Concordia University—Department of Philosophy—Syllabus

General Education: Applied Ethics

PHIL 233 PHIZ 233

Instructor:             Pablo Gilabert, Assistant Professor

                                Office phone: 848 2424 ext. 2520; E-mail: pablo.gilabert (at ) concordia.ca

Office hours: Wednesdays 3-5 pm, or by appointment, in PR 305 (2100 Mackay)

Teaching Assistant:  Jesse Tomalty. Email: j_tomalt (at) alcor.concordia.ca.

Texts and References:

There are two required texts. The first is a collection of articles by Hughes Lafollette Ethics in Practice (second edition). Most of our readings will be found in this book. The second is The Elements of Moral Philosophy (fourth edition) by James Rachels, which contains a useful introduction to several important moral theories. Both books are available in the Concordia Bookstore. A copy of Lafollette’s book will also be on reserve in the Library. If you want to explore any of the topics in our discussion in more depth, I will be happy to provide you with a more detailed bibliography. You can also find many interesting links on my webpage: http://artsandscience.concordia.ca/gilabert/.

Course Description

Ethical reflection (i.e. the rational consideration of what is right and wrong in our social life) includes at least three dimensions. Normative ethics focuses on the identification of basic moral principles and decision-procedures that determine what kinds of acts, practices, and institutions are right and what kinds are wrong. Meta-ethics inquires into the ultimate epistemological and metaphysical status of moral concepts and practices. Applied ethics, finally, is concerned with specific practical issues. In this course we will discuss several difficult and pressing questions in applied ethics. Do people have a right to practice euthanasia? Is it ever permissible to make people act against their will if that would be better for them? Should the use of drugs be penalized? Should we put any limits to the right to free speech? Are affirmative action policies a fair method of securing equality of opportunity among people of different ethnic groups, class background, races and gender? What should be the grounds and goals of criminal punishment, retribution, deterrence, or rehabilitation? What principles should govern the basic structure of a just society? Should we advocate egalitarian distributive principles or leave the free market to decide who ends up better off and who worse off? How should we combat oppression and domination, if at all? Do duties of justice extend beyond national borders? How should we think about international policies regarding immigration, aid, and development? Though the focus of our discussion will be on these specific practical questions, we will also consider the impact that different theories of normative ethics (such as virtue ethics, deontology and utilitarianism) may have (or fail to have) in their consideration.

Course Objectives

The objective of this course is not to teach you what is right and what is wrong, but to provide you with rational tools for critical reflection so that you can generate and assess your own moral views in respectful discussion with others.

Course Requirements

Reading

For each Monday class, a reading will be assigned and I expect you to read it before the class (see the schedule below). Make sure you do the reading for each Monday, as that class session will explore the reading in detail. You should be able to formulate questions about the assigned texts and respond to queries about the most important points made in them. Philosophical texts are not easy, and you should devote time to read them carefully. In addition, you will have to write a short (one page) response to reading questions regarding the material assigned for each Monday session. Wednesday sessions will be devoted to further discussion of the material, and there will be no new assigned readings for them.

Grading

The final course grade will be based on weekly responses to the reading questions (20%), and two take-home exams (40% each).

1. Weekly responses

On a separate hand-out, you will find reading questions for each Monday session. The point of these questions is to facilitate your reading and help you reconstruct the major arguments in the texts. You will have to write a response to one of the three questions listed for each reading. Typewritten, the response should be no more than one single-spaced page. There are two things you should do with this response. First, you will form a learning group with two other students (who will answer the other two questions assigned for each reading) and present your response to your learning group at the beginning of each Monday class. Second, you will hand in your written response to me. I will not grade it, but give it a ‘check’ if your response adequately answers the question. If you have 11 checks (out of a total of 11), you will earn an A+ for this portion of the final grade. 9-10 checks results in an A, 7-8 in a B, 5-6 in a C, 3-4 in a D, and 0-2 in an F. Responses may not be handed in late. (Should you be absent on a Monday, you may email the response to me, but I will only accept it if you email it prior to the class session.)

2. Take-home midterm and final exam

The exams are comprehensive: the midterm covers the material discussed up until that point; and the final covers the material discussed between the midterm and the end of the semester. The exams include questions that you will answer in an essay format. I will give you the questions a few days before you have to hand in your type-written response.

No extensions will be given on exams except for medical reasons, and requests (with appropriate evidence) must be made at least 24 hours before the due date.

Academic Integrity

The academic Code of Conduct makes it clear that plagiarism (‘the presentation of the work of another person [an author of a book, a journal, a fellow student, etc.] as one’s own or without proper acknowledgment’) is not acceptable. There are severe penalties against plagiarism.

Grades

Grading of exams will follow these criteria:

1. A work receiving an ‘A’ fully meets all the expectations and requirements but goes beyond them in its contents and form (i.e. it advances original answers, exceptionally well-constructed arguments, and so on).
2. A work receiving a ‘B’ fully meets all the expectations and requirements (i.e. the work has the appropriate length and format, the answer is well-formulated and arguments defending it are well-constructed).
3. A work receiving a ‘C’ meets the expectations and requirements but not fully (i.e. the claims and arguments are there, but not clearly formulated or sufficiently defended, the text does not fully have the length and format demanded).
4. A work receiving a ‘D’ does not meet the expectations and requirements, even though it appears that the student made an attempt to do so.

F.     An ‘F’ will be given to those works that show no attempt to meet the requirements, or when no work has been handed in.

The details regarding the ‘expectations and requirements’ mentioned above will be made explicit in class.

Class Schedule

               Day                                     Reading assigned*                             Due Dates

* All assigned readings are from Ethics and Practice (second edition) except for those marked with ‘EMP’, which refer to The Elements of Moral Philosophy (fourth edition).