ETHICS

Professor Christopher Schiavone

PHL 103-01

Wednesdays, 11:30 AM - 12:45 (plus independent work to be completed weekly online)

Charlestown Campus - Room B113

Email the professor

To text or call: 508-250-0223

Office hours by appointment on campus or by Zoom

current assignment

By midnight, September 29:

- - - Independent Study #2

Before class, September 30:

Foot, Natural Goodness, 87-93*
Nussbaum, Creating Capabilities, 94-102
Butler, Fifteen Sermons, 107-111
Hobbes, Leviathan, 201-207*

*These are also part of Independent Study #2, so if you've completed that assignment, you've already done these readings.

independent study links

Independent Study #1

Independent Study #2

OUR TEXTBOOK

A Reader in Moral Philosophy, (Paperback)
Author: Daniel R Denicola
ISBN: 9781554814862
Please note: Textbooks are now available, so the scans of the reading will not be posted here on the course website. If you are using Bulldog, and see a price for our textbook when you try to include it, please contact the book store (sm8542@bncollege.com ) and they'll help you resolve the issue. If you are still without the text book, I have put one copy of it on reserve at the library for your use.

PHILOSOPHY IN THE NEWS

Periodically, when I see articles or essays in the publications I routinely read, I may share them here if I think they're relevant to the course. This book review talks about the the subject of evil. If Ethics has something to do with the principles by which we determine what is morally good and desirable in a human life, and what is morally bad and undesirable in a human life, what does it mean to say that an action is "evil," or that "evil exists in the world?"

This Philosopher Thinks It’s Time We Call Out Evil in Our WorldIn a new book, Susan Neiman argues that by defining evil in terms of individual monstrousness we fail to perceive its widespread hold on our culture.

Are You a Platonist or an Aristotelian?Your answer may determine how happy you can be.

Opinion | The Democrats Are in Trouble. This Man Can Save Them.The theories of the 20th-century philosopher John Rawls can inspire a new way for Democrats to find relevance.

What John Stuart Mill Knew About HappinessThe great philosopher of liberty and liberalism had the ultimate advice for how to approach your “hoped-for heaven” in this earthly life.

Opinion | Should We Cancel Aristotle?He defended slavery and opposed the notion of human equality. But he is not our enemy.

Column: A thank you to the undocumented on the eve of Trump's deportation storm I’ve spent my career trying to sway skeptics that people here illegally are no different from native-born citizens. That nearly all embody the immigrant spirit.

If you hit a pay wall linking to the article above, you can use this link to download a PDF of it. It's definitely worth reading in light of our class discussion about the so-called fairness argument against permitting undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S.