PHIL 1104 Syllabusss 1.1 Spr 17 PDF

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PHIL 1104-17 Spring 2017 Syllabus 1.0, updated 1/17/17

Philosophy and Social Ethics Spring 2017 Professor Thomas Bontly, MAN 204 (Manchester Hall), 860-486-3822, [email protected]. Lectures: MW 2:30-3:20pm in ITE C80 Office hours: Mondays 12:15 – 1:15 and by appointment Teaching assistants TA Rasa Davidaviciute Celine Geday Jordan Ochs Darian Spearman Ryo Tanaka

Office MAN 131 MAN 104 MAN 103 MAN 103 MAN 105

Email [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Sections # 20, 26, 29, 30 17, 18 27, 31, 32, 33 23, 25 19, 22, 24, 28

Introduction We often approach one another from a moral point of view. We say, for example, that Albert did the wrong thing when he cheated on his exam, though perhaps that Betty did the right thing when she returned the wallet she found. And we might judge that the world would be a better place if Clyde would give some of his money to the help the starving, but a worse place if Doris were to microwave her pet aardvark. And some people might judge differently. But in each case, we’re making moral or ethical judgments, judgments about what is right and what wrong. What basis do such claims have? What makes certain acts moral and others immoral? Or are there even facts about right and wrong? Perhaps morality is all just a matter of opinion and we are simply deluding ourselves when we assume that there are such things —rightness, goodness, justice, etc.— to make judgments about. These and similar questions about the nature of right and wrong will occupy a large portion of our attention. In the first half of the course, we will examine some influential theories of ethics: e.g., consequentialism, natural law theory, deontology, and social contract theory. We will also introduce fundamental ideas about arguments and how to evaluate them. The second half of the semester will focus on contemporary moral issues, from abortion to world hunger. What this course aims to do The course has four primary objectives: 1. To develop an understanding of the moral dimensions of various social issues 2. To provide an introduction to moral theory and moral argumentation 3. To improve critical thinking skills in general And most importantly: 4. To spur us to think, to question our assumptions, and to consider fairly alternative points of view.

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PHIL 1104-17 Spring 2017 Syllabus 1.0, updated 1/17/17

What this course does not aim to do It is no aim of this course to tell you what to think about any of the issues to be addressed. Not surprisingly, I do have views on some if not all of the issues to come, as do the TAs. Sometimes we may make our views known, other times not. Either way, however, the goal here is most definitely not to convert anyone. Y ou are free to disagree with my conclusions, object to my arguments, and question my premises. (On the other hand, you are not free to make up your own “facts” as to what (e.g.) Mill did or did not say about some issue. Nor are you free rudely to dismiss what anyone else in the class might say or think. It is fully expected that you will treat others in the class, students and instructors alike, with courtesy and respect.) Text: There is one required text, available at the UConn Co-op: Mark Timmons (ed.) Disputed Moral Issues, 4th edition. Oxford University Press, 2016. (If you can find it, you would be able to get by with the 3rd edition; the differences are minor.) All other required readings will be available via course website. Website: You can access the website thru HuskyCT, https://lms.uconn.edu. Log in with your NetID and click on the link for Phil 1104. There you will find the syllabus, readings, announcements, exam information, etc. The website is constantly under construction and will be updated frequently. (For HuskyCT problems, contact the Learning Resource Center, 860-486-1187; for NetID/password problems, go to https://netid.uconn.edu.) Requirements: Final grades will be determined as follows: 1. Midterm exam (Wednesday March 8): 30% of final grade. 2. Final exam (TBD —check Registrar’s website after March 1): 30% of final grade. (The midterm and final exams will include a mixture of essay, multiple choice, and short answer questions. They are “closed book, closed notes” exams. The final exam will not be cumulative.) 3. Quizzes: 15% of final grade. (These will be posted most weeks on HuskyCT. You may take each quiz as many times as you wish. Only the highest score will be recorded, so there is no reason you can’t get full credit for this requirement. Please attempt the quiz before you attend your discussion section. Each quiz will remain available until Friday evening at 11:59 pm, at which point it will self-destruct.) 4. Homeworks: 15% of final grade. (These will be both assigned and due in your discussion sections. There will be four brief homework assignments during the semester, due in weeks 4, 6, 10, and 12. They will be lightly graded by the TAs -- i.e., the TAs will check to see if you made a serious attempt at the homework, but they will not comment extensively.) 5. Participation in discussion sections (more on which below): 10% of final grade. Participation: People learn most things by doing, and philosophy is no exception. One must engage with the arguments and ideas, which is why participation in discussion sections is required. You can earn participation points by doing such things as: • answering a question raised by another student or by your TA • raising a question of your own • offering an objection to an argument • providing an example If you come to every discussion section and participate regularly (at least once per section) in these ways, you will get 10 out of 10 possible participation points. If you attend every meeting but never 2

PHIL 1104-17 Spring 2017 Syllabus 1.0, updated 1/17/17

participate, the maximum you can earn is 5/10. If you never attend at all, 0/10. In short: the more regularly you attend and participate, the higher your participation grade. (Please note that your TA may at his or her discretion give you specific assignments for discussion. If so, these too will affect your discussion grade.) Policies: •

Please treat others in the course (your TAs as well as your fellow students) with courtesy and respect. Attempts to insult, intimidate, stigmatize, humiliate, mock or demean others are completely inappropriate and will not be tolerated.

