Course Prefix and Number: PHIL 114-53
Course Title: Ethics
Credit Hours:
Lecture Hours: 3 Laboratory Hours: 0
Days and Times the course meets: W 6:00-8:50 p.m. ICB 1704
Introduction:
This course introduces students to representative primary sources of ethical thought.
Catalog Description:
Prerequisite: None. An introduction to the study of moral philosophy. This course will provide an introductory historical survey of the major ethical systems and will consider their application to contemporary moral problems.
Instructor Information:
Name: David H. Brownell
Phone Numbers:
Email Address:
Home: 827-4890 HCC: 268-8635 (Leave message.) bl3b@davesworld.net
CALL ANYTIME IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED INDIVIDUAL
ASSITANCE. Never give up. We can work through any questions or problems you may encounter. It’s essential to keep the lines of communication open.
Textbooks:
David Goldberg. Ethical Theory and Social Issues. Orlando, Florida: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, 2 nd
. ed., 1995.
Robert M. Adams, ed. Candide. by Voltaire. New York: Norton & Company, pp. 1-75.
Relationship to Academic Development Programs and Transfer:
PHIL 114 fulfills 3 of the 9 semester hours of credit in Humanities/Fine Arts required for the A.A. or A.S. degrees; it satisfies the Humanities component of this requirement.
PHIL 114 should transfer to other Illinois colleges or universities as part of the General
Education Core Curriculum described in the Illinois Articulation Initiative [IAI Course
No. H4904]. However, students should consult an academic advisor for transfer information regarding particular institutions.
Page 1

Beliefs:
Academic Discipline
The study of philosophy—and the study of ethics in particular—can provide interesting concepts for consideration. More importantly, the study of ethics can provide a guide for daily decisions.
Student Learning
Knowledge is golden; learning can be painful…but it also can be interesting, fun, and personally rewarding. We will pursue these goals. Consistent participation in the course is essential to your success, because the reading assignments, class discussions, presentations, in-class writing and other activities are all geared to helping you understand the major paper assignments effectively. There is some room to negotiate individually on deadlines, absences, and approaches to assignments if you are attending regularly, have consistent participation, have extenuating circumstances that warrant such negotiation, and maintain consistent communication with me.
You will need to spend at least eight hours per week outside of class on work for this course. The actual number is determined by your preparation, attitude, getting your questions answered, and your personal goals. Keep a folder or binder for notes and handouts. Bring these materials and needed textbooks to each class session. Stay organized and aware of my expectations. Consult the assignment schedule in order to prepare for each class session and to meet every deadline. Let me know if you have questions or need help.
Instructor’s Role
The instructor will be a facilitator, coach, and discussion leader. While I can’t do all the work for you, my goal is to help you succeed in this course. I will be available before and after class and during scheduled office hours. In addition, you may call or email me at home anytime you have a question or concern.
Course Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
After completing this course, you should be able to
1.
Distinguish various ethical theories and recognize the ethical theory embodied in any particular work of moral philosophy.
2.
Identify and appraise some of the most important problems and concepts from the history of ethical theory. (P1)
3.
Outline the historical development of moral philosophy, matching important works with the philosophers who wrote them and important beliefs with the philosophers who held them. (D5)
4.
Analyze critically the extent that a philosopher’s identity and assumptions influence his or her perspective or beliefs. (D4)
5.
Improve your ability to aptly interpret difficult texts in moral philosophy and support those interpretations with reasoned arguments. (C7)
Page 2

6.
Define the main moral problems or dilemmas posed by current practices in the field of applied ethics. (P2)
7.
Explore the effectiveness with which various ethical theories can be utilized to design solutions to contemporary problems in applied ethics. (P3,P4,P5,P6)
8.
Demonstrate awareness of the effects of various social practices on diverse populations in our society. (D1)
9.
Appreciate the importance of cultural values, assumptions, and practical considerations that may weigh in favor of various perspectives on a moral problem— not just the perspective the student prefers. (D2,D4)
10.
Exhibit responsibility for your learning by participating in critical and creative dialogues about ethical theory and social issues, systhesizing diverse sources and arguments. (D6,C7)
11.
Demonstrate the ability to write critically and analytically about ethical theory and social issues, supporting opinions with arguments, evidence, and reasoning. (C3)
Course/Lab Outline:
General Introduction
Part One Ethical Theory: Historical Texts
Introduction
Ch. 1 -- Plato and Aristotle
Ch. 2 -- Hobbes and Hume
Ch. 3 -- Rousseau and Kant
Ch. 4 -- Bentham and Mill
Part Two Contemporary Ethical Theory
Ch. 5 -- Liberalism
Ch. 7 -- Feminism
Part Three Social Issues: Contemporary Readings
Ch. 8 -- Citizenship
Ch. 9 -- Affirmative Action
Ch. 10 – Censorship and Hate Speech
Ch. 11 - AIDS
Ch. 12 - Abortion
Ch. 13 - Euthanasia
Ch. 14 – Punishment and the Death Penalty
Page 3

