Philosophy 361: Ethics

Fall, 2005. Lecture (Sec. 001) MW 11–12, 1200 Chemistry Building. Discussion sections:

002 (Gibbard), MW 3–4, 2271 Angell Hall;
004 (Carbonell), MW 1–2, 1096 East Hall;
005 (Carbonell), MW 2–3, 232 Dennison Building.

Allan Gibbard, gibbard@umich.edu, phone 764-6892, office Angell Hall 2187.

A current version of this syllabus will be kept posted at

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gibbard/sy361f05.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? At the heart 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.

Requirements: The course requires three fairly short papers, a midterm exam, and a final exam, along with possible brief exercises, attendance at lectures and discussion sections, and participation in discussion. The papers are due October 12, November 9, and December 7. The midterm exam is on October 26 in class, and the final exam is Tuesday December 20, 4–6 p.m. (Make sure you will be able to be at the final exam.)

Preparation for the course: It is assumed that you have some familiarity with philosophy in the "analytic" tradition, but you needn't have taken a course in ethics before. Any philosophy introduction taught by the Department of Philosophy at the University of Michigan should be good preparation, and students should not take this course if they have not had a substantial introduction to philosophy. (Alternatives: Philosophy 355 and 356 are designed for otherwise sophisticated students who may not have taken any previous philosophy courses. Philosophy 429, 431, 432, and 433 are excellent courses for someone who has already taken a course in ethical theory like this one.

Participation: We meet together for two lectures per week, and in smaller sections for recitation/discussion. The course is designed for active participation, and so regular attendance is required for both lecture and section. Please let us know your thoughts, what's puzzling you, where you're lost and where things are getting too glaringly obvious. In the lectures, questions, discussion, and debate are welcome (although we might at times have to cut it off and leave it for sections). At the end of a lecture, I may ask for brief questions and philosophical thoughts on a sheet of paper.

Time demands: It is assumed that for each two hours of lecture and discussion, you will spend about four hours outside class in careful reading, thinking, note-taking, short assignments, and paper writing, making about eight hours of work outside of class each week. (The course thus constitutes about one-quarter of a serious full-time course load.) Besides the major assignments of 5-page papers and exams, there will probably be brief, half-page exercises due at many section meetings. These will be required, and not turning them in in satisfactory form would affect your course grade, but these short exercises will not be formally graded.

[Note: A few things should go without saying, but with apologies for what I hope must be an insult to your intelligence, I spell them out: (1) The work must be your own, and academic dishonesty would result in failing the course, along with the usual other possible penalties. (2) All requirements of the course must be met if you are to receive a passing grade for the course. (3) Regular attendance of class sessions is required.]

Textbook

POJMAN, Louis P. (ed.)
Ethical Theory: Classic and Contemporary Readings (fourth edition, 2002)
Wadsworth – Thompson Learning. ISBN 0-534-57033-X

Syllabus

Ethical Relativism and Ethical Objectivism

Mon. Sept. 12 (wk. 1):

· 1.1 Plato (8–14), 2.1 Herodotus (20), 2.2 Aquinas (20–33)

Wed. Sept. 14:

· 2.3 Benedict (33–38), 2.4 Pojman (38–51), 2.5 Harman (52–61)

Ethical Egoism

Mon. Sept. 19 (wk. 2):

· 3.1 Hobbes (66–78), 3.2 Feinberg (79–90)

Wed. Sept. 21:

· 3.3 Medlin (90–95), 3.4 Kalin (95–108)

Value

Mon. Sept. 26 (wk. 3):

· 4.1 Bentham (115–117), 4.2 Nozick (118–119), 4.3 Taylor (120–126), 4.4 Nietzsche (127–134)

Wed. Sept. 28:

· 4.5 Parfit (134–140), 4.6 Nagel (141–150)

Utilitarianism

Mon. Oct. 3 (wk. 4):

· 5.1 Mill (155–176)

Wed. Oct. 5:

· 5.2 Smart (177–183), 5.3 Nielsen (183–191), 5.4 Williams (192–201)

Mon. Oct. 10 (wk. 5):

· 5.5 Hospers (201–210), 5.6 Nozick (211–214), 5.7 Foot (215–224)

Wed. Oct. 12:

· First short paper due

Fall break Mon. Oct. 17

Wed. Oct. 19 (wk. 6):

· 5.8 Scheffler (224–233), 5.9 Jeske & Fumerton (233–240), 5.10 Singer (241–248)

Kantian and Deontological Systems

Mon. Oct. 24 (wk. 7):

· 6.1 Kant (255–275)

Wed. Oct. 26:

· Midterm Exam

Kantian and Deontological Systems (cont.)

Mon. Oct. 31 (wk. 8):

· 6.2 Ross (275–283), 6.3 O'Niell (284–294), 6.4 Nagel (294–302)

Wed. Nov. 2:

· 6.5 Foot (302–309), 6.6 Thomson (309–318), 6.7 Quinn (318–328)

Virtue-Based Systems

Mon. Nov. 7 (wk. 9):

· 7.1 Aristotle (333–346), 7.2 Mayo (347–349), 7.3 Frankena (350–355)

Wed. Nov. 9:

· Second short paper due in Section

20^th Century Metaethics

Mon. Nov. 14 (wk. 10):

· 8.1 Hume (405–412), 8.2 Moore (412–418), 8.3 Ayer (419–424)

Wed. Nov. 16:

· 8.4 Hare (425–432), 8.5 Warnock (433–440)

Moral Realism and Skepticism

Mon. Nov. 21 (wk. 11):

· 9.1 Mackie (446–456), 9.2 Harrison (456–465)

Wed. Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving eve):

· 9.3 Harman (465–474), 9.4 Sturgeon (474–485)

Morality and Self-Interest

Mon. Nov. 28 (wk. 12):

· 10.1 Plato (540–546), 5.3 Gauthier (546–558), 5.4 Kavka (559–571)

Religion and Ethics

Wed. Nov. 30:

· Part XI: 11.1 Plato (600–601), 11.2 Kant (602–606), 11.3 Russell (606–610), 11.4 Mavrodes (611–618), 11.5 Nielsen (619–624)

Evolution and Ethics

Mon. Dec. 5 (wk. 13):

· Part XII.A: A.1 Darwin (630–643), A.2 Wilson (644–646), A.3 Ruse (647–662), A.4 Sober (663–674), A.5 Mackie (674–680)