Kursinformation

PHIL 10000. ETHICS, JUSTICE AND SOCIETY Philosophy aims to understand and solve fundamental conceptual problems in all areas of human inquiry. Philosophical reasoning deals with such problems in a systematic and rigorous way. The aim of this course is to introduce the practice of doing philosophy. This course will focus upon questions relating to ethics and political philosophy, and will address methods of argumentation and critical reasoning. [AH, SJ] 

The course is divided into six units. Each unit represents both a historical period and a broad theme. In the first unit, we will discuss some of the foundational texts in the (Western) intellectual tradition on the subject of ethics and justice. In Unit II, we will read influential texts in social & political philosophy in the early modern period (roughly 17th and 18th century). In Unit III, we will read 20th century works that challenge the central ideas discussed in the last unit. For Unit IV, we will learn about some of the major ethical theories, and in Unit V, we will discuss alternative perspectives on ethics that challenges those theories. In the last unit, we will discuss a reading on a relatively new concern in ethics: the environmental. Finally, throughout the semester, we will discuss some of the major contemporary social, political, and ethical issues.