Welcome to Ethics!
This winter break we will primarily spend our time examining the three theories – Utilitarianism,
Deontology, and Virtue Ethics – that are considered by most philosophers to be central to the
landscape of contemporary ethics. We will also focus on your ability to write argumentative essays,
and to analyze arguments. In order accomplish this we will spend some time talking about writing,
logic, and how to construct an argument to support your thesis.
We will begin this class by considering some of the most important challenges to the objectivity of
ethics. We will discuss Glaucon’s challenge in Plato’s Republic. Glaucon argues that ethics is a
compromise between what is best (harming others and getting what we want) and what is worst
(being harmed and not getting what we want). In the end, he concludes that ethics is not something
what we embrace because it is of intrinsic value, but because we are constrained to be good. We
will also discuss relativism, which is a theory that says that what is good is (a) relative to a given
culture (Poughkeepsie, Florence, New York City, etc.), or (b) relative to the individual (because
Socrates is firmly committed to something it is good for him). In addition to Glaucon and Relativism,
we will also discuss nihilism, error theory, and emotivism. Nihilism denies that morality is anything
at all, error theory claims that we are deeply mistaken about ethics itself, and emotivism claims that
ethical statements are really just expressions of emotion.
Once we consider threats to ethical objectivity, we will move on to discussing the three big theories
in ethics today. First, we will read Plato and Aristotle in order to understand some of the central
features of virtue ethics. This theory can seem somewhat foreign to us today because it does not
concern itself with what is right and wrong, at least not primarily. Instead, virtue ethics places the
focus on becoming a virtuous and flourishing person that has stable dispositions to act in a virtuous
manner. They talk in terms of happiness and well-being, and they do not generally provide students
with a hard and fast list of duties or obligations. This is an ancient theory that goes back to classical
Athens, and as such it provides an interesting lens through which to view ethics.
After Virtue Ethics we will discuss both Deontology and Utilitarianism. In order to understand the
central features of Deontology we will read Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Kant
argues that there is only one good that is unqualifiedly or unconditionally good—the good will. All
other goods, such as intelligence, strength, and pleasure, are good on the condition that one has a
good will. For Kant there are duties that we have to fulfill, because it is never ethical for us to do
otherwise. Also, Kant claims that there is a test, the Categorical Imperative Test, that will help us
discover what our duties are.
After Kant, we will turn to John Stuart Mill. He is one of the central defenders of the theory
Utilitarianism. Mill argues that there is one central principle to morality, and this is the Principle of
Utility. According to this principle, something is good because it promotes the happiness of the
greatest number of people affected by the action. Mill thinks that it is necessary for us to make a
rough calculation as to what course of action will promote the greatest amount of happiness, and
that we should try our best to carry through that course of action.
There is one required book for the semester: Russ Shafer-Landau’s The Fundamentals of Ethics
(Oxford, 2012). This is a great book. It is clear and well-argued. It will serve as a supplement to the
primary source readings we will examine this semester (drawn from Aristotle, Mill, and Kant).
Everything else we will read this semester can be found online, and I have included links in the
course lessons directing you to the text.
In addition to purchasing the text, all students will be required to regularly log-on to the course
iLearn site. This is a ten week course, and each week will be broken down into two lectures and
there will be associated assignments. This semester students will be asked to write forum posts, a
paper, and take exams. Your regular “attendance” in the course will be necessary (it will be
explained in the syllabus), and you will have deadlines you have to meet in order to do well in this
course.
The course will be published on December 17th, and it will begin December 19th. I look forward to
working with you this winter. Ethics is a difficult but immensely interesting and rewarding subject.
Best,
Dr. James G. Snyder
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Marist College