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Syllabus: Philo 104, Introduction to Moral Philosophy, Section 04 (Course
Code 14242) – Fall 2013 – Hunter College
Class Meetings: Mon and Weds 8:25 – 9:40PM. Room: HW505.
Instructor: Thomas Kivatinos; E-mail:Tomkivatinos@gmail.com / Office: HW, Room 1418, Office Hours – Weds
6:00 – 6:50PM. (Note: please only send emails to the Gmail account shown above – not the Hunter email address.)
Course Description: This course aims to address some of the basic philosophical questions concerning morality,
such as the following: What is it that makes an action moral or immoral? What are the reasons to believe that there
is any such thing as moral value? Can belief in morality be consistent with science or consistent with disbelief in
God and the supernatural? What is the more reasonable basis for making decisions that affect other human beings or
‘moral agents’? If there is no reason to believe that there is such a thing as moral value then why do we believe that
there is any such thing to begin with? More specifically, this class will be concerned with Meta-Ethics, skeptical
positions concerning ethics, and assessing the prominent moral theories that have most prominently occupied the
attention of philosophy. The Goals and Objectives of the Course are to provide each student with a
familiarization with the relevant theories, some of the basic history of the topic and a well honed understanding of
how to rationally and methodically approach questions about morality. The students will be assessed by means of
the course requirements described directly below.
Course Requirements: There will be 3 exams all worth 33.3% of the course grade.
Textbook (required): The textbook we will be using is an anthology titled Ethics: Contemporary Readings
(Routledge Contemporary Readings in Philosophy), edited by Harry J. Gensler, Earl W. Spurgin and James C.
Swindal. New and used copies will be available at the Hunter College Bookstore and the book is found very easily
online (the price of the book purchased in new condition online ranges from about 28$ to 40$ and used copies can
be found online much cheaper).
Suggested text: The very helpful companion to our textbook is Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge
Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy) by Harry J. Gensler. This is can be purchased online for very little cost.
Email notice: for various class purposes it’s an absolute necessity that I have each of your email addresses recorded
immediately at the start of the course: thus, you are required to send me an email the day of our first class meeting
from the email address that your regularly check. In this first email, just state that you are from the Philo 104 class
and make explicit your name. Again, please send emails only to Tomkivatinos@gmail.com, not to my Hunter email
address.
Office hours & Email Correspondence: Please feel free to show up without notice, though an email notification in
advance is helpful. In-office reviews for the exams will be conducted regularly for anyone who needs it – just let me
know. In general, email correspondence to discuss the course material is very welcomed and encouraged; please feel
free to be in touch via email about any questions, concerns, comments, or to let me know about a class related issue
or anticipated absence, etc. (Again: all emails are to be sent to tomkivatinos@gmail.com, not my Hunter email.).
Date of Final Exam and Last Class Meeting: Our final exam will be held 12/18, which is a Weds, in our usual
classroom, from 7:30 to 9:30PM. Our last class meeting will be 12/11, which is a Weds.
Official Policies of Hunter College:
Office of AccessABILITY: In compliance with the American Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) and with Section 4 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Hunter College is committed to ensuring educational parity and accommodations for
all students with documented disabilities and/or medical conditions. It is recommended that all students with
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documented disabilities (Emotional, Medical, Physical, and/or Learning) consult the Office of AccessABILITY
located in room E1124 to secure necessary academic accommodations. For further information and assistance,
please call (212-772-4857)/TTY (212-650-3230.)
Academic Dishonesty: Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism, cheating on
examinations, obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents) as serious offenses
against the values of intellectual honesty. The College is committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy on Academic
Integrity and will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College Academic Integrity
Procedures.
P/NC Policy: All students who choose to P/NC the course must complete ALL assignments for the course (including
ALL exams and ALL term papers) in order to be eligible for the P/NC option. This is official Hunter College policy.
Readings, topics and tentative schedule:
Unit1 : Normative Theories
Reading 1 – David Ozar: What Are Rights and Where Do They Come From? Supplementary reading
emailed to the class.
Reading 2 – John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism. P. 196. & Bernard Williams, Against Utilitarianism. P. 210.
Reading 3 – Immanuel Kant: Ethics is Based on Reason. P. 153.
Reading 4 – Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics. P. 240.
Exam 1
Unit 2: Applied Ethics
Reading 5 – Mary Ann Warren: On The Legal and Moral Status of Abortion. Supplementary reading
emailed to the class.
Reading 6 – Stephen Nathanson: Why We Should Put the Death Penalty to Rest. Supplementary reading
emailed to the class. Supplementary reading emailed to the class.
Reading 7 – Peter Singer: Animal Liberation. P. 284.
Reading 8 – Rogers and Kaplan: Animals are Not Equal. The Interface between Scientific Knowledge and
Legislation for Animal Rights. Supplementary reading emailed to the class.
Exam 2
Unit 3: Meta-Ethics
Reading 8 – G.E. Moore: Irreducible Ethical Truths. P. 85.
Reading 9 – A.J. Ayer: Ethics Claims Express Feelings. P. 99.
Reading 10 – J.L. Mackie: Ethics Are Subjective. P. 107.
Reading 11 – John Rawls: A Theory of Justice. P. 229.
Reading 12 – Richard Joyce: The Evolutionary Vindication of Morality. Supplementary reading emailed
to the class.
Exam 3
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