PHIL 1104: Philosophy and Social Ethics

Hi! This is the course page for my Fall 2014 section of PHIL 1104: Philosophy and Social Ethics, at the University of Connecticut - Storrs. Below you will find a course description, syllabus, course readings, class presentations and other materials.

Students can use this site in lieu of logging into HuskyCT to get quick information, but note that some things (e.g. quizzes and some readings) will be unavailable through this page. Check back often for new updates - I will put up the Beamer slides each week after that week's quiz has closed.

Course Description

Ethics, the study of what we owe to others, is one of the most fundamental areas of inquiry in human life. All of us reason ethically often throughout our lives, both with and without realising it. This class will examine the three major aspects of ethical theory: metaethics, the study of ethical reasoning itself, normative ethics, the study of how we ought to reason ethically or do ethically and applied ethics, the application of normative ethical theory to substantive issues. Students taking this course will learn the fundamentals of the three major areas of ethical theory, as well as how to apply theoretical tools to issues in their daily lives. The major assessment is a short (5 page) course paper which teaches students to write concise, opinionated analytical essays.

Syllabus

You can download a copy of the syllabus here.

Lecture and Reading Schedule

You can check out the schedule below. The readings with the blue boxes around them link to readings that are available freely online. If I have not linked to it and you found it online, chances are there was a reason I didn't link to it, e.g. it's a longer version or different translation than we'll be using in class. Please do not use any readings online other than the ones linked, and remember to always cite the official versions available through 'Library Resources' on the HuskyCT page.

Sorry mobile users, I can't figure out any way to get Scribd to appear on the mobile site. Switch over to the desktop/main version via the button on the bottom of the page and it should appear.

Lecture Slides

I've removed all my slides from the Fall 2014 semester so as not to spoil the fun of studying for my Spring 2015 students. If you'd like to view my slides, e.g. for evaluation of teaching, they're available upon request.

Other Materials

I'll post other materials here as they come about.

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