PHIL 244: Moral Powers

Wellesley College | Fall 2024 

DRAFT, SUBJECT TO CHANGE

This course concerns our commonplace but sometimes puzzling ability to alter our moral relationship with other people through our will, what some philosophers have called “moral powers.” For instance, we can make a promise and create a moral obligation, give our consent and create a moral permission, offer forgiveness and repair a moral rupture. How should we understand these powers? How do they work and how do they shape our moral lives? We will pay particular attention to the moral powers involved in promising, consent, trust, and forgiveness.

Readings:

1. (9/5) Introduction

2. (9/9) Promises 1: Thomas Scanlon, "Promises and Practices" (I-III: 199-210)

3. (9/12) Promises 2: Thomas Scanlon, "Promises and Practices" (IV-VII: 210-226)

4. (9/16) Promises 3: David Owens, "A Simple Theory of Promising" (focus on 67-76)

5. (9/19) Promises 4: Seana Shiffrin, "Promising, Intimate Relationships, and Conventionalism" (481-485 and II: 498-519)

6. (9/23) Promises 5: Angela Sun, "The Normative Power of Resolutions"

7. (9/26) Promises 6: Hallie Liberto, "The Problem with Sexual Promises

8. (9/30) Consent 1: Heidi Hurd "The Moral Magic of Consent" (121-134)

9. (10/3) Consent 2: Heidi Hurd "The Moral Magic of Consent"  (134-146)

10. (10/7) Consent 3: Tom Dougherty, “Yes means Yes: Consent as Communication”

11. (10/10) Consent 4: Anni Räty, "The Value of Uptake"

12. (10/17) Consent 5: Melissa Rees and Jonathan Ichikawa, "Sexual Agency and Sexual Wrongs: A Dilemma for Consent Theory"

13. (10/21) Consent 6: Sumeet Patwardahn, "Sulking into Sex: Blame, Coercion, and Consent"

14. (10/24) No Class 1

15. (10/28) Trust 1: Annette Baier, "Trust and Antitrust" (231-244)

16. (10/31) Trust 2: Annette Baier "Trust and Antitrust" (244-260)

17. (11/4) Trust 3: Richard Holton, "Deciding to Trust, Coming to Believe"

18. (11/7) Trust 4: Katherine Hawley, "Trust, Distrust, and Commitment"

19. (11/11) Trust 5: C. Thi Nguyen, "Trust as an Unquestioning Attitude"

20. (11/14) Forgiveness 1: Cheshire Calhoun, "Changing One's Heart"

21. (11/18) Forgiveness 2: Christopher Bennett, "The Alteration Thesis"

22. (11/21) No Class 2

23. (11/25) Forgiveness 3: Monique Wonderly, "Forgiving, Committing, and Un-forgiving"

24. (12/2) Forgiveness 4: Myisha Cherry, "Racialized Forgiveness"

25. (12/5) Forgiveness 5: Alice MacLachlan, "In Defense of Third-Party Forgiveness"

26. (12/9) Conclusion