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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "PH/RL 224-2"
COURSE NAME: "Living the Good Life: Religion and Philosophical Ethics"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Spring 2025
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Steven Joseph Woodworth
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
TTH 1:30 PM 2:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
What it is to do the right thing, or to be a good person? Where do ethical ideas and standards come from? And why should we be ethical at all? This course introduces students to ethical thinking by studying both concrete issues and more abstract theories, religious and non-religious. Students will explore ideas like “virtue”, “duty”, “conscience”, and “perfection,” philosophers like Plato, Aquinas, and Kant, and religious traditions like Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, alongside concrete issues in areas such as medicine, war, sex, and the environment.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
This course considers various points of intersection between philosophical ethics and religion, centered especially on the question of what it is to live a good life. Together we will study exemplars of the three major types of ethical theory: consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. We will encounter what are likely to be unfamiliar conceptions of God from the history of ideas, and we will reflect deeply on the relation between God and questions of moral justification. We will also study philosophy's contributions on topics which are of religious significance, like procreation, diet, tradition, meaning in life, and death.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
In this course you will:
--- gain familiarity with major philosophical schools, including Socrates' rationalism, virtue ethics, Epicureanism, Stoicism, divine command theory, utilitarianism, Confucianism, Kant's ethics, and Nietzsche's critique of morality;
--- develop informed, reasoned positions regarding these views, and use them to come to particular judgments of right and wrong action, good and bad character;
--- explore the function and structure of moral justification;
--- consider different conceptions of God, as well as the role of God for moral justification;
--- analyze the contribution of philosophy on questions of religious importance;
--- explain and analyze course material orally and in written forms;
--- make appropriate use of original and academic resources and undertake guided research work.
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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 |
| Attendance and participation | Classes will involve a mixture of lectures, seminar discussions, small group work, debates, and other activities. The emphasis will be on helping you to develop your own opinions and arguments and your ability to discuss them with others, as well as your understanding of the materials, issues, and relevant ethical concepts and arguments. Your active involvement in discussions and other class activities, based on adequate preparation outside class, is essential. | 20 |
| Presentation | You will be responsible for one short, in-class presentation over the course of the semester. The goal is to help set the tone of the session by picking out some aspect of the day's topics and readings which interests you in particular, and then communicating that something to your classmates, thereby kicking off discussion. | 10 |
| Midterm exam | There will be a midterm exam in week 7 covering material from the first half of the course. You will have to answer several short-form questions as well as produce a short essay. Possible questions for the essay will be provided to you a week in advance; on the exam you will be presented a small selection of these, from which you will answer one. | 25 |
| Research paper | There will be a paper of circa 1,500 words on a topic of your choosing, in consultation with me. The only requirement is that it must stem from the course material, and you must keep a record of your workings. There will be an opportunity for feedback on drafts. | 20 |
| Final exam | A final exam will take place during the designated exam week. While the exam will cover material from throughout the semester, it will be biased toward the second half. Possible questions for the essay will be provided to you a week in advance; on the exam you will be presented a small selection of these, from which you will answer one. | 25 |
-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:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed.
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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
Tuesday 01/21: Introduction to the course
Thursday 01/23: Custom, morality, and a life worth living
---Plato, Apology
Week 2
Tuesday 01/28: Virtue and human flourishing
---Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, book I
Thursday 01/30: The virtues examined
---Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, all of book II plus book III, chapters 6-12
Week 3
Tuesday 02/04: Epicureanism
---History of Philosophy without any gaps, ep. 57 "Nothing to Fear: Epicureans on Death and the Gods" (podcast)
---Epicurus, "Letter to Menoeceus"
Thursday 02/06: Stoicism
---History of Philosophy without any gaps, ep. 62 "We Didn't Start the Fire: the Stoics on Nature" (podcast)
---selections from Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods
Week 4
Tuesday 02/11: Faith, and other theological virtues
---Thomas Aquinas, The Summa Theologica, first part of the second part, selections from "Treatise on Happiness" and "Treatise on Virtue" (in Hyman and Walsh, Philosophy in the Middle Ages, 3rd ed. pp. 518-528; 2nd ed. pp. 558–68).
Thursday 02/13: The significance of hope
---Andrew Chignell, "Religious Dietary Practices and Secular Food Ethics; or, How to Hope that Your Food Choices Make a Difference Even When You Reasonably Believe That They Don't"
Week 5
Tuesday 02/18: Confucian Ethics
---The Analects, selection
-----recommended: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Chinese Ethics", §§2.1-2.4
Thursday 02/20: Tradition
---Samuel Scheffler, "The Normativity of Tradition"
Week 6
Tuesday 02/25: A puzzle concerning piety and what the Gods love
---Plato, Euthyphro
Thursday 02/27: God's Command
---Robert Merrihew Adams, "A Modified Divine Command Theory"
Friday 02/28: MAKE-UP SESSION // Alternatives
---Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, chapters 1, 4, 5
Week 7
Tuesday 03/04: Review and Discussion
---no assigned readings
THURSDAY, MARCH 6TH: IN-CLASS MIDTERM EXAM
MONDAY, MARCH 10TH TO FRIDAY, MARCH 14TH: SPRING BREAK
Week 8
Tuesday 03/18: Meaningfulness
• Susan Wolf, Meaning in Life and Why It Matters, lecture 1
Thursday 03/20: Meaningfulness, continued
• Susan Wolf, Meaning in Life and Why It Matters, lecture 2
FRIDAY, MARCH 21ST: RESEARCH PAPER TOPIC DUE
Week 9
Tuesday 03/25: Pessimism
---Arthur Schopenhauer, "On the Sufferings of the World", in Studies in Pessimism
Thursday 03/27: The Ethics of Procreation
---David Benatar, "Why It is Better Never to Come into Existence"
Week 10
Tuesday 04/01: Death
---Thomas Nagel, "Death"
-----(only loosely) recommended: Plato's Phaedo
Thursday 04/03: Immortality and human finitude
---Bernard Williams, "The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality"
Week 11
Tuesday 04/08: Re-examining the relation between human flourishing and virtue
---Lisa Tessman, Burdened Virtues: Virtue Ethics for Liberatory Struggles, chapter 5 "The Burden of Political Resistance"
Thursday 04/10: The significance of what's-to-come
---Samuel Scheffler, Death and the Afterlife, Lecture 1
Week 12
Tuesday 04/15: Background on Kant's ethics
---Immanuel Kant, selections from Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals,
Thursday 04/17: Denying knowledge to make room for faith
---Immanuel Kant, selections Critique of Practical Reason and Critique of Pure Reason
Week 13
Tuesday 04/22: Perspectives
---Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality, first treatise
Thursday 04/24: Religion, morality, and psychic health
---Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality, second treatise
FRIDAY, APRIL 25TH: RESEARCH PAPER DUE
Week 14
Tuesday 04/29: Course review and recap
WEEK OF MAY 5TH TO MAY 9TH: FINAL EXAM (place and time TBD.
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