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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "PH/RL 224-3"
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. 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.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
In this course you will:
--- gain familiarity with major philosophical schools, including Socrates' ethics, Epicureanism, Stoicism, divine command theory, utilitarianism, Confucianism, feminist ethics, Kant's ethics, and Nietzsche's critique of morality;
--- develop informed, reasoned positions regarding these views, and use them to evaluate actions, traits of character, and ways of life;
--- explore the function and structure of moral justification;
--- consider different conceptions of God, as well as the role of God for moral justification;
--- 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 |
| Weekly forum | Each week you'll have to contribute a post and answer another student's post in the online course forum. | 20 |
| Presentations | Depending on class enrollment, you'll be responsible for one or two short five to ten minute presentations in which you'll introduce the topic and kick off discussion. | 20 |
| Final paper | The paper will include a draft, as well as some in-class conferencing, each of which will be graded and contribute to your final essay score. | 40 |
-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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Below you will find the division of the course into four modules, along with the planned readings.
I. Ancient sources in Greek and Roman philosophy
--- Plato, Phaedo
--- Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods (Epicurean and Stoic theology, supplemented with excerpts from Epicurean and Stoic writers on virtue and the good life)
--- Plato, Euthyphro
II. Ethics with religion
--- Robert Merrihew Adams, "A Modified Divine Command Theory"
--- Thomas Aquinas, selections from Summa Theologiae
--- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Arabic and Islamic Philosophy and Religion", §7: "Ethics in Islam"
III. Ethics without Religion
--- Jeremy Bentham, selections from Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
--- John Stuart Mill, selections from Utilitarianism
--- selections from the Analects (Confucian ethics)
--- Hilde Lindemann, selections from An Invitation to Feminist Ethics
IV. God, Morality, and Modernity
--- Immanuel Kant, selections from Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Critique of Practical Reason, and Critique of Pure Reason
--- Friedrich Nietzsche, selections from The Gay Science and On the Genealogy of Morality
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