in response to these problems, not on what 'society' or the government should do. The primary goal of the course is to help you develop justifiable personal responses to those questions.

"During the first third of the semester, we will survey important contemporary theories of ethical decision-making, with an emphasis on applying these theories to ethical problems. During the rest of the semester, we will explore empirical and ethical questions about poverty in its local and global contexts, environmental destruction, and consumption. We will cover both contemporary philosophical arguments and readings from the natural and social sciences."

After this course, students should be able to:

1. Understand several major kinds of ethical theories and how they relate to ethical problems.
2. Understand basic concepts related to and facts about poverty, environmental destruction, and material consumption, including the connections between these phenomena and your own life.
3. Understand important ethical arguments related to poverty, the environment, and consumption.
4. Apply ethical theories to specific ethical problems in order to develop and articulate justifiable personal responses to those problems.

You can download my Spring 2008 syllabus for this course below.