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PHIL 105: Ethics Fall 2004: MWF 2:40 - 3:55, Humphrey House lounge Note: I will be sending announcements, handouts, assignments, and so forth to the class listserv. This listserv includes only your K email address, so make sure email sent there is forwarded to whatever email address you're likely to check frequently. Texts: Harris, Applying Moral Theories (4th ed.)
- Thomson Learning - ISBN 0534505902 Course Description In this course, we will study the nature of morality and immorality.
What makes an act, or a person, morally good? What reasons do we have
for our answers to such questions? What do we mean by the terms "right"
and "good"? Do we have good reasons to act morally? How do
things like intentions, results, emotions, and rights fit into what
is morally good? This course is about moral theory and "meta-theory,"
and thus concentrates on abstract issues about the nature of morality
and moral concepts. To help us really see and feel the motivations and
implications of all of these ideas, the main textbook we're using includes
many passages from literature. Powerful literature and non-academic
writing, such as in Golding's Lord of the Flies, Hugo's Les
Miserables, or King's I Have a Dream, have the power to bring
out our moral intuitions and test our moral ideas in ways that academic
writing rarely can. In the first section of the class, we will study the nature of morality,
including its purpose, the existence of good and evil, and the question
of whether morality is in the end "all relative". In Weeks
3 - 6, we'll be studying three prevalent types of ethical theories:
attempts to provide comprehensive moral standards for what makes actions
right and wrong, or persons good and bad. The theories focus, roughly,
on well-being, duties, and virtues, respectively. We will read defenses,
modifications, and criticisms of each type of theory, as well as literary
passages guiding our thinking and intuitions. Next, we will cover some specific moral issues that are particularly
pressing. Why should we be moral - or do we only have reason to do what's
best for ourselves? How important are freedom, autonomy, and self-respect,
and how should those things fit into a moral theory? As we go along, we will not just concentrate on moral theory in the abstract. We will also study ways to use philosophical theory in our lives. How, specifically, can these theories be applied to real-life situations? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What criteria do they offer for decision-making? The Harris book, Applying Moral Theories, will guide us on these issues with specific case studies to work on. Throughout the course, you will be both learning about what others
have said on these issues and developing your own views. We will be
approaching other views - and our own - with respect and with a critical
eye. The focus will be on providing and assessing arguments for positions,
to try to come to the most thoughtful position possible on these questions.
You will be tested on how well you have learned what these philosophers
have thought, and their reasons and arguments. I will also be assessing
how well you have integrated and gained mastery over the various source
materials and their contributions to the overall issues. In addition,
you will be writing essays in which you take and defend a stand on some
aspect of the positions and arguments. To do so, you will learn about
philosophical methods and concepts. Perhaps most importantly, you will
learn ways to systematize and reasonably think out your moral positions,
as well as to discuss moral issues more productively and fairly with
others. This class will consist of a combination of lecture and discussion.
Since philosophical learning is best done in an environment of discussion,
attendance and participation are expected. You will be responsible for completing the readings before each class,
and being prepared to discuss those readings. You should be aware that
some of the readings in this course will most likely be quite challenging
for you. Give yourself plenty of time to do these readings carefully.
Those who want to truly excel in this class will most likely want to
read each assignment at least twice, and take notes on the readings. Assignments
(for
policies on all assignments and on specific assignments, see “Policies”
section below)
Participation, conduct, and low-intensity assignments:Participation is expected. In a philosophy class of this kind, discussion is absolutely essential,
and may be the way you learn most about the material. I know that participation is difficult for
some people, but you can consider this a safe place to practice contributing
to a group discussion, which you will surely need to do throughout your
life. The rules for classroom civility and discourse
(see below) will help make this an inviting place to contribute your
voice. I will keep general track of your contributions in
class. Keep in mind that contributions
can take various forms, including asking for clarification, participation
in group work, and giving helpful examples.
Keep in mind also that more does not necessarily mean better:
those who excessively dominate discussions, speak disrespectfully, or
otherwise use their voices in a negative way may be penalized for doing
so. If you are in doubt, or if you are interested
in advice about how to participate more effectively or more easily,
ask me. Your conduct in this class includes improvement and
effort. It also includes issues
of respectful behavior, such as tardiness, distracting behavior, or
disrespectful behavior towards members of the class.
