PHI 216 – Ethics Assignments

PHI 216-2 – Ethics

12:30-1:45 TTh, Pfleiderer 3

Fall 2009

Dr. Close

READING ASSIGNMENTS

(Rev. 16-Nov-2009)

Instructions: This document is tentative. Students are responsible for checking my Web site for updates. Complete all assignments shown prior to that day’s lecture. Students are responsible for checking the Moodle for updates to this hand-out.

Lecture

Date

Topics

Readings and Assignments

Lecture 1

Aug. 25

Intro. to Philosophy; Introduction to Ethics

· N/A

Lecture 2

Aug. 27

Intro. to Philosophy; Introduction to Ethics

· Enroll in course Moodle at http://numu.heidelberg.edu/moodle/course/view.php?id=667. Enrollment key: 22282.

· Robert Audi, Philosophy: A Brief Guide for Undergraduates

· Bertrand Russell, “Ten Commandments for Beginning Philosophers” (hand-out also on Moodle)

· “What is Philosophy?” (hand-out also on Moodle)

· Plato, Euthyphro

Lecture 3

Sept. 1

Intro. to Ethics; Aristotle on Happiness; Kant’s Categorical Imperative

· Jeffrey Olen, Julie C. Van Camp, and Vincent Barry, Applying Ethics: A Text with Readings. 9th ed. (hereafter, “OCB”), Preface, Ch. 1 (“Moral Reasons”), pp. 2-22. All readings below are in OCB unless otherwise indicated.

· Aristotle, from Nichomachean Ethics, Books 1 and 2, in OCB.

· Immanuel Kant, from Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, in OCB.

Lecture 4

Sept. 3

Utilitarianism

· John Stuart Mill, from Utilitarianism, in OCB.

· Daryl Close and Nicholas Meier, Morality in Criminal Justice, Ch. 1 (“Introduction to Ethics”), in-class hand-out only.

Lecture 5

Sept. 8

Ethics of Care; Introduction to Logic

· Annette C. Baier, “The Need for More than Justice,” Canadian Journal of Philosophy (1988), in OCB.

· OCB, Ch. 2 (“Good Reasoning”), pp. 54-73.

Lecture 6

Sept. 10

Intro. to Logic

· Ch. 2 continued

Lecture 7

Sept. 15

Sexual Morality

· OCB, Ch. 3 (“Sexual Morality”), pp. 76-86.

· Roger Scruton, from Sexual Desire: A Moral Philosophy of the Erotic (1986), in OCB.

· Alvin H. Goldman, “Plain Sex,” Philosophy & Public Affairs (1977), in OCB.

· Michael Levin, “Why Homosexuality is Abnormal,” The Monist (1985), in OCB.

Lecture 8

Sept. 17

Sexual Morality

· Timothy F. Murphy, “Homosexuality and Nature: happiness and the law at stake,” Journal of Applied Philosophy (1987), in OCB.

· U. S. Supreme Court, from Lawrence v. Texas (2003), in OCB.

· Supreme Court of Massachusetts, from Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health (2004), in OCB.

· Reading Quiz #1 (8.33%)

Lecture 9

Sept. 22

Abortion

· OCB, Ch. 4 (“Abortion”), pp. 127-138.

· John T. Noonan, “An Almost Absolute Value in History,” Morality of Abortion (1970), in OCB.

· Critical Paper #1 Due (7.5%)

Lecture 10

Sept. 24

Abortion

· Judith Jarvis Thomson, “A Defense of Abortion,” Philosophy and Public Affairs (1971), in OCB.

· Case Presentation: “Death in Pensacola,” in OCB. Read and reflect on the Questions for Analysis.

Lecture 11

Oct. 1

Abortion

· Mary Ann Warren, “On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion,” The Monist (1973), in OCB.

Lecture 12

Oct. 6

Euthanasia

· OCB, Ch. 5 (“Euthanasia”), pp. 178-192.

· J. Gay-Williams, “The Wrongfulness of Euthanasia,” in Ronald Munson (ed.), Intervention and Reflection: Basic Issues in Medical Ethics (1992), in OCB.

· James Rachels, “Active and Passive Euthanasia,” New England Journal of Medicine (1975), in OCB.

· Case Presentation: “‘I Did It Because I Loved My Son’,” in OCB. Read and reflect on the Questions for Analysis.

Lecture 13

Oct. 8

Euthanasia

· Philippa Foot, “Euthanasia,” Philosophy & Public Affairs (1977), in OCB.

