Philosophy 266        Fall 2002

ETHICS

( GHI ) W 2.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m.    205 University Center 
 
 

Professor: James E. Mahon

Office:  24 Newcomb Hall

Office Hours: TTH 2.30 p.m. - 4.00 p.m.

(and by appointment)

E-mail:  mahonj@wlu.edu

Tel.:  458-8051 
 

Homepage: http://home.wlu.edu/~mahonj 
 

Course page: http://home.wlu.edu/~mahonj/Ethics.htm 
 
 

PARTICIPATION

Readings will be assigned for every class. Students will be asked questions on the day's reading and will be expected to contribute to the class discussion. Participation in class will count towards the grade for the course. 
 

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

Students will have to write one assignment, at least two pages in length, every week, unless it is a week in which they have to write a paper. The assignment will take the form of an answer to a question about the reading. Each assignment will be awarded an individual grade. At the end of the term, a cumulative grade will be awarded for the assignments. 
 

THREE PAPERS

Students will have to write three 8-10 page papers for this course. Papers should be typed (double-spaced). More details (about margins, the correct use of secondary sources, citations, and so forth) will be given when the first paper is assigned. Each paper will be awarded an individual grade. The due dates for papers are given in the Class Schedule below. Students who hand in their papers after the due date will be penalized a letter grade, unless they have obtained prior permission from me. 
 

FINAL EXAMINATION

There will be a final 3-hour examination in this course. The examination will range over the entire course.  
 

BREAKDOWN OF COURSE GRADE 
 

Participation    10 %

Written assignments   10 %

Three papers    60 %

Final examination   20 % 
 

REQUIRED TEXTS

Shelly Kagan, Normative Ethics (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1998)

J. J. C. Smart and Bernard Williams, Utilitarianism: For and Against (Cambridge: Cambridge

              University Press, 1973)

Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals and On a Supposed Right to Lie from 

                     Philanthropy, trans. James W. Ellington (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1993)

Marcia W. Barron, Philip Pettit and Michael Slote, Three Methods of Ethics: A Debate

                     (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997)

Peter Singer, ed., Applied Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986) 
 

SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLES

Simon Blackburn, 'Looking Out for Yourself’, Chap. 5, Ruling Passions (Oxford:

                     Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 122-160

Michael Stocker, 'The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories’, [1976] in Roger Crisp and

                     Michael Slote, eds., Virtue Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 66-78

Susan Wolf, 'Moral Saints', [1982] in Virtue Ethics, p. 79-98

Shelley Kagan, 'Does Consequentialism Demand Too Much? Recent Work on the Limits of

                        Obligation', Philosophy and Public Affairs 13 (1984), p. 239-254

Thomas Nagel, ‘War and Massacre’, Philosophy and Public Affairs 1 (1972), p. 123-144

Peter Singer, 'Famine, Affluence and Morality', Philosophy and Public Affairs 1 (1972), p. 229-243

Peter Unger, 'Illusions of Innocence: An Introduction', Chap. 1, Living High and Letting Die

                         (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 1-23

Warren Quinn, 'Actions, Intentions and Consequences: The Doctrine of Double Effect’ [1989], in

                           P. A. Woodward, ed., The Doctrine of Double Effect (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of

                           Notre Dame Press, 2001)

Tom Beauchamp, 'Suicide', in Tom Regan, ed., Matters of Life and Death (Philadelphia: Temple

                            University Press, 1980), p. 67-108

Colin McGinn, 'Our Duties to Animals and the Poor', in Dale Jamieson, ed., Singer and His Critics

                             (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999), p. 150-161

John Harris, ''Goodbye Dolly?’ The Ethics of Human Cloning', in Bioethics: An Anthology,

                           eds. Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999), p. 143-152

Leon Kass, ‘Preventing a Brave New World: Why We Should Ban Human Cloning Now’

The New Republic 21st May 2001, http://www.tnr.com/052101/kass052101_print.html

‘Bush Denounces Cloning and Calls for Ban’, New York Times, November 27th, 2001 
 

VIDEOS

‘Moral Philosophy: Dialogue with R. M. Hare’, R. M. Hare interviewed by Bryan Magee,

