Course Description:

In this course, we will explore the place of morality in the contemporary world.  Through careful reading of classic and contemporary works of moral philosophy, we will examine philosophical questions about how morality relates to religion, culture, science, and the good life. 

Course Goals and Learning Objectives:

1)       Understand important philosophical debates about the relationship between morality and religion, culture, science, and human understanding:  You will be able to understand, explain and assess the views of selected major philosophers on the various topics that we study.  This will help you develop your own views about how morality fits into the contemporary world.

2)       Understand the competing accounts of the nature of morality:  We will examine several theories that give various accounts for what makes an action morally correct.  You will be able to explain and compare these various accounts.

3)       Analyze difficult texts and follow complicated arguments more effectively than you can now:  Philosophical texts are difficult.  The topics are often obscure or abstract, and the readings are full of complex arguments.  You will learn to read such texts more effectively.

4)       Articulate complex ideas more clearly than you can now:  One reason that philosophical texts are hard to read is that they are hard to write.  It’s difficult to express complicated ideas clearly.  You will learn to articulate complex ideas more effectively both orally and in writing.

5)       Write better thesis-governed papers:   A thesis-governed paper is a paper in which you give reasons to support a main conclusion, or thesis.  Writing good thesis-governed papers is a central part of contemporary philosophy.  You will improve your ability to write such papers.  This skill will transfer to many other courses, as well as some non-academic contexts.

Success in achieving these goals will be measured by your ability to completed the various course assignments described in the course requirements section.

Required Text:

Steven M. Cahn and Peter Markie, Ethics:History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues, Third Edition. Oxford University Press, 2006