Methods of Instruction:
The instructional method will include lecture and discussion in both large and small groups. Students will have ample opportunity to interact with the instructor and one another. Case studies and practice essay questions will be used in class to develop communication and problem solving skills.
Course Policies:
Method of Evaluation (Tests/Exams, Grading system):
Grading Scale: 90 - 100% = A
80 - 89% = B
70 - 79% = C
60 - 69% = D
0 - 59% = F
Classroom Activities
Case Studies
20% of Course Grade
- Small Group participation
Class Discussion
Quizzes
Team Paper 20% of Course Grade
Mid-Term Examination 30% of Course Grade
Comprehensive Final Exam 30% of Course Grade
NOTE: Since the final exam will be comprehensive, we will use what I call “the
system by which the student absolutely cannot lose.” Here’s how it
works. When factoring the exam grades into the course grade…
If the Mid-Term Exam grade is higher than the Final Exam grade, the two exam grades will be averaged. If, however, the Final Exam grade is higher, the Mid-Term Exam grade will be dropped, and the Final Exam grade will be used for both exams. (See examples below.)
Example #1:
Mid-Term Final Exam Combination
92 (A)
Example #2:
Mid-Term
72 (C)
72 (C)
Final Exam
92 (A)
82 (B)
Combination
92 (A)
Page 4

Study Tips:
1.
Try to set a regular time and place to do the bulk of your study.
2.
Look ahead in the text and in the syllabus to get a sense of where we’re headed.
3.
Read each assignment before class so that our in-class discussion will reinforce key ideas you’ve already read about.
4.
Make your textbook work for you. Underline or highlight key terms and concepts so it will be easier for you to find them when you review later.
5.
If you get into a study group, talk about what you’ve read with other members of the group. See if you all have the same understanding, or if there are some questions we need to resolve in class.
6.
Plan some time on your calendar to review parts of the course materials periodically.
For example, about once a month, review all the assignments we’ve completed up to that time. This will simplify your final review process.
Supplementary Study Materials:
From time to time, you will receive copies of case studies or articles to read. These materials will be included along with all assigned textbook material on your exams.
Participation (or Attendance)
Since this course includes classroom discussion and exercises, there is a strict attendance policy. Students are expected to attend all classes and to participate meaningfully in the activity of each class. However, since unexpected problems can occur, each student will be allowed up to two unexcused absences without penalty. After that, each unexcused absence will reduce the class participation grade by 25%. Students with an approved excused absence will be able to make up a mid-term or final examination. Students may miss one quiz without consequence. Additional missed quizzes may not be made up, regardless of the reason, and will receive a score of zero.
Excused absences are granted in cases of extreme and documented circumstances, provided the instructor is notified on or before the date of the absence, and students must make up any work missed because of these absences within one week. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the instructor on or before the absence and to arrange to make up any missed work if the excuse is approved.
“Emergencies” such as transportation problems, the weather, oversleeping, power failures, or performing work for employers or other instructors are not considered bona fide excuses.
Pre-scheduled medical and dental appointments will be excused only if no other time for the appointment is possible and the instructor is notified in advance. Mid-Term or Final
Exams which are missed without prior approved arrangements will receive a score of zero and a grade of F.
Page 5

