Abilene Christian University
College of Biblical Studies
Introduction to Ethics
BIBD/PHIL 486.01
Spring 2009—CBS 117
Class Times: TR 9:30-10:50 A.M.
I. Personal Stuff
Dr. Vic McCracken
Phone (office): (325) 674-3718
Office: CBS 237
(home): (325) 672-1476
Office Hours: MW 8:00-10:00 A.M.
vbm95u@acu.edu
M 2:00-4:00 P.M.
(note: if I’m not in my office during office hours, check the Honors College Office Suite in Zellner Hall)
II. University Mission
The mission of ACU is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.
The mission of the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry is to provide biblical training, Christian
spiritual formation, and a Christian worldview for every student in the university.
III. Course Description
This course introduces students to the critical concepts and language of philosophical ethics. While this
class offers a survey of ethics as a philosophical discipline, this class will utilize a variety of learning
approaches in order to help students find their own moral “voices.” Course lectures will familiarize
students with a variety of ethical sources, methodologies, and terms. Video presentations will invite
students to think about the relevance of these concepts as they pertain to a variety of moral issues. Inclass discussion will offer students the opportunity to exercise their moral voices through reasoned
discourse with one another. Fundamentally, in this class I hope to help students learn to think carefully
and critically about their own moral convictions, perhaps even arriving at new conclusions they haven’t
previously considered.
IV. Competencies and Measures
1. Students will demonstrate familiarity with key
terms, theories, and concepts in philosophical
ethics .
2. Students will develop the deliberative virtues
necessary to engage in reasoned discussion
about controversial issues.
3. Students will learn how to present a wellreasoned argument for a moral position.
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Unit Tests
Reading Quizzes
Final Exam
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Class Discussion
In-class Debates
Position Paper
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Position Paper
4. Students will be able to compare 3 theories of
justice and apply relevant differences to a
contemporary moral issue.
5. Students will be able to evaluate how Christian
faith informs moral decision-making.
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Social justice and healthcare essay
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Final Exam
V. Textbooks
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Louis Pojman and James Fieser, Ethics: Discovering Right & Wrong, 6th edition (Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth, 2009).
Additional handouts and articles (as provided by the instructor)
The textbook publisher has made available some very useful online study helps, including review
questions and chapter outlines. You can access these materials at:
http://www.wadsworth.com/cgiwadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&flag=student&product_isbn_issn=978049550235
7&discipline_number=5
VI. Course Requirements
1. Readings (100 points): You are expected to read all required assignments before class. Class
discussions will assume that you have read the assigned text. On the date of each assigned reading
there will be a 10 point reading quiz that will test your knowledge of the chapter. There will be a
total of 12 quizzes, with the bottom two scores dropped from your final point total.
2. Tests (250 points): You will take a100-point midterm and a 150-point final exam. These exams will
occur on the dates indicated on the course calendar. Tests will cover material from the course
textbook and class lectures. The final exam will be comprehensive. Make-up exams will be given
only in cases of an excused absence and at my discretion and will be scheduled as per departmental
policy (Thursdays, 3:00-5:00 P.M., and Fridays, 8:00-10:00 A.M).
3. Position Paper (100 points): You will write a position paper on one of the ethical issues discussed in
class. In this paper you will describe as precisely as possible the problem (2 pages) and set forth a
reasoned defense of your own position (4 pages). This paper should be six typewritten, doublespaced pages in length and is due on Tuesday, April 20.
4. Social Justice and Healthcare essay (50 points): On Thursday, March 11 the professor will be
hosting a viewing of the documentary Sick Around the World (2008) at 7:00 P.M. (location TBD).
Attendance at this viewing is a course requirement, though students can make alternative
arrangements with the professor if they have a scheduling conflict. On Thursday, March 25 you will
spend a portion of the class period writing a short essay that responds to one or more questions posed
by the professor.
VII. Grading and Class Policies
As noted above, course assignments are weighted as follows:
 Reading Quizzes
100 points
 Midterm Exam
100 points
 Sick Around the World essay
50 points
 Final Exam
150 points
 Position Paper
100 points
_________
500 points total
At the end of the semester, I will tabulate points and assign grades according to the following rubric
(note: I use the same rubric in evaluating individual assignments):
100-90%
A
outstanding
Excellent in all or nearly all aspects. Flawless knowledge, deep comprehension,
critical analysis and evaluation, creative synthesis, and mature application. Full test
answers reflect the breadth of pertinent material to which student has been exposed
and nuanced reliance on primary materials Creatively relates material to other areas
of knowledge and practice, exhibiting a high level of interdisciplinary skill.
89-80%
B
good
Good in most aspects, though not marked by superiority throughout. Accurate
knowledge and good comprehension, exhibiting analysis and evaluation, good
synthesis with perhaps the beginnings of application. Good but partial test answers,
reflecting comprehension of the most crucial components of pertinent material, with
good comprehension and regular reference to primary sources. Where appropriate,
makes realistic application, showing some interdisciplinary sensitivity.
79-70%
69-60%
<60%
C
decent
Competent in most aspects with some occasional lapses, mostly relating to
knowledge and comprehension. Somewhat deficient test answers, reflecting
awareness of only one or two of the most crucial components of the material and
scarcely nuanced by reference to sources. Applications are fairly reasonable, but do
not have much interdisciplinary creativity or their appropriateness is questionable.
D
inadequate
Shows some effort, but most areas are so marred by technical problems or flaws in
thinking or development that the work cannot be considered competent.
