5 classes matched your search criteria.

Fall 2020  |  PHIL 1003W Section 001: Introduction to Ethics (15995)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Online Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/08/2020 - 12/16/2020
Off Campus
Virtual Rooms ONLINEONLY
Enrollment Status:
Open (124 of 128 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Are values/principles relative to our culture? Is pleasure valuable? Are there any absolute rules? These questions and others are addressed through critical study of moral theories.
Class Notes:
This course introduces philosophical ethics to students without any prior background in philosophy. Focusing on those concepts, problems, and historical sources that have been most influential for contemporary Anglo-American moral philosophy, the historical authors we will read include Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham, and/or John Stuart Mill. The word "ethics" derives from the Greek word for character (hqoV, or ethos) reflecting the ancient Greek concern with the question "What kind of person should I aspire to be?" Today, philosophers regard ethics as an area of study that concerns both this and related questions, among them: "What is the right thing to do in this situation?" "What is morally required of me and why?" "Is it in my interest to do the right thing (or to be moral, or to have a good character)?" The latter questions express a concern with ethical/moral standards for evaluating our and others' characters, actions, and (perhaps) emotions. We will supplement our historical readings with the work of contemporary Anglo-American moral philosophers engaged in the systematic study of such standards, their source, and their justification - that is, engaged in the project of normative ethics. Sometimes we might wonder about more abstract questions about ethical standards themselves, such as whether they are "objective" or "subjective," whether there are moral truths and, if so, how we can know them, and so on. We will briefly consider such meta-ethical topics. Finally, philosophers sometimes distinguish between normative ethics, meta-ethics, and applied ethics. Typically, they mean to signal by the latter a narrower (than normative ethics) focus on what one should do in some particular, morally significant circumstances. The applied ethical questions we will consider in Fall 2020 focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. This course is completely online in an asynchronous format. There are no scheduled meeting times.
Class Description:
"What kind of life should I live?" "What kind of person do I want to be?" Such questions confront us all and do so perhaps most urgently during the college years, when we typically choose or prepare for the life we wish to live. These questions also are of concern to the moral philosopher. Moral philosophers engaged in the systematic study of the ethical standards that should govern our lives and their sources of justification are engaged in the project of 'normative ethics'. Sometimes we might find ourselves wondering about more abstract questions, such as whether moral judgments are objective, whether moral principles are relative to our culture, where values fit into the scientific world of facts, etc. These are among the questions that are the subject of 'meta-ethics'. In this course we will join some prominent moral philosophers in reflecting on both normative and meta-ethical questions. We will examine the most influential normative ethical theories: Utilitarianism, Kantianism and neo-Aristotelianism. We also will consider philosophy's contribution to thinking about some contemporary moral controversies (e.g., is affirmative action fair?). The goals of the course are to provide students with no previous background in philosophy with an introduction to philosophical ethics and to equip them to critically read, assess, and write philosophical prose.
Grading:
30% Final Exam
60% Reports/Papers
10% Quizzes
Class Format:
75% Lecture
25% Discussion
Workload:
15-21 Pages Writing Per Term
1 Exam(s)
3 Paper(s)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/15995/1209
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
6 May 2015

Fall 2020  |  PHIL 1003W Section 002: Introduction to Ethics (16361)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Discussion
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Online Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/08/2020 - 12/16/2020
Off Campus
Virtual Rooms ONLINEONLY
Auto Enrolls With:
Section 001
Enrollment Status:
Closed (32 of 32 seats filled)
Course Catalog Description:
Are values/principles relative to our culture? Is pleasure valuable? Are there any absolute rules? These questions and others are addressed through critical study of moral theories.
Class Notes:
College is a time when people figure out what to do with their lives. It is a time when you can set yourself on a course that determines what kind of life you'll live and what kind of person you'll be. In this course we make room to think about questions that have to do with how to live your life in the broadest possible sense. We do not focus on particular career decisions or life choices, though what we learn in the course can help you with these personal questions. Rather, we focus on questions about the very nature of happiness and a morally decent life, the very definition of a good and happy person. We begin with theories of well-being and happiness that span from Ancient philosophy to contemporary psychology, and we end by expanding our horizons to the wider community, asking questions about our moral obligations and the relationship between a happy life and a moral life. This course is completely online in an asynchronous format. There are no scheduled meeting times.
Class Description:
This is a required discussion section to be taken in conjunction with PHIL1003W. See the course information for PHIL1003W section 001.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/16361/1209
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
6 May 2015

