Chabot College
Fall 2007
Course Outline for Philosophy 60
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY: ETHICS
Catalog Description:
60 - Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics
3 units
Problems of good and evil, right and wrong, individual and/or social action; principles, criteria or
starting points for these issues and decisions as discussed and developed in great writings of the
philosophical-literary tradition. (Formerly PHIL 2) 3 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 52.5]
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:
1. discuss original writings concerned primarily with ethical action, its dilemmas, origins, and the
solutions suggested by great minds for these perennial puzzles of humanity;
2. communicate a broad spectrum of thinking on the critical issue of "starting points" for individual
action (own, others');
3. articulate balanced, experienced views of those who have come to grips with the same need for
critical judgment.
Course Content:
1. Key ethical theories, such as divine command theory, relativism, egoism, act and rule
utilitarianism, moral rights theory, and virtue ethics, and a variety of ways in which those theories
have been applied.
2. Enduring classical and contemporary questions and responses related to such things as
autonomy and agency (euthanasia), truth (lying), obligations to others, rights and equality,
resolving conflicts between duties and rules (state vs. family), etc.
3. Major philosophical or literary works that highlight ethical theory or dilemmas, such as: Old
Testament (books of Job, Ruth, Exodus; Macchiavelli, The Prince; Nietzche, Beyond Good and
Evil; Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars; Voltaire, Candide; Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment;
Melville, Billy Budd; Brecht, Galileo; Dante, Divine Comedy; Sophocles, Antigone; and E. Fromm,
The Heart of Man.
Methods of Presentation:
1. As far as possible entire works or texts will be read and analyzed.
2. The methods of presenting difficult ethical problems will be examined as well as the issues
themselves.
3. Class lecture-discussion will guide the student toward recognizing the scope, originality, and
durability of the various "solutions" to ethical dilemmas as well as applying the various solutions to
present day ethical dilemmas.
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1. Typical Assignments
a. In an essay, identify and differentiate among key ethical approaches
b. In a researched speech or essay, explicate an enduring ethical question and at least two
different ways of approaching the question
c. In a short paper, apply a classical ethical theory to a contemporary ethical question
Chabot College
Course Outline for Philosophy 60, Page 2
Fall 2007
2. Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
a. Daily class contributions (including quizzes)
b. Short analytic essay assignments
c. A midterm and final examination
d. All tests will be based on class discussion as well as on the readings
Textbook(s) Typical:
Ethics and College Student Life, Kenneth A. Strike and Pamela A. Moss, Prentice-Hall, 2003.
Ethical Insights: A Brief Introduction, Douglas Birsch, McGraw Hill, 2002.
Special Student Materials:
None
PDS:kh Phil60
Revised: 12/4/06