TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY
COURSE SYLLABUS
Philosophy 210B
Contemporary Ethical Issues
Spring 2014: TR, 11.40-12.55, RNT #127
Instructor: rpdoede (Bobd@twu.ca)
Course Description: An examination of basic ethical theory and a critical focus on
several current moral issues. To this end we will acquaint ourselves with theories
regarding the nature of morality and moral reasoning, identify and critically analyze
underlying assumptions and arguments supporting particular positions on moral issues,
and learn how to engage effectively in dialogue about these issues.
Course Objectives: The fundamental objectives of this course are (1) to analyze
critically the concepts, assumptions, and principles undergirding contemporary moral
discourse to thereby acquaint students with the basics of moral theory (normative and
some meta-ethical issues), (2) to raise students’ consciousness of the important moral
issues and powerful cultural forces in the contemporary world that are shaping their
moral identities and character, (3) to help students orient themselves morally in the swirl
of ethical confusion currently bewildering civilized society, and (4) to challenge students
to begin the hard work of taking up a morally awakened lifestyle in this world swollen
with injustices and mindless consumption.
We will begin by investigating and questioning traditional moral theories
(utilitarianism, social contract, Kantian ethics, etc.) and some of the more recent revisions
of it (feminist and postmodern ethics). As well, we will probe and interrogate impinging
moral issues of our time such as our use and abuse of the natural environment, our
responses to world hunger, the moral complexion of capitalism and globalization, the
moral import of technologies of mass media and human enhancement—all of which are
to differing degrees interrelated ethical issues. As we move through these issues, we will
recognize our own collusion in these moral issues. Our ultimate goal is not merely to gain
a deeper and more honest self-awareness of our complicity in the moral issues we
discuss, but also to cultivate imaginative moral resources for creatively addressing these
issues as they find expression in our own lifestyles.
Technology in the classroom: I do not allow handheld digital devices in the
classroom—if I see a student using one in class, I will invite that student to leave the
classroom. I do allow laptops in the classroom, but only in the back row of the class.
Many students complain about being distracted by students in the classroom who surf the
web, checking their emails, watch videos, etc. during lectures. If I discover someone
using his or her laptop for anything other than taking notes on course material, he or she
will be asked to leave the classroom.
Prerequisite: One year of university or one prior philosophy course or instructor’s
permission.
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Required Text:
1.
Rachels, James and Stuart, The Elements of Moral Philosophy, (6th or 7th eds)
New York: McGraw-Hill.
2.
Course-Pack.
Missed quiz and late paper policy: Without a Dr.’s note, quizzes cannot be taken at a
later date. All papers are due at the beginning of the class period. Any papers received
after the day they are due, will not receive written comments from professor. No papers
will by accepted beyond one week past the due date posted on syllabus, and I will deduct
1/3 of a grade for every class period they are late.
Course Requirements:
1.) Class participation: 10%. This class will involve lots of discussion of the required
readings. Students will bring to class two of their own questions that have arisen from
that day’s reading assignment, and I will call on one to three individuals every day to
offer one of their questions to the class’s consideration. A full percentage point from the
student’s final grade will be the price exacted for the student called upon who lacks his or
her two questions—so be prepared! As well, for every unexcused absence, you will lose a
full percentage point from your final grade. You are expected to attend every class: I
will take attendance everyday.
NB: Occasionally (about 6-8 times over the semester) I will alert students of extra-credit
options via Mycourses. Typically these options will involve receiving an extra 1% on
one’s final grade for reading an article or watching a video or attending a lecture and
then writing up a two-page (1 ½ spaced) summary and reflective response.
2.) In-class “pop” quizzes on assigned reading: 15%. Quizzes will be objective. The
best way to prepare for these is not merely to read the material and attend lectures, but
always to take notes on your readings and the lecture/discussions.
3.) Large project—Worth 30%:
Six-page Paper (lines spaced @ 1 ½ ): In this class, we will need to spend most of our
time getting familiar with moral theory and moral issues. Formulating creative and
thoughtful strategies of response to the moral issues will be the task of your paper. You
will need to have a firm grasp of your issue so do lots of your own research on it—you
may use material from class readings and discussion, but I will expect you to show me
that you have done your own research as well, pursuing particular issues farther than we
have been able to in class.