Applications are unrealistic and severely underdeveloped. Test answers provide
little information, make major mistakes, and exhibit little or no developed thought.
F
failing
Shows little or no effort, with substantial lapses that reveal lack of comprehension,
illogical thinking, or an utter disregard for the course requirements. No attempts
made to engage course materials in a meaningful way. Test answers are illegible or
incoherent and exhibit no thoughtful exposition.
Some important policies to keep in mind:
1. Attendance is expected at every class period. In the event of an emergency causing you to be
away, you are responsible for the materials covered in class.
2. Excused absences are those caused by a university-sponsored activity, medical emergency or
family tragedy. If you are absent due to a university-sponsored event, you should provide a
suitable explanation in advance, which must be approved by me. Illness must be verified on the
day that you return to class.
3. Concerning unexcused absences, you are allowed (but not encouraged to use) up to two
unexcused absences this semester without penalty. For every unexcused absence beyond the
second your final course grade will be decreased by 1/3 of a letter grade. Class will begin
promptly at the scheduled time. Two tardies equal one unexcused absence.
4. All assignments must be turned in by the date indicated in the course calendar. Late assignments
will lose 1/3 of a letter grade for every day beyond the due date. Assignments turned in later than
1 week past the due date will not be accepted.
5. Academic honesty is taken for granted at Abilene Christian University. Cheating on an exam and
plagiarism (i.e., submitting the work of another person as one’s own) are practices incompatible
with higher education, especially at a Christian university and may result in dismissal from the
course with a failing grade and a recommendation of discipline to the university administration.
ACU’s full academic integrity policy is available for review at the Provost office website
(www.acu.edu/campusoffices/provost ) and the following offices: provost, college deans, dean of
campus life, director of student judicial affairs, director of residential life education, and all
academic departments. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:
a. Taking from another’s work without their permission. This includes classmates and
published works (whether in print or electronic form). In papers you must document all
sources used, even if you do not quote from the works.
b. The submission of a paper taken from the web.
6. Students with special needs of any kind should address these with me as soon as possible. If you
have a diagnosed disability you should contact Alpha Academic Services (674-2750) before or
immediately after your first scheduled class meeting. After your disability has been veryified I
will work with you and Alpha Academic Services to provide reasonable accommodations to
ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform in the course.
7. The ACU Writing Center, located in the Learning Commons of the Brown Library, welcomes all
students who would like assistance with their writing. The Center’s trained and experienced
tutors will provide feedback for any writing assignment at any stage of the writing process—from
planning and drafting to formatting and editing. Services are free. You can call 674-4833 for
more information.
8. I permit food and drinks in my classroom as long as they do not become distractions. You are
welcome to bring cell phones and IPods to class, but they need to remain off unless otherwise
instructed. Laptops are permitted as well, but you are not permitted to use them for activities that
distract you from involvement in the class (i.e. no IMing, facebook, games, surfing, or emailing
unless otherwise instructed).
VIII. Course Calendar
DATE
TOPIC
ASSIGNMENT
January 12, Tuesday
Course Introduction/in-class video, “The Kevorkian Verdict”
January 14, Thursday
Ethics: Surveying the Field
Pojman, Chapter 1
January 19, Tuesday
Religion and Ethics
Pojman, Chapter 10
January 21, Thursday
Sidebar: Christian Ethics as a Discipline
January 26, Tuesday
The Case for/against Ethical Relativism
Pojman Chapter 2
January 28, Thursday
The Case for/against Moral Objectivism
Pojman, Chapter 3
February 2, Tuesday
Value: the Quest for the Good
Pojman, Chapter 4
February 4, Thursday
In-class Discussion: Value and moral decision-making
February 9, Tuesday
Why Be Moral?
Pojman, Chapter 5
February 11, Thursday
Egoism, Self-Interest, and Altruism
Pojman, Chapter 6
February 16, Tuesday
Utilitarian Ethics
Pojman, Chapter 7
February 18, Thursday
Utilitarian Ethics (continued)
February 23, Tuesday
Deontological Ethics
February 25, Thursday
Deontological Ethics (continued)
March 2, Tuesday
Midterm Exam
Midterm Exam
March 4, Thursday
Virtue Ethics
Pojman, Chapter 9
March 9, Tuesday
Metaethics
March 11, Thursday
Theories of Justice
Evening Movie: Sick Across America
March 16, Tuesday
Spring Break (no class)
No class
March 18, Thursday
Spring Break (no class)
No class
March 23, Tuesday
Justice and Healthcare: Sick Around the World
March 25, Thursday
Justice and Healthcare wrapup
In-class essay
March 30, Tuesday
Applied Ethics: the Morality of Peace and War
Reading assigned by professor
April 1, Thursday
The Morality of Peace and War (continued)
April 6, Tuesday
The Morality of Peace and War (continued)
April 8, Thursday
Applied Ethics: Torture and the War on Terror
Reading assigned by professor
April 13, Tuesday
Applied Ethics: Abortion
Reading assigned by professor
April 15, Thursday
Abortion (continued)
Pojman, Chapter 8
Pojman, Chapters 11 and 12
April 20, Tuesday
Applied Ethics: Global Poverty
April 22, Thursday
Applied Ethics: Religion in the 21st Century
April 27, Tuesday
Open Forum
April 29, Thursday
Course Wrapup—Final Exam Review
May 7, Friday
Final Exam, 8:00-9:45 A.M.
Position Papers Due
Final Exam