ClassInfo - Fall 2020 Philosophy Classes

Fall 2020 | PHIL 3311W Section 001: Introduction to Ethical Theory (17337)

Instructor(s): Michelle Mason Bizri
Class Component:: Discussion
Credits:: 4 Credits
Grading Basis:: Student Option
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 (65 of 72 seats filled)
Also Offered:: (Tentative) Spring 2025
(Tentative) Fall 2023
(Tentative) Fall 2022
(Tentative) Fall 2021

Course Catalog Description:

Nature and justification of moral judgments and moral principles; analysis of representative moral views.

Class Notes:

This course introduces philosophical ethics to students with some prior background in philosophy or those who, with instructor permission, are prepared to undertake an upper level survey of ethics. (Students preferring a more preliminary introduction are encouraged to take PHIL1003w instead.) 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

Class Description:

Is an action good or bad because of its anticipated results or regardless of these results? Is it ever right to kill one person to save five? Is relativism true?
Is abortion wrong?

This course is an introduction to philosophical ethics, the part of philosophy that is concerned with right and wrong, good and bad, virtue and vice. We will focus on those historical philosophical theories of these topics that have been most influential in contemporary Anglo-American philosophy, as well as consider their relevance to practical ethical problems in contemporary life.

The major portion of the course will examine three influential historical traditions in normative ethical theory and their implications for applied ethical problems:

(1) Aristotle and contemporary neo-Aristotelian ethics;

(2) Immanuel Kant and contemporary Kantian ethics; and

(3) John Stuart Mill and contemporary utilitarian consequentialism.

Finally we will touch on some topics in meta-ethics.

Who Should Take This Class?:

Undergraduates interested in philosophy and motivated to think and write critically about questions of right and wrong, good and bad, virtue and vice.

Learning Objectives:

The goals of the course are to provide students with an introduction to philosophical ethics and to equip them to critically read, evaluate, discuss, and write philosophical prose, as well as to engage in the activity of philosophy themselves. Within the context of these goals, our specific objectives will be to:

Understand the historical sources and main features of three traditions of ethical theory:
Aristotelian, Kantian, and Utilitarian

Think, discuss, and write critically about the contributions of each of these traditions to our understanding of ourselves as moral beings

Think, discuss, and write critically about the application of each of the traditions to some specific ethical problems

Familiarize ourselves with some key meta-ethical questions, as they pertain to the theories we study

Grading:

Paper 1 draft and revision (approx 1250 words)	1/3*
Midterm exam	1/3*
Paper 2 (approx 1250 words)	1/3*

The primary criteria for grading the papers include general clarity of expression, demonstrated understanding of the significance of the relevant text, ability to articulate a philosophical topic, and quality of the arguments for one's own conclusions regarding the topic at hand. These qualities, in addition to creativity and insight, characterize the best philosophical prose.

* Because this course employs the Socratic method, class attendance and participation are not included as a separate grading component but are mandatory. Students with unexcused absences will be asked to drop the course. Those students who decline will see their subsequent paper grade reduced by one full letter grade (e.g., A to B) for each unexcused class absence.

I will assign final grades understanding the quality grades as follows:

A 4.000 - Represents achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements

A- 3.667

B+ 3.333

B 3.000 - Represents achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements

B- 2.667

C+ 2.333

C 2.000 - Represents achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect

C- 1.667

D+ 1.333

D 1.000 - Represents achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements

S Represents achievement that is satisfactory, which is equivalent to a C- or better.

Exam Format:

This is a Writing Designated Course. You will write two essays (of approximately 1250 words each), each of which counts for 1/3 of your final grade. You will turn in drafts for the first essay and receive written comments back before you submit a revised version. The grade for the first essay will be the average of the grade on the draft and the grade on the revision. You will submit just a final version of the third essay.

Class Format:

50% Lecture
50% Discussion*

* Because this course employs the Socratic method, class attendance and participation are mandatory.

Workload:

According to University policy:

"one credit represents, for the average University undergraduate student, three hours of academic work per week (including lectures, laboratories, recitations, discussion groups, field work, study, and so on), averaged over the semester, in order to complete the work of the course to achieve an average grade. One credit equals 42 to 45 hours of work over the course of the semester (1 credit x 3 hours of work per week x 14 or 15 weeks in a semester equals 42 to 45 hours of academic work). Thus, enrollment for 15 credits in a semester represents approximately 45 hours of work per week, on average, over the course of the semester."

Formally, therefore, this 4-credit course should require an average of 12 hours of work per week to achieve an average grade: 3.3 classroom hours and 8.7 hours of out-of-class hours each week in a fifteen week term. This makes for a total of 180 hours of work for this class over the course of the semester.

In-class hours	Approx. 49.5
Reading/viewing hours	Approx. 94.5 (avg. 6.3/week)
Paper 1 hours (review, writing, revision)	Approx. 12 (8 draft; 4 rev)
Midterm exam hours (review)	Approx. 12
Paper 2 hours (review, writing)	Approx. 12
Total hours	Approx. 180

You should not take this course if you cannot make this workload commitment. I understand that we all have commitments and responsibilities that compete for our time outside the classroom. However, as your professor, my priority is to help you achieve course goals and objectives; I likewise expect you to make your education your priority.

Textbooks:

https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/17337/1209

Past Syllabi:

http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/mason043_PHIL3311W_Spring2018.pdf (Spring 2018)

Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:

31 December 2018

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