Your paper must deal with a moral issue that we covered in our Coursepack
and/or Mycourses readings; this means that I don’t want a paper on topics like
euthanasia, abortion, legalization of marijuana, or homosexuality which are used as
illustrations in Rachels’ book, but are not social issues we cover in our Coursepack
and/or Mycourse readings. The paper will have three sections: (1) the first section will
describe the moral issue you are addressing and explain its importance, answering
questions such as what makes the issue morally problematic? who are the key players
behind this issue? and how has this issue become the morally problematic issue it is
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today?; (2) the second section will identify ways in which we can respond to the issue
through specifically social/political action, that is, through actions in the public, social,
and political spheres aimed at putting counter-pressures on the cultural, political, and
corporate forces that have created and sustain—whether passively or actively—the
problematic dimensions of the moral issue you have chosen; (3) the last section will be a
personal look at your own life; here you will investigate avenues of change for your own
life, identifying what practical lifestyle actions you might take to limit your susceptibility
to, and your participation in, the morally problematic behaviors definitive of this moral
issue.
Here are a few questions to focus your paper:
1. What is the central question you wish to address and what do your propose to
accomplish with this paper
2. Why is the issue you have chosen important? Does it have a special
importance for Christians?—answers to these questions (and to those found in
1 above) need to be stated clearly and concisely in your introductory
paragraph.
3. What are the historical and factual matters integral to the issue—what
historical, institutional, and political changes have precipitated the rise of the
moral issue’s importance?
4. Are there any exemplary individuals or movements that have shown us a way
of creatively and helpfully responding to the moral issue?
5. How do course readings and discussion help one to think about responding to
this issue?
Before you begin writing your paper, formulate your thesis statement (i.e., what you
propose to accomplish with your paper) and write up an outline showing how you plan to
support your thesis statement (i.e., organize your outline so that each main point on it
represents a step towards making your thesis statement more believable). When you
begin writing your paper, make sure you clearly state in your first paragraph what you
intend to accomplish with your paper and why the moral issue you focus on is important.
I expect these papers to be written in clear and concise prose. Get help if you have
problems with grammar: a necessary condition for a passing grade is that the paper is
written in grammatical prose. Please use APA (in-text) citation format—as in (Smith,
1987, p. 45)—I need page numbers, author, and publication date. Supply a Bibliography
that lists (at least) three different sources (other than the material read for this class) used
for this assignment.
Presentation Option: A few of you might wish to give a collaborative presentation
instead of writing a paper. At the end of the class, we have FOUR student presentations.
These slots and topics will be secured on a “first come, first re-served” basis.
Presentations will explore and interrogate one of the essays or one of the topics covered
in this course (see listing of topics below), bringing the results of further research into
these issues to the class and providing a framework for moral and praxical response to
them. I expect these presentations to clearly reveal the equivalence of 2x the time
investment and research of a six-page research paper, and they will be graded
accordingly. The more people in your group presentation, the higher my expectations will
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be and your grade will clearly reflect my elevated expectations. The presentations will be
no longer than 20 minutes in length, after which presenters will lead a ten-minute class
discussion of the ideas they presented. If you wish to opt for the presentation, you must
first discuss with me the topic you intend to address in your presentation and if I give you
the okay, then you need get a copy of the “Presentation Prep Sheet” from Mycourses, fill
it out, and submit the first sheet to me one month before your presentation date.
Book Report Option: Permission may be granted students majoring in Business or
students with a special interest in the world economy and issues of global justice to write
a ten-page report on the second edition of David Korten’s When Corporations Rule the
World. Permission may also be granted to students majoring in Communications or
Education or students with a special interest in media and/or education to write a twelvepage report on Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death. The bookstore has copies of
these book and a few are available from the library. These reports will have two sections:
the first section will be a five-page summary of the book’s contents; the second section
will be a five-page evaluation of its contents, informed by two scholarly reviews of the
book and research into current affairs that confirm, further elucidate, or call into question
some of the claims made in this book.
Note well: the concision and clarity of your prose will definitely influence your grade.
Please don’t hand in a paper that hasn't been proofed. Read the paper aloud to yourself
and listen to your prose. Consider whether someone other than yourself could understand
what you’ve written? Three common errors to watch out for: (1) the possessive of “it” is
“its” - no apostrophe—“it’s” = “it is”; (2) don’t connect sentences with a mere comma—
use a semi-colon; (3) "either," "any," “someone,” and “none” are singular and therefore
take a singular verb “is,” “was,” “has,” etc., etc.—“their” is plural and requires a plural
antecedent.
4.) Mid-term exam: 15%
5.) Final exam: 30% (This exam will cover material from all lectures and class
discussions, presentations, and all the required reading.)
6.) Extra Credit: 5% Get involved!
A. Practical epistemology: morality and epistemology cannot ultimately be
separated. What we do affects what we can know. Whatever promotes self-centeredness in
our actions also promotes a darkening of our minds and vice versa. This extra-credit
requires that you take up the challenge to not watch TV or use Facebook (or any similar
SNS [social network site]) or engage in IM (instant messaging) or Skype or cell-phone
text-message or interact with video/computer games over the full course of this semester.