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Many of the issues we will discuss this semester are quite controversial. Some no doubt affect individuals in our community quite directly. For this reason, it is absolutely essential that we approach these questions with the seriousness and sensitivity they deserve.

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Participation in discussion sections is crucial, as are preparation and attendance. You should come to discussion fully prepared to discuss the assigned readings. Participation means asking and answering questions, raising objections, commenting on arguments, and so on. (See above.)

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Lecture attendance is not required, though you skip at your own risk. I do post lecture slides on the website, usually at the end of each lecture. Studying these is a good idea, but it is no substitute for attending lectures in person or for doing the reading.

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Use of laptops (tablets, etc) in lecture is STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. (Seriously!). Mounting evidence shows that students who take notes the old-fashioned way do better than students who do so on laptops (even assuming, naively, that those with laptops are actually taking notes – ha!). Don’t believe me? See https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morningmix/wp/2014/04/28/why-students-using-laptops-learn-less-in-class-even-when-they-really-aretaking-notes/.

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If due to extenuating circumstances you cannot take the midterm exam at the scheduled time, please discuss it with your TA well in advance. Otherwise, make-up exams will be given only in case of documented emergency. If you have a conflict with the scheduled final exam, contact the Dean of Students Office to obtain permission to reschedule (per University regulations).

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If you require testing accommodations, please provide your TA with a letter from the Center for Students with Disabilities and make arrangements to take the midterms and final at the Center.

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I do not give “extra credit” assignments. If you wish to improve your grade, the best way to do so is to prepare for the final exam.

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Academic misconduct policy: Plagiarism (cheating) is a serious offense. Any attempt to represent another’s work as one’s own, or to assist others in so doing, earns both a failing grade for the semester and ridicule for cheating in, of all classes, an ethics class. All cases are referred to the Dean of Students for disciplinary review. For University policy, see http://community.uconn.edu/the-student-code-appendix-a/.

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PHIL 1104-17 Spring 2017 Syllabus 1.0, updated 1/17/17

Weekly Schedule of readings, lectures, exams, etc. 1 [W] = reading on website; otherwise, all readings from Timmons (ed) Disputed Moral Issues. Week 1

Date W Jan 18

Lecture Course intro

2

M Jan 23

Arguments

W Jan 25

Arguments continued, plus intro to capital punishment Capital punishment 1: retributivism Capital punishment 2: consequentialism

3

M Jan 30 W Feb 1

4

5

6

7

8

[W] Sober “Inductive and abductive arguments”

Nathanson “An eye for an eye”? Van den Haag “A defense of the death penalty” Reiman “Civilization, safety, and deterrence” *Liebman et al., “Capital attrition: error rates in capital cases, 1973-1995” Timmons “Primer” §2.A (“Consequentialism”) Mill “Utilitarianism” (excerpt) [W] Nozick “The experience machine” [W] Heathwood “Fairing well and getting what you want” [W] Smart “Extreme and restricted utilitarianism”

M Feb 6

Utilitarianism 1

W Feb 8

Utilitarianism 2

M Feb 13

Utilitarianism 3

W Feb 15

Natural law theory

M Feb 20

Doctrine of double effect

W Feb 22

Kant

M Feb 27

Kant

Timmons “Primer” §2.C (“Kantian moral theory”) Kant “The moral law” Kant “The moral law”

W Mar 1

Kant

O’Neill “A Kantian approach to world hunger” (esp. first 2.5 pages)

M Mar 6

Review and catching up

W Mar 8

Midterm exam

Spring Break 9 M Mar 20

Abortion

W Mar 22 10

Reading Singer “The Life You Can Save” (Note: if you haven’t yet procured the Timmons book, you can instead read Singer’s “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” [W], an older paper which makes the same argument) Timmons “A Moral Theory Primer”, §1 (“What is a moral theory?”) [W] Sober “Deductive arguments”

M Mar 27

Timmons “Primer” §2.B (“Natural law theory”) Aquinas “Treatise on natural law” Foot “The problem of abortion and the doctrine of double effect”

Warren Thomson

Social contract theory

Shafer-Landau

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Like most things in this universe, the schedule is subject to change—frequently. Changes will be announced in class and/or posted on the website. If all goes according to plan, I intend to conduct a survey in a few weeks, to determine what issues you would like to cover in the second half of the semester. The schedule for the second half of the semester will then be revised accordingly.

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PHIL 1104-17 Spring 2017 Syllabus 1.0, updated 1/17/17

W Mar 29 11

M Apr 3

Rawls “A theory of justice” (excerpt) Distributive justice

W Apr 5 12

13

M Apr 10

Singer Immigration

Hardin

W Apr 12

Macedo

M Apr 17

Carens

W Apr 19 14

Nozick “The entitlement theory

Climate change

Gardiner

M Apr 24

Singer

W Apr 26

Sinnott-Armstrong

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