Fall 2020  |  PHIL 1003W Section 003: Introduction to Ethics (16362)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Discussion
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Online Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/08/2020 - 12/16/2020
Off Campus
Virtual Rooms ONLINEONLY
Auto Enrolls With:
Section 001
Enrollment Status:
Open (31 of 32 seats filled)
Course Catalog Description:
Are values/principles relative to our culture? Is pleasure valuable? Are there any absolute rules? These questions and others are addressed through critical study of moral theories.
Class Notes:
College is a time when people figure out what to do with their lives. It is a time when you can set yourself on a course that determines what kind of life you'll live and what kind of person you'll be. In this course we make room to think about questions that have to do with how to live your life in the broadest possible sense. We do not focus on particular career decisions or life choices, though what we learn in the course can help you with these personal questions. Rather, we focus on questions about the very nature of happiness and a morally decent life, the very definition of a good and happy person. We begin with theories of well-being and happiness that span from Ancient philosophy to contemporary psychology, and we end by expanding our horizons to the wider community, asking questions about our moral obligations and the relationship between a happy life and a moral life. This course is completely online in an asynchronous format. There are no scheduled meeting times.
Class Description:
This is a required discussion section to be taken in conjunction with PHIL1003W. See the course information for PHIL1003W section 001.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/16362/1209
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
6 May 2015

Fall 2020  |  PHIL 1003W Section 004: Introduction to Ethics (16363)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Discussion
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Online Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/08/2020 - 12/16/2020
Off Campus
Virtual Rooms ONLINEONLY
Auto Enrolls With:
Section 001
Enrollment Status:
Open (31 of 32 seats filled)
Course Catalog Description:
Are values/principles relative to our culture? Is pleasure valuable? Are there any absolute rules? These questions and others are addressed through critical study of moral theories.
Class Notes:
College is a time when people figure out what to do with their lives. It is a time when you can set yourself on a course that determines what kind of life you'll live and what kind of person you'll be. In this course we make room to think about questions that have to do with how to live your life in the broadest possible sense. We do not focus on particular career decisions or life choices, though what we learn in the course can help you with these personal questions. Rather, we focus on questions about the very nature of happiness and a morally decent life, the very definition of a good and happy person. We begin with theories of well-being and happiness that span from Ancient philosophy to contemporary psychology, and we end by expanding our horizons to the wider community, asking questions about our moral obligations and the relationship between a happy life and a moral life. This course is completely online in an asynchronous format. There are no scheduled meeting times.
Class Description:
This is a required discussion section to be taken in conjunction with PHIL1003W. See the course information for PHIL1003W section 001.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/16363/1209
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
6 May 2015

Fall 2020  |  PHIL 1003W Section 005: Introduction to Ethics (33122)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Discussion
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Online Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/08/2020 - 12/16/2020
Off Campus
Virtual Rooms ONLINEONLY
Auto Enrolls With:
Section 001
Enrollment Status:
Open (30 of 32 seats filled)
Course Catalog Description:
Are values/principles relative to our culture? Is pleasure valuable? Are there any absolute rules? These questions and others are addressed through critical study of moral theories.
Class Notes:
This course is completely online in an asynchronous format. There are no scheduled meeting times.
Class Description:
This is a required discussion section to be taken in conjunction with PHIL1003W. See the course information for PHIL1003W section 001.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/33122/1209
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
6 May 2015

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