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a fundamental principle of collegial life at Heartland Community
College and is essential to the credibility of the College’s educational programs.
Moreover, because grading may be competitive, students who misrepresent their academic work violate the rights of their fellow students. The College, therefore, views any act of academic dishonesty as a serious offense requiring disciplinary measures, including course failure, suspension, and even expulsion from the College. In addition, an act of academic dishonesty may have unforeseen effects far beyond any officially imposed penalties.
Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to cheating, aiding or suboring cheating or other acts of academic dishonesty, plagiarism, misrepresentation of data, falsification of academic records or documents and unauthorized access to computerized academic or administrative records or systems. Definitions of these violations may be found in the College catalog.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presenting of others’ ideas as if they were your own. When you write a paper, create a project, do a presentation or create anything original, it is assumed that all the work, except for that which is attributed to another author or creator, is your own.
Plagiarism is considered a serious academic offense and make take the following forms:
1.
Copying word-for-word from another source and not giving that source credit.
2.
Paraphrasing the work of another and not giving that source credit.
3.
Adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own.
4.
Using an image or a copy of an image without crediting its source.
5.
Paraphrasing someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a topic as if it were your own.
6.
Receiving excessive help from a friend or elsewhere, or using another project
7.
as if it were your own.
Note that word-for-word copying is not the only form of plagiarism.
The penalties for plagiarism may be severe, ranging from failure on the particular piece of work, failure in the course, or expulsion from school in extreme cases.
[Adapted from the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: MLA, 1995: 26]
Page 6

Support Services:
Heartland Library Information www.hcc.cc.il.us/library
The Library, located within the HCC campus, provides Heartland students with a variety of on-campus resources that support both class work and personal inquiry. These include: reference tools (print and non-print), periodicals, audio-visual materials and equipment, reserves, a general circulating collection, and a fiction collection.
Computer terminals provide access to various electronic resources, including InfoTrac
SearchBank, FirstSearch, and NewsBank databases; CD-ROMs, ILLINET online
(includes Milner’s collection), and Internet access. Several electronic resources are accessible from computers off campus. Students may borrow books from the fiction and general collections and may renew materials, in person or by phone, if requests have not been placed on them. Heartland students also have full borrowing privileges at ISU’s
Milner Library. A Heartland student ID card serves as a library card at Milner Library.
The Library maintains a quiet study environment. Assistance is available for all library and information needs. Heartland Library is open Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.,
Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. when the college is in session, but is closed on holidays that Heartland observes. Intercession and summer hours are reduced. For more information Library services, please call the
Library at 268-8200.
Tutoring and Academic Support
Heartland Community College offers learning assistance in various forms at no cost to
Heartland students at the Academic Support Center (ASC) in Normal and at the Pontiac and Lincoln Centers. Tutors are available at convenient times throughout the week.
Study groups, group tutoring facilitated by a specially-trained tutor, are also available by request. Help is also provided through instructional materials, study skills workshops, open computing, and the Library. For more information about services available at each location, please call the ASC in Normal at (309) 268-8235, the Pontiac Center at (815)
842-6777, or the Lincoln Center at (217) 735-1731.
Specifications for written materials:
All papers must be typed using word processing software. Students should follow the manuscript style guidelines illustrated in the MLA Handbook or those in the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association since papers deviating from these formats will not be accepted.
Page 7

Incompletes Policy
I follow the official college policy, as found in the College catalog, as illustrated by the following excerpt: “An incomplete grade may be given to a student who, by the withdrawal date, can reasonably be expected to pass the course. Incompletes may be granted only when justified by extreme circumstances (e.g. serious illness, accident, death or serious illness in the immediate family).”
Make-Up of Tests and Assignments Policy
In any case, I reserve the right to negotiate with students over make-up issues and excuse of absences. Late work, whether or not due to absences (unless negotiated with me as explained above) will receive a deduction of a letter grade per weekday from the grade earned. If negotiated make-up schedules are not kept, the one grade per weekday penalty applies.
Team Paper Information
Students will work together in teams of 3-5 students to research a particular philosopher or philosophical issue from a list of topics provided. They will then develop a 10 to15page paper, including documentation. The paper should be typed, double-spaced, on a computer. Documentation should include a bibliography providing a list of all works consulted. Also, either footnotes or endnotes should be used to document specific summaries or quotations.
The Team Paper will be done in lieu of an individual term paper. This is a more efficient use of time and effort as students share the work and responsibilities while developing a paper through the application of teamworking skills. Each team will select its topic and elect a Team Captain. The Team Captain will be responsible for scheduling work sessions, coordinating team meetings, keeping the work focused and moving, and turning in the final product.
Each team will have an opportunity to present its final paper in class. Team members will need to be prepared to state their major thesis, explain the highlights and key points presented in the paper, and answer questions about their conclusions and supporting arguments.
The grade for this project will be based on both the paper submitted and the classroom presentation. The Team Captain will submit the final paper and include the names of the team members who developed in on the cover page. Each team member will share in the grade earned and credit for the project, unless the Team Captain omits their name because they did not take an active role in completing the paper.
Page 8

