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M. Cahn,
P. Markie
Ethics:
History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues
Theaetetus by Plato
The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca: Essays and Letters
Plato
Aristotle
Epicurus
Epictetus
Seneca
Justin the Martyr
Peter Abelard
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Hobbes
David Hume
Immanuel Kant
J.S. Mill
John Dewey
G.E. Moore
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| time & place |
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Monday & Wednesday, 12:00 - 1:15
Amador Hall, Room 217
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 2:00-3:00
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| description |
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CSUS Catalog Description: This course allows students to develop an understanding and appreciation of ethics in a broad sense. Units: 3.0. General Education Area C3: Introduction to the Humanities.
Description for my section: When we strive to live as ethical individuals, or struggle to promote a more ethical society, upon what foundation do we secure our principles? Do we primarily use reason to deduce them from some deeper, more fundamental set of philosophical principles, themselves similarly deduced? Or do we primarily inherit our ethical principles from theological tradition as revealed truths rather than reasoned truths? If the answer is both, then where and how do these methods intersect? Can ‘revealed’ ethical principles be analyzed rationally? Do ‘reasoned’ philosophical principles involve faith-based presuppositions (e.g., belief that the universe is truly a ‘reasonable’ and ‘objectively real’ place)?
In this course we will examine these and related questions by surveying the works of several major thinkers in philosophical ethics, from the Classical and Hellenistic periods through the 20th Century. Along the way, we’ll apply our analyses to several present-day ethical controversies which we will examine within the context of our readings. |
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| requirements |
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Our work will primarily be lecture
and discussion, so both careful attention to the readings and class
participation will be crucial for a lively course. Please bring texts
to class.
EXAMINATIONS
There will be two examinations--one take-home mid-term paper and one final--as well as several unannounced short answer quizzes on the readings. All written work must comply with Philosophy Department guidelines, which can be found here. The departmental grading policy for written work can be found here.
PHONES AND COMPUTERS
Phones, laptops, tablets, and all other electronic multi-media devices are NOT permitted in class. For my reasoning, please refer to my colleague Dr. Merlino's excellent explanation.
POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS AND PRE-OUTLINED LECTURES
I do not use these in my courses (other than for the occasional diagram, table, graph, or some other image of this kind.) The ability to listen attentively to a lecture or discussion, follow its structure, identify its key points, and take proper notes, is crucial. If this is done for you via Powerpoint slides, or lecture outlines (whether pre-distributed or written on the chalkboard), you are denied the opportunity to exercise and strengthen this ability, or develop it in the first place if you haven't already. It is not difficult, but requires effort. Whatever your intended profession, this is an ability that you will need, and one that many employers lament is deficient or even non-existent in recent college graduates.
For other arguments against Powerpoint-based lectures, including scientific studies demonstrating their hazards, see this article by Edward Tufte, Professor Emeretus of Political Science, Computer Science and Statistics, and Graphic Design at Yale University; see also this article on the work of Dr. John Sweller, University of New South Wales. Finally, see the following paper by R. Mayer, J. Heiser, and S. Lonn, "Cognitive Constraints on Multimedia Learning: When Presenting More Material Results in Less Understanding." Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol. 93:1 (2001): 187-198
ATTENDANCE
Given the above, it is impossible to succeed in this course if you miss the lectures. To encourage attendance, students are permitted only 2 unexcused absences.
Note: Anyone who misses 2 lectures in the first 2 weeks of class will be administratively dropped per CSUS policy. This is to make room for serious students who are attempting to add. |
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| texts |
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M. Cahn, P. Markie, Ethics: History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues (4th Ed.) Oxford University Press (2008): ISBN: 0195335961
Theaetetus by Plato, Penguin Books (1987): ISBN: 0140444505
The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca: Essays and Letters . Moses Hadas, trans. W. W. Norton & Company (1968): ISBN: 0393004597
These are available at the university bookstore. Other readings will be made available for viewing or download here. |
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| grading |
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| Class
participation: |
15% (4 or more unexcused absences results in 0%.) |
| HW & Quizzes: |
25% |
| Mid-term
exam: |
25% |
| Final
exam: |
35% |
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Academic Standards: All sources in papers must be cited and given appropriate credit. The author of any information from the Internet must be given credit; using such information without indicating the
source constitutes plagiarism, as it would with print publications. Students are allowed to discuss lectures and even assignments with each other, but they must do their own work. Students are required to read the University policy on academic honesty, which can be found here. |
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| Students with Disabilities: If you have a documented disability and require accommodation or assistance with assignments, tests, attendance, note taking, etc., please see the instructor during the first week of the semester so that appropriate arrangements can be made to ensure your full participation in class. Also, you are encouraged to contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (Lassen Hall) for additional information regarding services that might be available to you. |
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| Outcomes: Students will have achieved a familiarity with the works of several major thinkers in philosophical ethics, from the Classical and Hellenistic periods through the 20th Century. Students will also be familiar with the application of our analyses of these works to present-day ethical controversies examined within the context of these readings. |
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| lecture schedule - summary view |
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| Week 01: 8/27 |
Introduction:
Plato |
Plato: Theaetetus |
| Week 02: 9/03 |
Plato: Theaetetus |
Plato: Republic 6, 7 |
| Week 03: 9/10 |
Aristotle |
Aristotle |
| Week 04: 9/17 |
Aristotle |
Aristotle |
| Week 05: 9/24 |
Epicurus, Epictetus |
Seneca |
| Week 06: 10/01 |
Seneca |
Justin, First Apology |
| Week 07: 10/08 |
Abelard's Ethics |
Abelard's Ethics |
| Week 08: 10/15 |
MIDTERM OUT |
NO CLASS |
| Week 09: 10/22 |
Aquinas - MIDTERM BACK |
Aquinas: On Virtue |
| Week 10: 10/29 |
Hobbes |
Hume |
| Week 11: 11/05 |
Hume |
Kant |
| Week 12: 11/12 |
Kant |
J.S. Mill |
| Week 13: 11/19 |
Nietzsche |
Nietzsche |
| Week 14: 11/26 |
G.E. Moore |
Relativism I |
| Week 15: 12/03 |
Relativism II |
Relativism II |
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| lecture schedule - detailed view |
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'D'
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Website download |
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'E'
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Ethics:
History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues by M. Cahn, P.