You may watch only two movies over the course of the semester. Keep a diary, 1-2 typed
and dated pages per week, reflecting on this experience of abstinence and course readings
and discussions that relate to your experience: What do you begin to notice, to see, to
learn, about your natural environment, about yourself, about your social circle, your
culture, about God? What are you doing with your “free” time? What two movies did you
watch and what were your experiences of these movies like? Why did you choose to
watch these two movies? How was your experience of watching them different than your
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pre-fast experiences of watching movies? Hand in your type-written, individually dated
journal entries on the last day of class.
B. Creative cultural curtailing: stage a conscious raising event this semester,
write up a six-page report that 1.) details how you organized this conscious raising protest
in your social context to call attention to, arrest, transgress, transform, reform, resist, or
sabotage some iniquitous cultural blind-spot or domain of oppresive cultural hegemony,
2.) articulates the theoretical framework in which the vision of this undertaking took
shape, and 3.) assesses the overall accomplishment of the project—what worked, what
didn’t, and why the preceding did or didn’t work.
Topic:
Rachels’ book
Bessey Lecture, 7.00pm
NW auditorium
Questioning Traditional
Ethical Theory
Long and difficult read
Capitalism & Virtue
Long read
Date:
J 7T
J 9R
J 14T
Reading/Discussion:
Intro to class and syllabus
Chapters 1-2
Chapters 3-4
J 16R
J 21T
J 23R
J 28T
J 30R
Chapters 5-6
Chapters 7-8
Chapters 9-10
Chapters 11-13
Mycourses: J. Bennett, “… Huck Finn”
F 4T
F 6R
CP: J. Caputo, “The End of Ethics …”
Mycourses: D. Bosworth, “The Spirit of Capitalism
2000”
Mycourses: CP: R. Nash, “Does Capitalism Pass …?”
and C. Johnston’s “A Christian Critique of Economics”
CP: T. Pogge, “Two Reflections on the UN’s
Millennium Dev. Goal” & G. Hardin, “Lifeboat
Ethics…”
Mycourses: Gardner’s “Hungry for More” and J.
Scoville, “World Hunger, Genetic Engineering …”
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY WEEK
CP: L. White, Jr., “This Historical Roots …” and CP:
R. Gordis, “Ecology and the Judaic Traditions”
Mycourses: W. Baxter, “People or Penguins”
F 11T
Globalization, Transnational
Corporations, and Justice
F 13R
F 18T
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY WEEK
Environment
F 20R
F 25-27
M 4T
M 6R
Consumerism, Society and
the Self
Technology, Television and
the Self
Long and difficult read
Transhumanism and Human
Nature
M 11T
M 13R
M 18T
M 20R
M 25T
M 27R
CP: R. Roberts, “Just a Little Bit More …” and
Mycourses: R. Clapp, “Why the Devil takes VISA”
CP: P. Kramer, “Listening to Prozac …”
CP: N. Postman, “The Judgment of Thamus””
CP: K. Robins,“The Space of the Screen
Mycourses: Roger Scruton, “Hiding Behind the
Screen…” & A. Sigman, “Visual Voodoo”
Mycourses: PLF Allhoff, “Nanoethics and Human
Enhancement” and G. Peterson, “Imaging God: Cyborgs
…”
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Personal and Cultural
Action
LARGE PAPER DUE
A 1T
CP: M. Warren, “Hegemony and the Possibilities of
Contestation”and CP: S. Bertman, “Three Keys to
Resisting the Power of Now”
PRESENTATIONS
EXTRA-CREDIT DUE
A 3R
A 8T
PRESENTATIONS
PRESENTATIONS
It is recommended that students print up all the Mycourses material at the beginning of
the semester so they’ll have it on-hand throughout the whole semester. You’ll need to
bring these articles to class.
IMPORTANT
Midterm
Presentation Prep Sheet
Large paper
Extra-Credit
DATES
Feb 20th
March 6th
April 1th
April 8th
Weather Conditions: (http://www.twu.ca/conditions/). The first announcement
regarding a closure will cover the period up to 1:00 p.m. only. If classes are to be
cancelled beyond 1:00 p.m., this decision will be announced by the same means
before 11:00 a.m. that day. Students and faculty should assume that night classes
will continue to operate. If the emergency continues into the evening, students
and faculty may check for a closure notice on the University’s switchboard and
website after 3:00 p.m. that day.
NOTE: Students are reminded that essays written for this course may be subject
to scanning by a plagiary detection service employed by the university.
PLEASE WATCH WILLIAM BADKE’S POWER POINT PRESENTATION ON
HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM. IT CAN BE FOUND AT:
http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/plagiarism.ppt
A+
A
A-
System of Grading
90-100%
85-89%
80-84%
C+
C
C-
67-69%
63-66%
60-62%
B+
77-79%
D+
57-59%
B
B-
73-76%
70-72%
D
D-
53-56%
50-52%
F
Below 50%