SYLLABUS, FALL '04

Read:

• Feldman, Morality and Ethics
• Shaw, The Nature of Morality
• Regan, Ethical Thinking and Theory
• Rachels, "A Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy" (in Armstrong and Botzler, Environmental Ethics)
  • Suggested: William Graham Sumner: Folkways (excerpt) (Password, "hobbes")
  • Suggested:Emil Brunner: The Divine Imperative, John Arthur, Morality Without God (password "hobbes")
  • Suggested: Plato, The Myth of Gyges and Rand: The Virtue of Selfishness; (password "hobbes")
• Rachels, Some Basic Points about Arguments" (in Armstrong and Botzler, Environmental Ethics)
• Holmes Rolston III, "Environmental Ethics: Values in and Duties to the natural World"  (in Armstrong and Botzler, Environmental Ethics)

Exercises / Homework

• Exercise #1
• Exercise #2

LECTURE-OUTLINES:

 METAETHICS  (Updated, September 2003)

• Ethics as a Part of Philosophy
• Parts and Structure of Ethical Inquiry
• The Concept of Morality (or What Counts as a Moral Judgment),
• Morality as a Normative System
• VARIOUS KINDS OF JUDGMENTS (summary and classification of various kinds of judgments as descriptions, norms, meta-judgments, etc.)
• RATIONALITY OF MORALITY  (September 25, 2003) 
• ETHICAL RELATIVISM, UNIVERSALISM, AND ABSOLUTISM 
• Do Animals Have Compassion? (An experiment on animals)

• NORMATIVE ETHICS (I) (October 2000)
  • The Structure of Ethical Theory,
  • Consequentialism, Classical Utilitarianism
  • Deontology
  • How to work with a matrix of utilities (February 22, 2001)
• Intrinsic Value and the Isolation Test (September 12, 2001)
• NORMATIVE ETHICS (II) -- B.Gert on Morality (Link to Gert's article) (August 2000)

•  ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
  • (1) A short Guide to (August 2000) 
  • (2) Singer On Animal Liberation (November 2000)
  • (3) The Moral Basis for Environmental Ethics (November 2000)

 Link to Sterba

Link to Singer-Regan Exchange

SOME OLD STUFF (so students can see what my old quizzes and test look like)

The Final Test
Exercise #1 (Metaethics) -- Due Tuesday September 17
Homework -- due 1st meeting after Thanksgiving. Summarize Michael Pollan position presented in his "An Animal's Place." How does he arrive at this position (max 2 pages).

FACTORY FARMING PHOTOS	VEGETARIAN DIET	FACTS ABOUT  ANIMAL FARMS
Battery Chickens, Battery Egg Hens Pork Farming, Veal Farming Factory Cows/transportation PETA Photo Gallery	Buddhism and Vegetarianism Seppo Ed Farrey, et al, 3 Bowls : Vegetarian Recipes from an American Zen Buddhist Monastery. David Scott, Tom Pappas, Three Bowl Cookbook : The Secrets of Enlightened Cooking from the Zen Mountain. Recipes from PETA's cookbook	Pork production , "Boss Hog: North Carolina Pork Revolution," (the Pulitzer Prize wining series of articles) by Pat Stith, Joby Warrick, and Melanie Sill and Laying Hens, Poultry Dairy Cows, Beef Worker Exploitation

 

• HOMEWORK, QUIZZES, ETC.

   

  • Professional Ethics

    Philosophy home

    Stef's home page

    Andy's home page