Ethics of 9-11 2011

Ethics of 9-11 Home

What does it mean to be an ethical person? We will be exploring this question in this course within the context of the events of September 11^th. We’ll look at the events of that fateful day, at the life or death choices that faced individuals in New York and around the world. We’ll dig deeper into the roots of 9-11, as well as the consequences for the U.S. and the rest of the world. From these stories, we’ll investigate duty ethics, utilitarian ethics, and religious ethics to see how they apply to these events. We’ll also develop our own ethical systems based on our reading, discussion, and reflection. Finally, we’ll wrap up with a look at the War on Terror and the ethical implications surrounding it.

Here is a brief outline of our week by week schedule:

Week 1 – Sept 12-16 – Events of September 11th

Week 2 – Sept 19-23 – Coping with Tragedy: Reactions to September 11th

Week 3 – Sept 26-Sept 30 – Causes of September 11th

Week 4 – Oct 3-7 – Consequences of September 11th

Week 5-6 – Oct 10-21 – Teleological Ethics: If It Makes You Feel Good

Week 7 – Oct 24-26 – Deontological Ethics: Do Your Duty

Week 8 – Oct 31-Nov 4 – The Ethical Implications of September 11th

Week 9 – Nov 7-11 – Christian Perspectives on Ethics

Week 10 – Nov 14-18 – Jewish Perspectives on Ethics: The Holocaust, Israel, and Palestine

Week 11 – Nov 28-Dec 2 – Muslim Perspectives on Ethics: The Nature of Jihad

Week 12 – Dec 5-9 – Afghanistan War Today