Schedule of Assignments, Philosophy 101, Fall 2009
1. Aug 25: Introduction
The Nature of Morality
2. Aug 27: CH 1, What is Morality? James Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy 6th edition), (hereafter, EMP), pp. 1-13
Objectivity, Subjectivity, and Relativism in Ethics and Aesthetics
3. Sept 1: CH 2, Cultural Relativism, EMP 14-31
a. Course web page: “Battle Over Patriotism Curriculum,” “Men stoned to death for adultery” “The Ritual: Disfiguring, Hurtful, Wildly Festive,” and “Village by Village, Circumcising a Ritual”
4. Sept 3: Course web page: Holmes Rolston, “Does the Aesthetic Appreciation of Landscapes Need to be Science-Based?”
5. Sept 8: CH 3, Subjectivism, EMP 32-47
Philosophy of Religion
6. Sept 10: Ereserves: Richard Taylor "God,"
7. Sept 15: Ereserves: Bertrand Russell "Why I Am Not A Christian"
a. Class webpage: “Can Nonbelievers Be Saved?”
b. Class webpage: “More Atheists Shout from the Rooftops”
8. Sept 17: Class Web Page: William James, “The Will to Believe,” 370-379
a. Class Web Page, Louis Pojman, “Faith, Hope, and Doubt” 412-422
9. Sept 22: Ereserves: Fyodor Dostoevsky, "The Sufferings of Little Children"
a. Ereserves: John Hick,"The Problem of Evil"
b. Ereserves: John Hick, "Evil and the Infinite Future Good"
10. Sept 24: CH 4, Does Morality Depend on Religion? EMP 48-61
Egoism
11. Sept 29: CH 5, Psychological and Ethical Egoism, EMP 62-79
Social and Political Philosophy
12. Oct 1: CH 6, The Idea of a Social Contract, EMP 80-96
13. Oct 6: Ereserves: Joel Feinberg, “Hard Cases for the Harm Principle”
14. Oct 8: Catchup day
FALL BREAK
15. Oct 15: MIDTERM EXAM
Utilitarianism, Animals, and Environmental Ethics
16. Oct 20: CH 7, The Utilitarian Approach, EMP 97-108
17. Oct 22: Class web page: Mark Sagoff, “Animal Liberation and Environmental Ethics: Bad Marriage, Quick Divorce”
18. Oct 27: CH 8, Debate over Utilitarianism, EMP 109-123
Punishment and the Ethics of Respect
19. Oct 29: CH 9, Are There Absolute Moral Rules, EMP 124-135
PAPER PROPOSAL DUE (Friday, Oct 30, 14 Glebe mailbox)
20. Nov 3: CH 10, Kant and Respect for Persons, EMP 136-145
Metaphysics: Mind and Body, Personal Identity, and Free Will
21. Nov 5: Class web page: Thomas Nagel, “The Mind-Body Problem”
22. Nov 10: Class web page: Daniel Dennett, “Where Am I?”
23. Nov 12: Class web page: Thomas Nagel, “Free Will”
Feminism and Feminist Ethics
24. Nov 17: CH 11, Feminism and the Ethics of Care EMP 146-157
25. Nov 19: Class web page: John Stuart Mill, “The Subjection of Women”
PAPER DUE (Friday, Nov 20, 1pm, 14 Glebe mailbox)
Conclusions about Moral Theory
26. Nov 24: CH 13, The Ethics of Virtue, EMP 158-172
THANKSGIVING BREAK
27. Dec 1: Class web page: Philip Cafaro, “Gluttony, Arrogance, Greed and Apathy: An Exploration of Environmental Vice”
28. Dec 3: CH 14, What Would a Satisfactory Moral Theory Be Like? EMP 173-183
FINAL EXAM (For date, see syllabus)