Lecture 14

Oct. 13

Euthanasia

· Richard Brandt, “A Moral Principle about Killing,” in Marvin Kohl (ed.), Beneficent Euthanasia (1975), in OCB.

· Case Presentation: “Terri Schiavo: Voluntary Euthanasia or Murder?” in OCB. Read and reflect on the Questions for Analysis.

Lecture 15

Oct. 15

Human Cloning

· OCB, Ch. 6 (“Human Cloning and Stem Cell Research”), pp. 228-237.

· Leon R. Kass, “The Wisdom of Repugnance,” in Leon R. Kass and James Q. Wilson, The Ethics of Human Cloning (1999), in OCB.

· Michael Tooley, “The Moral Status of Cloning Humans,” in James M. Humber and Robert F. Almeder, Human Cloning (1998), in OCB.

· President’s Council on Bioethics, from Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry (2002), in OCB.

Lecture 16

Oct. 22

Stem Cell Research

· Bonnie Steinbock, “The Morality of Killing Human Embryos,” The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (2006), in OCB.

· Reading Quiz #2 (8.33%)

Lecture 17

Oct. 27

Stem Cell Research

· Paul Lauritzen, “Stem Cells, Biotechnology, and Human Rights: Implications for a Posthuman Future,” Hastings Center Report (2005), in OCB.

· Case Presentation: “Snowflakes in Summer” in OCB. Read and reflect on the Questions for Analysis.

Lecture 18

Oct. 29

Capital Punishment

· OCB, Ch. 7 (“Capital Punishment”), pp. 293-303.

· John Stuart Mill, “Speech in Favor of Capital Punishment,” in OCB.

· Sidney Hook, “The Death Sentence,” The New Leader (1961), in OCB.

· Ernest van den Haag, “On Deterrence and the Death Penalty,” Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science (1969), in OCB.

Lecture 19

Nov. 3

Capital Punishment

· Hugo Adam Bedau, “Capital Punishment and Social Defense,” in Tom Regan, Matters of Life and Death (1986), in OCB.

· Case Presentation: “Karla Faye Tucker and Stanley “Tookie” Williams: Rehabilitation on Death Row?” in OCB. Read and reflect on the Questions for Analysis.

· Critical Paper #2 Due (7.5%)

Lecture 20

Nov. 5

War, Terrorism, and Civil Liberties

· OCB, Ch. 8 (“War, Terrorism, and Civil Liberties”), pp. 334-343.

· R. G. Frey and Christopher W. Morris, “Violence, Terrorism, and Justice,” in R. G. Frey and Christopher W. Morris (eds.), Violence, Terrorism, and Justice (1991), in OCB.

· Alan M. Dershowitz, “Make Torture an Option,” Los Angeles Times (11/8/2001).

Lecture 21

Nov. 10

War, Terrorism, and Civil Liberties

· David Luban, “Torture and the Ticking Bomb,” Georgetown Law (2005), in OCB.

· Case Presentation: “Preemptive War,” in OCB. Read and reflect on the Questions for Analysis.

Lecture 22

Nov. 12

War, Terrorism, and Civil Liberties

· David Cole, “National Security State,” The Nation (2001), in OCB.

· Case Presentation: “The Geneva Conventions and Guantanamo Bay,” in OCB. Read and reflect on the Questions for Analysis.

Lecture 23

Nov. 17

Discrimination

· OCB, Ch. 10 (“Discrimination”), pp. 411-423.

· Tom Beauchamp, “The Justification of Reverse Discrimination,” in Ethical Theory and Business, 7th Ed. (2003), in OCB.

· Richard Wasserstrom, “A Defense of Programs of Preferential Treatment,” from “Racism, Sexism, and Preferential Treatment: An Approach to the Topics,” UCLA Law Review (1977), in OCB.

· Case Presentations: “Proposition 209;” “Grutter v. Bollinger: Taking Race into Account;” “Reparations: An Overdue Debt to African Slaves in America?” and “Friendly Sexual Harassment?” in OCB. Read and reflect on the Questions for Analysis.

Lecture 24

Nov. 19

Discrimination

· William T. Blackstone, “Reverse Discrimination and Compensatory Justice,” Social Theory and Practice 3 (1975), in OCB.

· Lisa Newton, “Reverse Discrimination as Unjustified,” Ethics 83 (1973), in OCB.

Lecture 25

Nov. 24

Computer Ethicss

· Readings TBA

· Reading Quiz #3 (8.33%)

Lecture 26

Dec. 1

Computer Ethicss

· Readings TBA

· Final Exam Review

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