Markie |
| 8/27 |
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Introduction; pre-Socratic Philosophy, the sophists, overview of Plato |
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CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS |
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Plato |
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Theory of knowledge: Theaetetus |
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| 9/03 |
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Plato |
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Theory of knowledge: Theaetetus |
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Theory of knowledge: Republic, Books 6-7 (E, 96-107) |
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| 9/10 |
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Aristotle |
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Nicomachean Ethics, Books 1-3, Book 5 (E, 124-151) |
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Nicomachean Ethics, Book 6 (E, 151-157), Books 8-10 (E, 161-177) |
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| 9/17 |
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Aristotle |
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Wrap-up |
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| 9/24 |
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Epicurus |
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"Letter to Menoeceus" & "Leading Doctrines" (E, 178-183) |
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Epictetus |
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"Enchiridion" (E, 183-194) |
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Seneca |
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"On the Shortness of Life" |
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| 10/01 |
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Seneca |
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"Letter 92: The Happy Life" |
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EARLY CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY |
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Justin Martyr |
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"First Apology" (D) |
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MEDIEVAL THEOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS |
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| 10/08 |
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Abelard |
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Ethics (D) |
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| 10/15 |
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NO CLASS THIS WEEK - I will be away at a conference. |
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MID-TERM EXAM DISTRIBUTED |
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| 10/22 |
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Thomas Aquinas |
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The role of philosophy in theology; a discussion of The Good. |
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Summa Theologica, I, qq.1,5,6 (D) |
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Virtue, Natural Law |
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Summa Contra Gentiles (selections, E, 202-217) |
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MID-TERM EXAM COLLECTED IN CLASS, OCT 25. |
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EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS |
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| 10/29 |
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Hobbes |
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Morality, self, and the social order |
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Leviathan (selections, E, 218-228) |
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Hume |
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Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (selections, E, 255-279) |
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| 11/05 |
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Hume (continued) |
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Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (selections, E, 255-279) |
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Kant |
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Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals (selections, E, 280-318) |
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| 11/12 |
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Kant (continued) |
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Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals (selections, E, 280-318) |
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19th & 20th CENTURY PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS |
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J.S. Mill |
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Utilitarianism (E, 327-361) |
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| 11/19 |
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Nietzsche |
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On the Genealogy of Morals (E, 362-394) |
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| 11/26 |
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G.E. Moore |
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Principia Ethica (selections, E, 423-429) |
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Relativism Part I |
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Allan Wood, "Relativism" (D) |
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J.L. Mackie, "Relativism and the Claim to Objectivity" (D) |
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Richard Brandt, "Relativism and the Ultimate Disagreements about Ethical Principles" (D) |
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All readings here in one file. |
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| 12/03 |
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Relativism Part II |
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Gilbert Harman, "The Nature of Morality" (E, 625-635) |
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Alasdair MacIntyre, "Moral Disagreements" (D) |
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James Rachels, "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" (E, 651-658) |
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MONDAY, 12/3:
FINAL EXAM ESSAY PROMPT DISTRIBUTED IN CLASS: FINAL EXAM DUE 12/12 BY 11 AM IN THE PHILOSOPHY DEPT. OFFICE (MND. 3000).
THE EXAM CAN BE DOWNLOADED VIA SAC CT. |
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| 12/12 |
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FINAL EXAM - DUE BY 11 AM IN THE PHILOSOPHY DEPT. OFFICE (MND. 3000). SEE DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON THE EXAM. |
Additional Information
Satisfies Area C3: Intro to the Humanities
Learning Objectives:
- Develops a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the cultural heritage in the humanities.
- Focuses on ideas and values of various cultures and traditions as expressed in their philosophies.
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