See the “policies” section below for more information. The majority of this portion of your grade will be determined by your completion of various low-intensity assignments. You should expect one or two of these a week. These assignments will take various forms, with different purposes and grading criteria. Graded homework assignments
may include 1- to 2-page “response papers” on a specific topic relating
to recent readings. The purpose
of these is to integrate your academic learning of the material into
your personal life and thinking, and to have the experience of constructing
statements of your own reactions to the topics studied.
They are meant to help you see the material as relevant to your
life, and to see yourself as able to take a place in the ongoing debate
about philosophical issues. I
will grade these on the basis of how well I see you trying to do those
things, not on the basis of your ability to regurgitate facts from the
readings, or parrot back to me thoughts I or the philosophers studied
have expressed. Ungraded but required homework
assignments may include things like an answer to a study question
for a reading, a short “free writing” assignment responding to a reading,
a brainstorming session for an upcoming paper or exam, some of your
notes on the reading, one or more question on the reading, or outside
material illustrating an important point in the readings or an application
of them. These assignments serve a couple of purposes.
Most importantly, they are designed to help you get more out
of the material and progress more easily toward the course goals.
For instance, “free writing” for a few minutes on a text you’ve
just read can be a great way to absorb what you’ve read and become aware
of your reaction to it (and what you did and didn’t get in it).
This, in turn, can give the class great material to begin discussion
of the reading during the next class.
That leads to the second purpose ungraded assignments serve,
which is to help me. They help me guide you, give the class something
in common to use in our meetings, and help me see what you are understanding,
thinking, focusing on, and wondering about. The assignments I will designate as ungraded
are those I think it would be unfair and unhelpful to assign a grade
to. Graded and ungraded in-class
assignments may include things like the above homework assignments,
as well as one-minute papers, reading response mini-essays, summaries,
concept maps, oral presentations such as summaries of the last class’s
main points or presentations of homework, or speaking-intensive activities
like role-plays or debates. These
serve the same purposes as homework assignments, for you as individuals
and as a class and for me. Again, I will decide which to grade based on
fairness and helpfulness. Graded
assignments will be graded based on criteria drawn from the expectations
outlined above, in “What you can learn about and gain from this course”
and “What I expect you to achieve.” I will assign homework in class,
and will send out the assignment over email as well. In rare cases I may assign a minimal homework project after
the class before the project is due, in which case I will email you. For instance, I may email you asking you to
send me a copy of one of your answers to the study questions for the
next day’s readings. Please
check your email 24 hours before each class meeting just in case.
For all homework assignments, you must email a copy to me before
class as well as bringing a hard copy with you to class. Although ungraded assignments are
ungraded, missing them has an adverse effect on your grade. For every two ungraded assignments missed,
your “Participation, conduct, and miscellaneous assignments” grade will
be reduced by half a grade (e.g., 85 to 80). I will always let you know whether
an assignment is a graded or ungraded one. If you are unclear on this, do not hesitate to ask! Homework assignments must be emailed
to me before the beginning of class on the day they are due;
in addition, a hard copy must be brought to class (if a hard copy must
also be turned in, I will let you know).
See “Policies” section below for the penalties for late assignments. I strongly encourage you to do homework assignments
on time, since their main purpose is strongly tied to engaging with
material in a precise way at a precise time.
In-class assignments missed because
of a legitimate excuse (for instance, an official sports event) can
be made up; it is your responsibility to see me and find out what you
may have missed and arrange a make-up assignment.
Papers:There
will be 2-3 relatively long papers with specific and detailed sets of
tasks to perform. I will grade these papers based
on several main areas of assessment.
The most important thing is that theyperform the goals they're
meant to perform adequately, but there are various aspects of a paper
that make that happen. These include organization, accuracy, thoroughness,
clarity, accessibility, depth of interpretation, success of illustration
by example, and strength of reasons presented.
Group panel discussion:In
the course of the quarter, we will hold four panel discussions by groups
whose members will have met and constructed a strategy for the sessions. These sessions will last half of a class period
each, and each session will have a quarter of the class members in it.
The panels will be divided in half, with half defending one position
on an issue and the other half defending an opposing position – the
issues and basic positions will be assigned, but many of the details
will be worked out by the group members. Each group will read, in advance, one extra
article that will not be read by the rest of the class. These “debates” will function to
help you grasp the differences between competitors on particular issues. It will give you an opportunity to construct
reasoned arguments about the merits and deficiencies of opposing positions,
and to consider possible objections and responses to those objections. Truly understanding a philosophical issue –
or any issue – involves the possession of a thorough understanding of
the underlying motivations, assumptions, commitments, and argumentative
strategies of contrasting viewpoints.
