phi110F15syll

Phi 110—Philosophical Ethics
Fall 2015—Glen Helman

Instructor: Glen Helman, Assoc. Prof. of Philosophy and Acting Chair

Office: Center 311, (765) 361-6334

My posted hours currently are 2:30-3:30 on T and 3:10-4:10 on F (but this can change). I usually arrive on campus between 9 and 10 and leave between 5 and 6, and you stand a good chance of finding me in my office whenever I am not teaching. My other classes meet at 11 and 2:10 MWF. (While I am in my office most noon hours, the noon hour is also a common time for meetings and other events, as is the afternoon after 4.)

Home: 314 W. Wabash Ave., (765) 362-0428

This is your best bet evenings and weekends, but try my office too.

Cell phone: (765) 366-0791

Texts

In the bookstore:

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Irwin (tr.), 2nd ed., Hackett, 2000.

Mengzi, The Essential Mengzi, Van Norden (tr.), Hackett, 2009.

Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Ellington (tr.), Hackett, 1993.

Mill, Utilitarianism, Sher (ed.), Hackett, 2002.

Sartre, Existentialism and Human Emotions, Frechtman, Barnes (trs.), Citadel, 1987.

On the web:

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 lectures site:

http://tannerlectures.utah.edu/lecture-library.php#n

Annette Baier, “Trust and Antitrust,” Ethics, vol. 96 (1986), pp. 231-260 (on JSTOR at 2381376).

Handouts (will also be available on the website and Canvas):

Plato, Euthyphro (handout: 1up for viewing, 2up for printing, bkl for printing as a booklet)

Plato, selections on injustice and ignorance (handout)

Kant, selections from the Metaphysics of Morals (handout)

G. E. Moore, selections from Principia Ethica (handout)

Grading

Requirements:

Writing:

Two short papers—

(1)a first paper of 600-900 words (due 9/22) and

(2)a second paper of 1200-1500 words (due 10/22)

—on topics arising from the texts you read (I will assign the general form of the paper and the type of topic, but the specific topic will be your choice); and

(3)a third paper of 1800-2100 words (due 12/3)

developing your own views on a topic related to what you have read.

Exam:

A final

(4)essay exam

testing your grasp of a range of ideas that have appeared during the course. (You will know in advance the ideas for which you will be responsible.)

Participation:

Regular, prepared, and active

(5)participation in class discussion

and timely completion of assignments (perhaps including occasional short 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 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 a 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

Detailed calendar. The assignments below are approximate and tentative. Sometimes a reading-guide handout will specify the details of an assignment, and it may include passages that are part of your assignment.

8/27		introduction
9/1	Plato	Euthyphro (handout)
9/3		selections from Plato on injustice and ignorance (handout)
9/8	Aristotle	Nicomachean Ethics (NE), bk. i, chs. 1-12
9/10		NE, bk. i, ch. 13; bk. ii
9/15		NE, bk. iii, chs. 1-5; bk. vi, chs. 1-2, 5, 7-9, 11-13
9/17		NE, bk. iii, chs. 10-12; bk. vii, chs. 1-10
9/22	ppr1	NE, bk. v, chs. 1-7
9/24		NE, bk. viii, chs. 1-3, 12-14; bk. ix, chs. 4, 8-9
9/29		NE, bk. x, chs. 4-9
10/1	Mengzi	Mengzi, 1A (1, 7), 1B (5-6, 8), 2A (2, 6), 2B (9), 4A (10), 4B (11-12, 19, 26), 5B (1)
10/6		Mengzi, 6A (1-11, 15-17, 19), 6B (4, 15), 7A (1, 4, 15, 17), 7B (16, 31, 37)
10/8		Mengzi, 2B (2), 3A (2, 4-5), 3B (9), 4A (17-18, 27), 4B (6), 5A (2), 5B (4, 7-9), 6B (1, 14), 7A (26, 35, 43, 45), 7B (33)
10/13	Kant	Grounding for the Meta. of Morals, intro. & sect. I (1-17)

10/20		Grounding, sect. II (19-32)
10/22	ppr2	Grounding, sect. II (32-48)
10/27		Grounding, sect. III (49-62)
10/29		sels. from Meta. of Morals (handout); “On a Supposed Right to Lie” (Grounding, 63-67)
11/3	Mill	Utilitarianism, chs. 1-2
11/5		Utilitarianism, chs. 3-4
11/10		Utilitarianism, ch. 5
11/12	Moore	sels. from Principia Ethica (handout)
11/17	Nagel	“Ethics,” lect. III of “The Limits of Objectivity” (pdf available at the Tanner lectures site)
11/19	Sartre	Existentialism and Human Emotions, pp. 9-29
12/1		Existentialism, pp. 29-51
12/3	ppr3	Existentialism, pp. 52-59, 91-96
12/8		“Trust and Antitrust,” pp. 231-47 (on JSTOR)
12/10		“Trust and Antitrust,” pp. 247-60 (on JSTOR)
12/15	Tu 1:30	exam