PHIL 120W Introduction to Moral Philosophy

 Fall Semester 2011| Evening |Surrey

INSTRUCTOR  BILL BARTHELEMY

REQUIRED TEXT

• Ethical Theory: A concise Anthology, Geirsson & Holmgren, Eds (Broadview Press)
• Handouts

COURSE DESCRIPTION

We will begin the course with a critical inquiry into the meaning and justification of moral judgements.  Questions to be considered include: What is ethical/moral relativism and to what extent, if any, is it true? Can God or religion provide the content and justification for our claims in morality?  Then we will examine and evaluate several competing moral theories, viz., ethical egoism, contractarianism, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics.  In our examination we will evaluate answers to at least some of the following questions: Why should I be moral?  Are there any objective moral values? And if so, what are they?  How do we determine what are our moral duties?   How should wealth be distributed in society?  We will consider the arguments of both historical (Plato, Hobbes, Mill, Kant, etc.) and contemporary (Rawls, Nozick, Singer, etc.) philosophers.  Since this is a ‘W’ course (writing intensive), efforts will be made to help students develop their abilities to clearly express and defend their thoughts in writing.  The content or subject matter of that writing will be ethics.  But the skills developed can be applied in any area.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

• First essay – 500 words                                 15%
•  Second essay plus one revision – 750 words    20%
•  Third essay – 1500 words                             25%
•  3-hour Final Exam                                        30%
•  Tutorial Participation                                     10%

NOTE: Philosophy 120W has no prerequisites, and may be applied towards the Certificate in Liberal Arts.
the W-requirement, and the Breadth/Humanities requirement.