                           BBC Men of Ideas Series

‘After Darwin: Genetics, Eugenics, and the Human Genome’, Films for the Humanities and

                            Sciences

 

 

CLASS SCHEDULE

SEPTEMBER 
 

11      Individualistic Consequentialism: Hedonism and Egoism

(a) Psychological Hedonisms and Psychological Egoisms

(b) Ethical Act-Hedonisms and Ethical Rule-Hedonisms

(c) Ethical Act-Egoisms and Ethical Rule-Egoisms

Simon Blackburn, 'Looking out for Yourself', p. 122-160

Shelly Kagan, Normative Ethics, Chapter 6.2, p. 194-204

 

18      Universalistic Consequentialism (I): Utilitarianism

  1. Act-Utilitarianism
  2. Rule-Utilitarianism

J. J. C. Smart, 'An Outline of a System of Utilitarian Ethics', in Utilitarianism: For and Against

Shelly Kagan, Normative Ethics, Chap. 2, p. 25-69, and Chap. 6.4-6.5, p. 212-239

‘Moral Philosophy: Dialogue with R. M. Hare’, BBC Men of Ideas Series 
 

25     Criticisms of Utilitarianism

(a) Negative Responsibility, Integrity and Ground Projects

(b) Moral Constraints

Bernard Williams, 'A Critique of Utilitarianism', in Utilitarianism: For and Against

Thomas Nagel, 'War and Massacre', p. 123-144

Shelly Kagan, Normative Ethics, Chap. 3, p. 70-105

Shelly Kagan, 'Does Consequentialism Demand Too Much?', p. 239-254 
 

 

OCTOBER 

2    Deontology (I): Kant                              1st Paper Due, Oct. 2nd

Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals

On a Supposed Right to Lie from Philanthropy

Shelly Kagan, Normative Ethics, Chap. 256-271 
 

9      Criticisms of Kant

(a) Moral Sainthood

(b) Emotions, Motives and Duty

(c) Justifying Constraints

Susan Wolf, 'Moral Saints', p. 79-98

Michael Stocker, 'The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories', p. 66-78

Shelly Kagan, Normative Ethics, Chap. 4, p. 70-105

 

16      Deontology (II): Baron

Marcia Baron, 'Kantian Ethics', in Three Methods of Ethics: A Debate, p. 3-91 
 

23        Universalistic Consequentialism (II): Pettit

Philip Pettit, 'The Consequentialist Perspective', in Three Methods of Ethics: A Debate, p. 92-174

 

30         Virtue Ethics: Slote                             2nd Paper Due, October 30th

Michael Slote, 'Virtue Ethics', in Three Methods of Ethics: A Debate, p. 175-238

Shelly Kagan, Normative Ethics, Chap. 6.3, p. 204-211

 

NOVEMBER

6.      Applied Ethics (I): Famine and Affluence

Peter Singer, ‘Famine, Affluence and Morality’, p. 229-243

Colin McGinn, 'Our Duties to Animals and the Poor', p. 150-161

bulletPeter Unger, 'Illusions of Innocence', Chap. 1, Living High and Letting Die, p. 1-23 

13.       Applied Ethics (II): Abortion and Infanticide

J. J. Thomson, 'A Defense of Abortion', in Practical Ethics, p. 37-56

Michael Tooley, 'Abortion and Infanticide', in Practical Ethics, p. 57-86 
 

20      Applied Ethics (III): Suicide and Euthanasia         3rd Paper Due, 20th November

David Hume, 'Of Suicide', in Practical Ethics, p. 19-28

James Rachels, 'Active and Passive Euthanasia', in Practical Ethics, p. 29-36

Tom Beauchamp, 'Suicide', p. 67-108 
 

27   [ Thanksgiving Break ] 
 

DECEMBER 
 

4  Applied Ethics (IV): Reproductive Technology and Cloning

John Harris, ''Goodbye Dolly?' The Ethics of Human Cloning', p. 143-152

Leon Kass, 'Preventing a Brave New World: Why we should ban human

cloning now’, http://www.tnr.com/052101/kass052101_print.html

‘Bush Denounces Cloning and Calls for Ban’, New York Times

Video: ‘After Darwin: Genetics, Eugenics, and the Human Genome’ 
 

9 – 13  Final Examination