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Instructor University of Rochester ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Puzzles about Moral Responsibility [Fall 2009, Spring 2010] People are often thought to be praiseworthy or blameworthy for the actions they perform. This course will allow students to develop as critical thinkers and academic writers while focusing on several philosophical questions related to moral responsibility. First, we will examine various views regarding what kind of control is required for moral responsibility. For example, does responsibility require free will? Is responsibility compatible with determinism? And do we have free will? Second, we will consider questions surrounding ignorance and responsibility. For example, can we be blameworthy for doing things that we didn’t know were wrong? And more generally, what do we need to know in order to be responsible? Third, we will consider questions about the role of luck in morality. For example, can we be blameworthy for an unlucky consequence of our actions? Is the drunk driver who kills someone more blameworthy than the drunk driver who makes it home safely? Finally, we will examine whether responsibility is only to be attributed to individuals, or if collective groups of people can also be morally responsible.
Puzzles about Knowledge [Fall 2008, Spring 2009]
Ancient and contemporary philosophers alike have been concerned with the topic of skepticism. Most of us claim that we know a lot, but the skeptic challenges such claims of knowledge. This class will examine and investigate answers to this central philosophical problem. Through writing and discussion we will examine proposed answers to the problem of skepticism such as: evidentialist responses, denying closure, contextualism, the Moorean response, and externalist responses (semantic and epistemic).
Contemporary Moral Problems [Summer 2009]
This course will examine numerous contemporary ethical debates. These will include life and death issues (abortion, death penalty), liberty issues (drug control, terrorism), justice issues (poverty), and planetary issues (animal right, environmental issues). Students will become familiar with the terrain of various debates within these areas, and evaluate the arguments given there. Through our examination of these issues students will learn to extract and evaluate arguments from the text. St. John Fisher College ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ethics [Fall 2009] This course will provide an introduction to ethics. It will be primarily concerned with the fundamental question, how should I live my life? We will begin by considering meta-ethical questions related to the nature of morality such as: do moral claims have a truth-value? If so, is this truth-value relative to individuals or cultures, or is it universal? Following this we will concentrate our attention on several ethical theories. We will evaluate consequentialist theories, deontological theories, and virtue theories. If there is time we will also discus the relation between ethics and religion. Basic Logic [Fall 2009] This course is a study of the principles of correct reasoning, with emphasis on the analysis of everyday arguments. The course begins with an examination of the conceptual background needed to understand and evaluate arguments. The second part of the course develops a method for identifying, interpreting, and evaluating arguments. In the final part this method is applied to arguments about a wide variety topics. Students who complete the course will be able to distinguish rhetoric and emotional speech from rational argumentation and will be able to distinguish successful from unsuccessful arguments. Nazareth College ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethics [Fall 2008, Spring 2009] This course will provide an introduction to ethics. It will be primarily concerned with the fundamental question, how should I live my life? We will begin by considering meta-ethical questions related to the nature of morality such as: do moral claims have a truth-value? If so, is this truth-value relative to individuals or cultures, or is it universal? Following this we will concentrate our attention on several ethical theories. We will evaluate consequentialist theories, deontological theories, and virtue theories. If there is time we will also discus the relation between ethics and religion.American Philosophy [Spring 2008] This course is an introduction to both classical and contemporary American philosophy. It will focus on two traditions in American philosophy: pragmatism and analytic philosophy. Throughout the semester we will critically examine the works of philosophers working from both traditions centered on the issues of truth, justification, and knowledge.Logic and Inquiry [Spring 2006 – Spring 2009] In this course we will seek an understanding of logic and its place in inquiry. It will be an introduction both to logic and Philosophy in general. We will begin by examining Aristotle’s theory of definition. We will then look at aspects of the theory of the proposition, including various types of propositions and what it takes for each type to be true. Finally we will examine arguments, learning to distinguish various types of arguments and evaluate them for validity and soundness. Along the way we will be reading several of Plato’s Dialogues to see what we are learning put into action.Courses Assisted
University of Rochester Ethics [Bennett] Spring 2007 Moral Problems [Curren] Fall 2007 Social and Political Philosophy [Curren] Spring 2006 Introduction to Philosophy [Ney] Fall 2006
University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Introductory Logic [Liston] |