Office Hours
I will be available before and after class for questions and discussion. In addition, student meetings may be arranged during the following office hours in ICB-2015:
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Monday
3:30-5:00 p.m. 4:30-6:00 p.m. 3:30-5:00 p.m. 3:30-5:00 p.m.
SYLLABI DISCLAIMER
The class will be notified if changes are needed due to College closings, severe weather, class progress, incorrect statements in this document, or unexpected demands on the instructor.
Page 9

STUDENT ASSIGNMENTS AND CALENDAR -- SPRING, 2001:
Date
1/17/01
1/24/01
1/31/01
Topic
Course Calendar for PHIL 114-53 -- Ethics:
Course Overview/Introduction
Intro. & Ch. 1 “Plato & Aristotle”
“Hobbes & Hume” (Ch. 2)
Assignments
Syllabus pp. 1-55 pp. 56-80
2/07/01
2/14/01
2/21/01
2/28/01
3/07/01
3/14/01
3/21/01
3/28/01
Select Teams & Team Paper Topics; Intro. Ch. 3.
“Rousseau & Kant” (Ch. 3)
“Bentham & Mill” (Ch. 4)
“Liberalism” (Ch. 5) &
“Feminism” (Ch. 7
Mid-term Examination
No Class – Spring Break
Return, discuss Mid-Term Exam pp. 82-114 pp. 116-144 pp. 148-186 & pp. 213-241
None
Philosophy of Religion & Voltaire: Candide Class Notes &
Candide 1-75
4/04/01
4/11/01
4/18/01
4/25/01
Philosophy of Religion & Voltaire: Candide same as above
“Citizenship” (Ch. 8) pp. 245-282
“Affirmative Action” (Ch. 9)
“Censorship & Hate Speech” (Ch. 10)
“AIDS” (Ch. 11)
Team Papers Due pp. 284-326 pp. 328-377 pp. 379-417
5/02/01
5/09/01
5/16/01
“Abortion & Euthanasia” (Ch’s 12,13)
“Punishment & the Death Penalty” (Ch.14) pp. 482-514
Comprehensive Final Examination pp. 419-479
Essay Questions:
Essay questions will be used for practice in class and will be part of your exams. We will use a standard approach for analyzing questions, building an outline, and developing an essay answer comprised of complete sentences and complete paragraphs. See samples on next two pages.
Page 10

SAMPLE ESSAY QUESTIONS
1.
What is a moral dilemma, and how do we know when we face one?
2.
What is the underlying assumption of ethical relativism, and what logical problem do relativists frequently encounter?
3.
What is the natural end of all human activity, according to Aristotle?
4.
Contrast the States of Nature of Hobbes and Rousseau.
5.
What is the nature of Hume’s attack on reason, and what was Kant’s reaction?
6.
Contrast Kant’s Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives.
7.
What was John Mill’s primary contribution to Utilitarian thought?
8.
What was the Problem of Evil? Also, how was it approached by: a.
Augustine b.
Aquinas c.
Leibniz d.
Voltaire e.
Mackie
9.
How would each of the following react to the Robin Hood theory, i.e., taking from the rich and giving to the poor? a.
J. S. Mill b.
J. L. Mackie c.
John Rawls d.
Robert Nozick
10.
What is the greatest fear of feminists concerning an ethics of care, according to Nel
Noddings?
11.
Describe any two issues for the nineties in feminist ethics which were raised by
Alison Jaggar.
12.
What is the fatal weakness of federal programs according to Lawrence Mead?
13.
Why were the 14 th
and 15 th
Amendments written into the Constitution?
14.
Explain the issue and Court decision in each of these cases:

Brown vs. Board of Education

University of California v. Bakke

City of Richmond v. Croson Page 11

Sample Essay Questions – continued:
15.
What did Stephen Carter mean by the “Best Black Syndrome”?
16.
What did David Goldberg have to say about Reverse Discrimination?
17.
Give two reasons for and two reasons against censorship of Campus Hate Speech.
18.
Give one argument for and one argument against abortion.
19.
Give one argument for and one argument against euthanasia.
20.
Give one argument for and one argument against the death penalty.
Page 12

General Information:
Student
Name: __________________________________________________________
(Please print.)
Soc. Sec. No.: ____________________________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________________________
Local
Address: ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Local
Phone No. ____________________________________________________
Accommodations Needed, if any:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Page 13