Furthermore, mastering the issue involves familiarity with the
strengths and weaknesses of the two sides.
Participating in and watching panel discussions like these can
be truly broadening – oh, yeah, and fun, too. Team members will evaluate their
own and each other’s performance on the following dimensions: organization,
acceptance of responsibility, initiative/motivation, creativity, task
completion, attendance, collaboration, participation, attitude, independence,
communication, and responsiveness.
I will evaluate the discussions based on the following dimensions:
appropriate incorporation of reading material, accuracy of representation
of others’ views, clarity, quality of presentation of arguments, helpfulness
of examples or illustrations (if any), overall mastery of the subject,
depth of discussion, cooperation among team members, engagingness of
presentation, success in getting the “audience” on board, organization,
effectiveness, thoroughness, (appropriate) creativity or imagination,
choice of most important aspects to focus on, handling of objections,
division of labor. Be aware that I may choose to
videotape these panel discussions, for grading purposes only.
Final exam:This
will be a comprehensive examination, pulling together everything
we will have done throughout the quarter.
It will be an essay exam, with the tasks going deeper and involving
more mastery than any of the assignments before.
The questions will not merely ask you to present views or define
terms. Rather, they will ask you to really show off
the skills and abilities you’ve gained, as described above in “What
you can learn about and gain from this course” and “What I expect you
to achieve.” I may ask you to compare various approaches
to solving common problems; predict how one view would respond to another;
or integrate topics, theories, or problems.
I may ask you to contrast various assumptions or principles. And I may have you do deeply engaged and personal
type of things such as applying philosophical thinking to your own life
or appraising and criticizing views definitively. These tasks are not necessarily more difficult than earlier
tasks, but they engage your deeper understanding and absorption of the
material. They are tasks that
could only be performed by someone from the confident and competent
position of having worked their way up to earning the privilege of analyzing,
synthesizing, and evaluating. I will give you study materials
before the exam, and hold a separate exam review session.
Policies
Attendance policy: Attendance is expected: three or more unexcused
absences will result in a full grade reduction for the course. Absences will only be excused for required
sports activities or practices or for a dire personal circumstance. Two late arrivals to class will be considered
equivalent to one absence.
Assignment responsibilities:
-
It is your
responsibility to retain copies of all assignments you turn in, in a
reliable format.
-
You must turn in every assignment to me by email or Moodle before class. If you email the assignment, the “subject”
line must include your name and a unique name for the assignment
(e.g., “Sept16 homework”) – I’ll probably tell you the name for each
assignment as I give it. You
can either attach the file or cut-and-paste it into the body of your
email. If you use anything other than Microsoft Word, please submit by
cut-and-paste rather than attachment.
If you want to say anything else to me or ask me anything, send
me a separate email with a different subject line!
-
You must turn
in every graded assignment to me in class, with your name on the
back, written legibly. This
is so no biases of mine interfere with my grading of your work.
-
You must bring
a hard copy of every ungraded assignment with you to class the day it
is due. We may go over it in
class, or I may have people read theirs, or other things might happen
that you’ll want to have it for.
-
Although ungraded
assignments are ungraded, missing them has an adverse effect on your
grade. For every two ungraded
assignments missed, your “Participation, conduct, and miscellaneous
assignments” grade will be reduced by half a grade (e.g., 85 to
80).
-
In-class assignments
missed because of a legitimate excuse (for instance, an official sports
event) can be made up; it is your responsibility to see me and find
out what you may have missed and arrange a make-up assignment.
-
When you turn
in your paper, you must turn in a copy of a rough draft and an outline
of the paper (with your name written on the back of each). I cannot recommend outlining and revising philosophy
papers enough, and so I want to make absolutely sure you’re doing both.
An outline also sometimes helps me understand the intentions
of your paper better.
-
Your paper
will be subject to the following policy regarding Edited Standard Written
English (ESWE). Your final draft
must have no more than an average of two departures from ESWE per page,
in any combination of various areas to be delineated beforehand (e.g.,
nontrivial grammatical errors, punctuation errors, misuse of apostrophes
or quotation marks, misspellings or typos).
I will provide you with a list of resources for working on ESWE
as I will for working on the content of your paper.
I also encourage you to visit the Writing Center to review your
paper. Any paper that fails this ESWE gateway criteria
policy will be assessed a grade of F.
