Philosophy 110—Philosophical Ethics
Fall 2010—Glen Helman
Office: Center 200H, 361-6334
My posted hours currently are 10:00-11:00 Monday and 1:30-2:30 on Thursday (but this can change). In addition, I am usually on campus at least from around 9 until 4, and you stand a good chance of finding me in my office whenever I am not teaching (including most noon hours). My other classes meet at 11:20 and 2:10 MWF.
E-mail: helmang@wabash.edu
Home: 1110 W. Main St., 362-0428
This is your best bet evenings and weekends, but try my office too.
Cell phone: 366-0791
Texts
Texts in the bookstore:
Plato, Protagoras (Lombardo and Bell, tr.), Hackett Publishing Co., 1992.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (Irwin, tr.), Hackett Publishing Co., 2000.
Mengzi (Mencius), The Essential Mengzi: Selected Passages with Traditional Commentary (Van Norden, tr.), Hackett Publishing Co., 2009.
Kant, Ethical Philosophy (Ellington, tr.), Hackett Publishing Co., 1995. (The two parts of this book have separate pagination; they’re indicated in the calendar as EG and EM, respectively.)
Mill, Utilitarianism, Hackett Publishing Co., 2002.
Sartre, Existentialism Is a Humanism (Macomber, tr.), Yale Univ. Press, 2007.
Readings on line:
Thomas Nagel, “Ethics,” lecture III of “The Limits of Objectivity,” in Sterling M. McMurrin (ed.), The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, vol. 1 (University of Utah Press and Cambridge University Press, 1980), pp. 119-39. Available on line at the Tanner Humanities Center site:
http://www.tannerlectures.utah.edu/lectures/atoz.html
Annette Baier, “Trust and Antitrust,” Ethics, vol. 96 (1986), pp. 231-260 (on JSTOR at 2381376).
Handout:
Immanuel Kant, The Metaphysical Principles of Right, introduction, §§ A-E.
Requirements
Assignments and grading:
(1)Two short papers (the first paper 2-3 pp. and the second paper 4-5 pp.) on topics arising from the texts you read; I will stipulate the general form of the paper, but the specific topic will be your choice.
(2)A third paper (6-7 pp.) developing your own views on a topic related to what you have read.
(3)A final essay exam testing your grasp of a range of ideas that have appeared during the course (the ideas for which you will be responsible will be distributed in advance).
(4)Regular, prepared, and active participation in class (perhaps including completion of ungraded writing assignments).
Your final grade will be based on these in the following way: 12%, 18%, and 25% for the papers, 25% for the final exam, and 20% for class participation.
Attendance and due dates:
As part of my evaluation of your participation, I will be keeping a record of your attendance. You will be automatically excused if you notify me in advance that you will miss a class (e-mail or voice-mail messages are fine). After the fact, I will expect you to have good reason. Due dates for the papers are subject to negotiation. I set a default due date for the class, but I am willing to set individual due dates (within reason) for those who find that inconvenient. My policy on missed deadlines is similar to that on missed classes: I’ll re-negotiate the deadline (again within reason) if I hear in advance; but after the fact, I’ll expect an excuse. Unexcused missed deadlines will have an effect on your participation grade.
Calendar
The assignments below are approximate and tentative. Often a reading-guide handout will give details of the assignment, and it may include passages that are part of your assignment.