See Syllabus for this information and more
Fall 2005. MW 11-12, Room 1200 Chemistry Building.
Discussion sections: 002 MW 3-4, 3427 MH; 004 MW 1-2 1096
EH; 005 MW 2-3 232 DENN
Instructor; Allan Gibbard (gibbard@umich.edu)
Prerequisite: One philosophy introduction.
Course Homepage: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gibbard/p361f05.htm
This is a course in philosophical ethics. We'll inquire into
questions like these: Is there anything one can say in a principled way
about what is valuable, what is worth wanting for its
own sake? Can we say that certain acts are morally required and
certain other acts are wrong? And what do terms like 'valuable'
and 'morally wrong' mean? Is there ever good reason to go against one's
own long term self-interest on moral grounds? The core of the course
will be an examination of three central traditions of European moral
philosophy, typified by Aristotle, Kant, and Mill. We will also do a
section on metaethics—questions about what moral terms mean and
how ethical conclusions can be justified; this part will draw
chiefly on sources from this century. Lecture and discussion. Brief
daily exercises, three 5-page papers, a midterm, and a final exam.