If this happens to you, you will have an opportunity to revise
the paper for resubmission with a penalty of half a grade (e.g., 90
to 85).
Late assignment policy: A copy of each of your assignments is due by email
before class on the day that it is due.
For papers and graded assignments, a hard copy must also be turned
in during class (you must bring hard copies of ungraded assignments
with you to class also; I may ask for them as well).
An
assignment that is between one hour and 24 hours late will receive a
½ grade reduction. An assignment
that is between one day and two weeks late will receive a full grade
reduction. Assignments will not be accepted more than
two weeks late. You will be permitted one “freebie”: an assignment turned in as
much as two days late, no questions asked, as long as you let me know
you’re taking your freebie. Be
mindful not to use it lightly. When
you turn in your “freebie,” have me mark it as such.
If you are turning it in at my office, write “freebie” conspicuously
on it.
Changing grades: if you feel you have been assigned a grade unfairly
or inaccurately, you should by all means talk to me about it. My only requirement is that you prepare an
argument (a set of reasons and facts) before you do so.
Rules of civility and discourse
In
this course, you will be expected to behave like what I’m sure you are
– a civil person interested in entering into an atmosphere that is maintained
to be courteous and respectful. Just
so that my expectations are clear, let me express some specific guidelines. In order to create a smooth and harmonious
learning community,
-
take care not
to disrupt class; please
o
wait until
class is over to pack up
o
turn off cell
phones
o
do not look
at any material other than class material
o
stay awake
during class
o
arrive on time
§
if you must
arrive late, please
·
take a seat
quietly near the door
·
see me after
class to record your lateness, so I do not record you absent
§
Note: two late arrivals to class will be considered the equivalent of
one absence.
-
to allow everyone
to stay focused on the class lecture or discussion,
o
only one person
at a time in the class should be speaking. Side conversations are distracting for surrounding students and
for me.
-
to ensure the
best possible environment for discussion, please
o
no “hogging
the floor”
o
no blaming
or shaming
o
no personal
attacks
o
always respect
the confidentiality of the classroom
o
keep your contributions
aimed at our common goals: discovery, progress, and learning, not
winning, making the “other side” look bad, or getting attention.
§
If you violate
one of these discussion rules, I will likely point it out to you in
class or afterwards.
§
If you think
someone else is violating one of these discussion rules, I encourage
you to raise the issue (without blaming, shaming, or personal attack!) Academic
Integrity
“It
is always important to think of the intellectual world as a community
of mutual dependence, mutual helpfulness, mutual protectiveness, and
common delight. We take ideas from others and we give them
to others. We are indebted to
others, and others are indebted to us.
In sharing and acknowledging the community, we define ourselves
more certainly as individuals. The
ability to describe our sources is also an ability to define our own
originality and our own selves. All
communities depend on generosity, trust, definition, and the proper
use of sources is part of the mortar that holds the community of the
mind together.”
-
Richard Marius,
Expository Writing Program, Harvard University
In this class, as in all classes at Kalamazoo College,
we will be operating under the Honor System. It is important that you familiarize yourself with that system.
You should also familiarize yourself with proper procedures for
collaborating, doing research, and citing sources.
I expect each of you to visit my webpage and read the essay there
called “Plagiarism and How to Avoid It” (http://kzoo.edu/~mcdowell/Academic_integrity_and_plagiarism.htm).
Should you have any questions about citations, plagiarism, or honor
system issues, please visit or contact me.
Any assignment you turn in that I find to violate academic
integrity, either through dishonesty, plagiarism, lack of appropriate
citations, or unauthorized collaboration, will receive a grade of 0. Any further instance of a violation of academic
integrity will be punished by a failing grade in the class as a minimum
sanction.
[1]
Recommendations
for gaining the most you can from this course
A note on reading: don’t succumb
to the misconception that in order to read something you only have to
move your eyes over the lines, or “read it out loud in your head,” so
to speak. What I expect is that
you will read the material in a more sophisticated way, thinking as
you go. You should be asking yourself the main points,
making sure you understand the structure of the reading, thinking about
how this reading relates to others you’ve done, and otherwise working
to comprehend the material, not just to complete a technical
“reading” of it. You might try highlighting, underlining, making
marginal notes, or outlining – whatever helps you focus and understand.
For many people, reading both before and after the lecture makes
it much easier to understand the material.
If you don’t want to read the whole selection again, at least
skim it after you’ve heard about it; it will help it sink in.
It probably saves time over trying to understand it weeks later
before the exam if you didn’t do enough to really comprehend it at the
time it was being taught.
