Introduction to Practical Ethics

This course provides a rigorous, non-technical introduction to contemporary ethical debates. Key topics include justice, life and death, environmental ethics, and identity. Students will engage with these themes through selected readings from core texts, focusing on the practical application of moral philosophy to modern life.

Core texts: 

Andrew I. Cohen  and Christopher Heath Wellman, eds., Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2005)

Peter Singer, Practical Ethics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011)

Hugh La Follette, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005)

Hugh LaFollette, ed., Ethics in Practice: An Anthology (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006)

Topics  

(1) What is Practical Ethics?

“About Ethics” in P. Singer, Practical Ethics, 1-15

“Introduction” in H. LaFollette, The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, 1-9

“General Introduction”, “Theorizing about Ethics”, 1-11

(2) Equality

“Equality and its Implications” in P. Singer, Practical Ethics, 16-47

“Affirmative Action” in H. LaFollette, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, 272-299

“Affirmative Action” in A. I. Cohen  and C. Heath Wellman, eds., Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics, 41-74

(3) Discrimination

“Sexual and Racial Discrimination” in H. LaFollette, ed., Ethics in Practice: An Anthology, 386-427

“Gender and Sexual Discrimination” in H. LaFollette, The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, 219-244

“Race and Racial Discrimination” in H. LaFollette, The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, 245-271

(4) Liberty: Free Speech

“Free Speech” in H. LaFollette, ed., Ethics in Practice: An Anthology, 338-385

“Freedom of Speech and Religion” in H. LaFollette, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, 358-386

(5) Personal Lives: Sexuality, Love, Family

“Our Personal Lives”, in H. LaFollette, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, 15-89   

“Morality and Human Sexuality”, in H. LaFollette, ed., Ethics in Practice: An Anthology, 220-224

“Family and Reproductive Technology” in H. LaFollette, ed., Ethics in Practice: An Anthology,149-208

(6) The Just Society: Punishment

“Punishment” & “Capital Punishment”, in H. LaFollette, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, 331-357 & 705-733

“Capital Punishment”, in A. I. Cohen and C. Heath Wellman, eds., Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics, 105-138

 “Punishment”, in H. LaFollette, ed., Ethics in Practice: An Anthology, 463-510

(7) The Just Society: Economics

“Economic Justice”, in H. LaFollette, ed., Ethics in Practice: An Anthology, 511-559

“Rich and Poor”, in P. Singer, Practical Ethics, 191-215

“Economic Justice”, in H. LaFollette, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, 433-458

(8) Privacy and Civil Society: The Internet (MR)

Moor, J. (1997) 'Towards a theory of privacy in the information age', Computers and Society, 27 (3), pp. 27-32.

Rachels, J. (1975) 'Why privacy is important', Philosophy & Public Affairs, 4 (4), pp. 323-333.

Johnson, D.G. (2001) Computer Ethics, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

(9) The Environment: Climate Change (MR)

Gardiner, S.M. (2004) 'Ethics and global climate change', Ethics, 114 (3), pp. 555-600.

Stern, N. (2006) Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change, London: HM Treasury.

Singer, P. (2011) 'Climate change', in Practical Ethics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

(10) Life and Death: Euthanasia  

“Taking Life: Humans”, in P. Singer, Practical Ethics, 154-190

“Life and Death”, in H. LaFollette, ed., Ethics in Practice: An Anthology, 19-103  

“Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide”, in H. LaFollette, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, 673-704

“Euthenasia”, in A. I. Cohen and C. Heath Wellman, eds., Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics,159-190

(11) Life and Death: Abortion  

“Taking Life: The Embryo and the Fetus,” in P. Singer, Practical Ethics, 123-154.

“Abortion”, in H. LaFollette, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics, 112-135

“The Wrong of Abortion” & “The Moral Permissibility of Abortion”, in A. I. Cohen and C. Heath Wellman, eds., Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics, 11-40

(12) General Overview of the Course (1 hour session)

“Why Act Morally”, in P. Singer, Practical Ethics, 276-298

Additional Sources:

BOOKS

•    Chadwick, R.F. (1997). Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics. London: Academic Press. 

•    Singer, Peter (1986). Applied Ethics. Oxford University Press. 

•    Frey, R.G. (2004). A Companion to Applied Ethics. Blackwell. 

JOURNALS

• • Environmental Ethics

  • Ethics  

  • The Journal of Ethics

  • Journal of Applied Philosophy

  • International Journal of Applied Philosophy

  • International Journal of Philosophical Practice

  • Journal of Business Ethics

  • Professional Ethics

  • Ethical Theory and Moral Practice

WEBSITES

General:

• The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/

• The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

http://www.plato.stanford.edu

• Philosophy Pages

http://www.philosophypages.com/index.htm

• Episteme Links
 

http://epistemelinks.com

• philpapers

http://philpapers.org

Specific:

• Association for Practical and Professional Ethics    

http://appe.indiana.edu

• European Consortium for Political Research 

http://www.ecpr.eu

• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations          

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/WelcomePage.aspx

Audio:

•  In Our Time, BBC Radio4, Melvyn Bragg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01f0vzr

• Philosophy Talk, Stanford University

http://www.philosophytalk.org