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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "PH/RL 224"
COURSE NAME: "Living the Good Life: Religious and Philosophical Ethics"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Fall 2015
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Tom Bailey
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MW 8:30 AM 9:45 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
Mondays and Wednesdays, 1.30-3 pm and 4.15-6 pm, or by appointment
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
What is right and wrong, good and bad? Where do ethical ideas and standards come from? How do we make ethical decisions? And why should we be ethical at all? This course introduces students to ethical thinking by studying both concrete issues and more abstract moral theories, including religious ideas. Philosophers studied may include Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine, Hume, Kant, and Mill, and religious ideas those of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. These will be considered in relation to concrete issues such as abortion, climate change, punishment, and free speech.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
What exactly are ‘love’ and ‘freedom’? And what roles do they play in the ethics of our personal and social lives? On this course, we will try to answer these questions by studying both concrete issues and more abstract theories. We will examine debates over such issues as friendship and family, forgiveness and charity, evil and punishment, euthanasia and abortion, and genetic engineering and climate change, in order to develop our ideas of the ‘love’ and ‘freedom’ involved. And we will also engage with the challenging views of four major contemporary philosophers – Habermas, McDowell, Žižek, and Agamben – as well as representatives of Kantian, utilitarian, and virtue ethics, to consider how their more abstract treatments of love and freedom can illuminate, and themselves be illuminated by, the concrete issues and debates. Throughout the course we will focus especially on your own ethical views and ideas and on how you can reflect on, develop and defend them in class discussion and in writing.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
More specifically, by the end of the course you will be able to:
• explain and evaluate the concepts and arguments used in debates over concrete ethical issues regarding love and freedom;
• explain and evaluate more abstract concepts and arguments proposed by contemporary moral philosophers, in relation to these debates;
• reflectively develop your own reasoned views of these issues, concepts and arguments;
• interpret primary philosophical texts, use secondary academic resources and do guided research work;
• do all this in appropriately academic oral and written forms and individual and group contexts.
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TEXTBOOK:
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Class participation | Classes will involve a mixture of lecturing, seminar discussions, group presentations and other activities. The emphasis will be on helping you to develop your own and others’ opinions and arguments and your ability to discuss them with others, as well as developing your understanding of the materials, issues and relevant ethical concepts. Your active involvement in discussions and other class activities, based on adequate preparation outside class, is therefore essential. | 20% |
| Forum contributions | Since the class forum is intended to allow for free discussion, I will not assess the content of your posts. Your grade for this assessment will be simply the percentage of times that you post on time, out of the possible total posts. You may also miss up to two posts unexcused without this affecting your grade. | 10% |
| Two written assignments | The two written assignments will be ‘take-home’ assignments of 1800-2000 words. You will prepare a written assignment after each of the first two parts of the course. I will give you a set of questions from which to choose on the last Wednesday of the relevant part, although you may also agree an alternative question with me. The assignment will be due a week later, after the review classes.
| 25% / 20% |
| End-of-course written examination | The examination will consist of two essays written over three hours under examination conditions. The examination questions will be distributed on Wednesday of week 13 and at the examination, which will take place in week 15, you will be given a selection of these questions to choose from. | 20% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
A maximum of two unexcused absences from class will be accepted. Beyond this, a zero grade will be given for each unexcused absence, bringing your average grade down. It is your responsibility to inform me if you miss or cannot participate fully in a class for a good reason. Good reasons include illness, unavoidable appointments, religious holidays, and transport strikes, but not trips, guests, and malfunctioning alarm clocks. Note that arriving late to class, leaving for lengthy ‘toilet breaks’, and using a laptop or mobile phone in class also count as ‘unexcused absences’.
You may not make up a missed assessment without the permission of the Dean’s Office, which will be granted only in cases of serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization, or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral), and when you notify the Dean’s Office beforehand.
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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Week 1: Introduction to the course
Week 2: Personal love
Monday: What is love? Friendship and sex
Wednesday: Parents and families
Week 3: Monday: Understanding trust
Wednesday: Forgiveness: Why, when, how?
Week 4: Žižek
Monday: Imagination and identity in love
Wednesday: Inexplicable ethics?
Week 5: Impersonal love
Monday: Charity and the limits of love
Wednesday: Love for nature
Week 6: Monday: Love of God
Wednesday: Romanticism and the love of humanity
Week 7: Habermas
Monday: The ‘lifeworld’ of communication
Wednesday: Love and moral development
Week 8: Review and preparation of first assignment
Week 9: Personal freedom
Monday: Free choices? Abortion and euthanasia
Wednesday: Free markets? Apple in China and healthcare in the U.S.
Week 10: Monday: Virtue and inner freedom
Wednesday: What is evil?
Week 11: McDowell
Monday: The ideal agent
Wednesday: The force of community
Week 12: Social freedom
Monday: The good citizen: Public reasoning
Wednesday: Policing and punishment
Week 13: Agamben
Monday: Biopolitics
Wednesday: Social responsibility
Week 14: Preparation of second assignment and for final examination
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