Reading
tips:
When I construct study questions for readings, here are some of the
questions I’m always tempted to include.
Ask them of yourself when you do readings (especially academic
papers).
More class tips:
-
talk to other people about
what you’re studying. Organize
a study group; go to coffee hours; corral your roommate and make him
or her hang out and talk some philosophy with you.
Doing philosophy out loud helps you learn it much better.
-
make good notes. Not just in class, which is essential, but it can also
help to take notes on what you read.
If you’re having to sum up what you’ve read in a few phrases,
you’re having to pay attention and make yourself get the gist of the
reading. Try to take good notes in class – what seems
clear at the time can be baffling or fade away after a little time.
-
explain philosophical ideas
to someone else. You
know that you really understand something if you can explain it to someone
else. If you can’t find someone
to try to explain an argument or theory to, pretend.
Use a dog, mirror or wall and act like it just offered you a
million dollars to explain this philosophical concept in your own words
(hey, it could happen!).
-
on assignments, learn to explain
your answers. The shortest answer is almost never the best one on
an essay philosophy test or paper.
You will usually be expected to say something
about what makes that the right answer, even if it’s a matter of fact. For example, if you’re asked to reconstruct
an argument that you’ve studied, remember to define philosophical terms
and make sure each point is getting across loud and clear. This may mean saying the same thing in more
than one way – that’s okay as long as you’re not just saying it over
and over to fill space. Think
of yourself as telling the reader why
the answer you’ve given is the right answer; what it is about it that
makes it right.
-
do your best to see what’s
good about each view. Even if your gut is telling you a philosophical theory
is dead wrong, you’ll understand it better if you try to figure out
why someone might think it’s right.
Then you can do a better job of deciding what’s wrong about it. You could pretend that you really want this theory or argument to be right
– that it’s your mom’s great idea or if it were right world peace would
happen. Whatever – before you
knock an idea make sure you’ve tried it out thoroughly.
-
try to make it real to yourself. Think about how a philosophical issue might apply to
your interests or your life. Imagine
situations where the answer to a philosophical question matters. Make up your own examples to test theories. Use your creative and imaginative abilities
to try to engage the topic, and you’ll find it more fun than if you
think of it as memorization. And
what’s more fun is easier to learn.
A note on criticism and respect
In
this class, we will be discussing issues that most people find important,
and on which many people have strong opinions.
We will not be merely exchanging opinions, but will be seeking
the truth. In that spirit, everyone’s
contributions will be both respected and open to thoughtful criticism.
We will be approaching other views – and our own – with an open-minded
but critical eye. The focus
will be on providing and assessing arguments for positions, to
try to come to the most thoughtful position possible on these questions.
Be careful not to take it personally if a view that you put forward
is criticized; this is helpful if what we’re after is really
solving the problems.
ResourcesFirst,
I recommend you visit the library’s philosophy research guide, at http://www.kzoo.edu/is/library/depts/phil/index.html
Some especially recommended links: A
philosophical glossary for beginners: http://www.princeton.edu/%7Ejimpryor/general/vocab/glossary.html Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
http://www.rep.routledge.com/
(can reach through library website, “databases and indexes”) Philosophical
dictionary: http://www.philosophypages.com/dy/ Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/ Guide
to Philosophy on the Internet: http://www.earlham.edu/%7Epeters/philinks.htm Guide
to the Study of Philosophy: http://www.philosophypages.com/sy.htm Taking
Notes on Philosophical Texts: http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/courses/notes.htm Guide
to Grammar and Style, with links: http://newark.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/ Writing
Tools (Harvard): http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/html/tools.htm
Special needs
If
you have any special needs that I can accommodate, please let me know
as soon as possible.
This schedule is tentative. Any changes will be announced in class and on the website. The reading assignments listed for each day must be completed before that class. WEEK ONE W What Is the Purpose of Morality? F Good and Evil WEEK TWO W Is Everything Relative? F Is Everything Relative? WEEK THREE WEEK FOUR F Utilitarianism: Mill WEEK FIVE W Applying Utilitarianism WEEK SIX F Applying the Ethics of Respect for Persons WEEK SEVEN W Virtue Theory WEEK EIGHT W Ethics and Egoism: Glaucon's Challenge F Ethics and Egoism: Rand WEEK NINE W Applying Egoism W Freedom, Autonomy, and Self-Respect: psychology and autonomy F Applying the Moral Theories |