Philosophy 1304: Morality and Justice
Virginia Tech, Fall 2015
Instructor: Nate Rockwood
Class: Mondays and Wednesdays 12:20-1:10, McBride Hall 100
Office Hours: Mondays 10:00-12:00, Major Williams Hall 224
email: nathan80@vt.edu
Course Description:
Moral theories try to answer questions such as “What makes an action morally wrong?” and “To
what extent are we obligated to help others?” We will look at answers to these questions put
forward by Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Mill, Kant, and contemporary moral theorists such as Peter
Singer and Judith Jarvis Thompson. Students will learn how to evaluate moral questions from each
of these perspectives, and will learn to find their own answers to the questions “What should I do in
this situation?” and “How should I live my life?”
Course Materials
• i-Clicker
• The Ethical Life: Fundamental Readings in Ethics and Moral Problems, 3rd edition, edited by
Russ Shafer-Landau (Oxford University Press, 2014)
• Additional texts provided online (marked by * below)
• Course website: go to scholar.vt.edu and select “Morality & Justice, Fall 2015”
Course Requirements:
• Online Quizzes: due Sundays at 11:59 PM. Quizzes will ask questions about the readings for
that week (i.e., students take the quiz before we discuss those readings in class).
• Participation: students are to answer i-Clicker questions and to participate in class discussions
(including participation in discussion sections).
• Exams: there will be 2 midterms and a comprehensive final exam.
• Policy: no computers, tablets, or phones are allowed in class at any time. Violation of this
policy will result in the immediate loss of participation points for that day.
Grading
Participation:
Online Quizzes:
Exam 1:
Exam 2:
Final Exam:
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Accommodations
For students seeking accommodation because of a learning, physical, or other disability, or special
circumstances needing accommodation, please make an appointment to see me during office hours.
Schedule of Topics and Reading Assignments
Week 1
8/24
8/26
Cultural Relativism
Divine Command Theory
Rachels, The Challenge of Cultural Relativism*
Plato, Euthyphro
Week 2
8/31
9/2
Modified DCT
Ethical Egoism
Adams, A Modified Divine Command Theory*
Plato, Republic Book 1*
Week 3
9/7
9/9
Labor Day: NO SCHOOL!
Social Contract Theory
Hobbes, Leviathan
Week 4
9/14
9/16
Unjust Laws
Hypothetical Consent
MLK Jr., Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Rawls, A Theory of Justice (precise)*
Week 5
9/21
9/23
Rape
Exam 1
Selected Readings on Rape and Consent*
Week 6
9/28
9/30
Minimizing the Bad
Maximizing the Good
Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus
Mill, Hedonism
Week 7
10/5
10/7
Act vs. Rule Utilitarianism
Non-Hedonistic Values
Smart, Extreme and Restricted Utilitarianism
Nozick, The Experience Machine
Week 8
10/12 The Universal Law
10/14 The Principle of Humanity
Kant, The Good Will and the Categorical Imperative
O’Neil, Kant’s Ethics*
Week 9
10/19 Doctrine of Doing and Allowing
10/21 Abortion and the DDA
Rachels, The Morality of Euthanasia
Thomson, A Defense of Abortion
Week 10
10/26 The Wrongness of Killing
10/28 Doctrine of Double Effect
Marquis, Why Abortion Is Immoral
Foot, Abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect
Week 11
11/2 Exam 2
11/4 Conflicting Duties
Ross, What Makes Actions Right?
Week 12
11/9 Virtue Theory on Right Action
11/11 Virtuous Action
Hursthouse, Virtue Theory and Abortion*
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
Week 13
11/16 Duty of Beneficence
11/18 Duties of Justice
Week 14: Thanksgiving Break
Singer, The Solution to World Poverty
Narveson, Feeding the Hungry
Week 15
11/30 The Death Penalty
12/2 Moral Experts
Primoratz, Justifying Legal Punishment
Goldstein, Plato at the Googleplex*
Week 16
12/7 Worse than Dying
12/9 Ethics: The Big Picture
Plato, Apology*
(no assigned reading)
Finals Week
12/17 Final Exam, 10:05–12:05