Course
Syllabus
Ethical
Theory
PHIL 430a, Fall 2006
Instructor: Chris
Freiman
Office
Hours: To be announced
Office: Social
Sciences 138
Course
Location and Time:
Office
Phone: 520-621-7098
Email:
cfreiman@email.arizona.edu
Required
Books: Course Packet
Statement
of Academic Freedom:
Students
have the right to engage in reasoned, polite disagreement with the instructor
with no penalty to their grades whatsoever.
Statement of
Academic Integrity:
Students
are adults and will be treated with respect.
Being worthy of respect carries certain responsibilities. Among these is academic integrity. As a
student, you are required to know and abide by all of the university policies
concerning academic integrity.
Plagiarism, including improper paraphrasing, and other forms of cheating
will result in failure of the class and a recommendation of suspension.
The Learning
Environment
Everyone
has the right to participate in a learning environment that emphasizes mutual
respect and free inquiry. The classroom
is a forum for critical discussion in the pursuit of truth.
The
instructor has the right to challenge any beliefs, world-views, ideology, or
attitudes held by the students, even world-views that the students hold
sacred. Students likewise have this
right against the instructor and each other.
Course
Requirements:
Attendance
is not mandatory. There is no penalty
for skipping class, but there is no benefit either. Office hours are intended to help you with
problems, but making up a missed class is not one of those problems.
Your
grade will be determined by two exams and two papers. Each is worth a quarter of your grade. The papers will give you a choice between a
few topics. The tests will consist of
one essay question (which you will pick from a number of choices).
The
paper must be double-spaced, 12 point-font, hard-copy only.
I
will not round up. Nothing below 90
(e.g., 89.97, 89. 5) is an A, nothing below 80 is a B,
and so on.
Missed Exams,
Papers
You
need to make a commitment to doing your work on time. Accidents happen, and we have to deal with
that. Your grade is a measure of
performance, so you need to perform. You
may make up an exam or pass in a paper late only under extraordinary
circumstances for which you are not at fault.
One excellent way of avoiding being late is being early.
Grade Appeals
When
you look back at your college career, you'll be proud of what you learned, not
proud of what grades you received, except insofar as grades reflect learning.
Some
types of tests, such as multiple-choice tests, provide a simple system of
grading that does not call upon the judgment of the instructor. These tests do not promote the right type of
learning.
I'd
rather you learn something, even if that risks you thinking I'm unfair. Inevitably, some of you will think I've
unfairly graded your writing. You should
ask yourself if you are just disappointed over a low grade. If the standards seem too high, you should
adjust your standards. You'll get more
out of life by adjusting to higher standards than trying to have standards
lowered for you.
If
you think I really have made a mistake, please write up an explanation of what
mistake you think I've made and what grade you deserve. I'll reconsider your grade and provide you
with a written explanation of my decision.
Schedule of
This
schedule is rough. We might move things,
including the tests, around.
August
22:
Introduction
24:
Mill, Utilitarianism IV, Firth, “Ethical Absolutism and the Ideal Observer”
29:
31:
Continued
September
5:
Frankena, “The Naturalistic Fallacy”
7:
Sidgwick, The
Methods of Ethics chap III and XIII
12:
Sidgwick, XIV, Moore, sec. 49-57
14:
Ross, The Right and the Good. P. 1-47
19:
Continued
21:
In Class Exam
26:
Ayer, “A Critique of Ethics and Theology,”
28:
Stevenson “The Emotive Meaning of Ethical Terms”
October
3:
Stevenson, “The Nature of Ethical Disagreement,” Foot, “Moral Arguments”
5:
Hare, excerpts from Freedom and Reason
10:
Gibbard, excerpts from Wise Choices, Apt Feelings
12:
First Essay Due, Mackie, “The
Subjectivity of Values”
17:
Harman, “Moral Explanations of Natural Facts—can Moral Claims be Tested Against Reality?”
19:
Sturgeon, “Harman on Moral Explanations of Natural Facts”
24:
Brandt, excerpts from A Theory of the
Good and The Right
26:
Continued
31:
Railton, “Moral Realism,” p. 163-89
November
2:
Railton,“Facts and Values”
7:
“Moral Realism,” p.189-207
9:
Foot, “Does Moral Subjectivism Rest on a Mistake?”
14:
Hursthouse, “Naturalism,” from On Virtue Ethics
16:
Hursthouse, “Naturalism for Rational Animals,” from On Virtue Ethics
21:
Thomson, “The Right and the Good”
23:
NO CLASS
28:
Second Essay Due, Rawls: “Kantian
Constructivism in Moral Theory”
30:
Continued
December
5:
Review