Introduction to Ethics
Denny 104, MWF 10:30 – 11:20
Professor Chauncey Maher
maherc@dickinson.edu East College 201
Office Hours: 1:30-2:30 MW, or by appointment
Course Description
What makes for a good human life? Should you bother to be just, if no one else is?
Everyone wants to be happy, but what does it take to be worthy of happiness? Is morality
merely a lie perpetrated on the weak by the strong to maintain control over them? Can you
“be yourself,” while simultaneously respecting others’ attempts to do so?
Those questions are among the concerns of ethics. What do answers to such
questions look like? How would you go about justifying any such answer? Does it matter
whether you can provide a justification?
This course is an introduction to ethics in which we will consider those questions
among others. We will read classic works by Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and Nietzsche; and we
will read a short book by an influential contemporary philosopher, Charles Taylor. These
works are representative but not exhaustive of the relevant literature. I have selected them to
introduce you to these issues.
Goals
-Develop skills of reasoning through reading, discussion and writing
-Become familiar with some central claims and arguments in moral philosophy
Texts
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 978-0872204645
Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Principles of Morals, 978-0915145454
Kant, Ethical Philosophy, 978-0-87220-320-4
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality, 978-0521691635
Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity, 978-0674268630
Weston, A Rule Book for Arguments, 4th edition, 08722205525
Evaluation
This is a course in philosophy. Philosophical issues are often more easily grasped
when discussed with others. For that reason, I expect all of you to ask questions of me and
each other. I also expect you to do all of the reading and attend class. Almost every week, we
will dedicate time solely to discussing the issues and questions raised by the reading for that
week. Your participation in these discussions is worth 10% of your final grade. Please see my
comments on participation at the end of the syllabus for more details.
There are 5 short essays for this course, one for each of the books we will read.
These assignments are deliberately short; part of the challenge is to write concisely and
effectively. Each essay is worth 18% of your final grade. You will have roughly one week to
write each essay. See the schedule for the due dates.
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Schedule (tentative)
Date
8/30
M
Topic
Introduction to the course
Reading (for class on this day)
None
9/1
What is the aim of a good human life?
NE, Book I
9/3
Discussion
NE, Book I
9/6
M
Arguments and Logic
Weston, I, VI, Appendix I
9/8
Reason and action
NE, Books II-III
9/10
Virtues
NE, Books IV-VI
9/13
M
View Groundhog Day
NE, Books II-VI
9/15
View Groundhog Day
NE, Books II-VI
9/17
Discussion
NE, Books II-VI & Groundhog Day
9/20
M
How to write a philosophy paper
Weston, I-III, V-VIII, Appendix II
9/22
Friendship
NE, Books VII-IX
9/24
Discussion
NE, Books VII-IX
9/27
M
What justifies moral judgments?
Enquiry, I-III
9/29
Motivation, reason and sentiment
1 Paper Due
Enquiry, Appendices I and II
10/1
Discussion
Enquiry, I-III and App. I and II
10/4
M
Virtue, vice, and self-love
Enquiry, IV-VI
10/6
The sensible knave and morality
Enquiry, VII-IX
10/8
Discussion
Enquiry, IV-IX
10/11
M
Good will, motives and duty
Groundwork 1 (in EP)
10/13
The categorical imperative, dignity and respect
Groundwork 2 (in EP)
10/15
Discussion
Groundwork 1 and 2 (in EP)
10/18
M
NO CLASS
NO CLASS
st
st
1 Paper Due
2
View Crimes and Misdemeanors
2 Paper Due
Groundwork 1 and 2 (in EP)
10/22
View Crimes and Misdemeanors
Groundwork 1 and 2 (in EP)
10/25
M
Discussion
Groundwork 1 and 2, and Crimes
10/27
Duties and feelings
MPV, pp.36-50, 57-68 (in EP)
10/29
Humility, lying, love and friendship
MPV, pp.88-93, 96-100, 112-123, 135-141 (in
10/20
nd
nd
2 Paper Due
EP)
11/1
M
Discussion
MPV
11/3
Why a genealogy?
Good and Bad, Good and Evil
Genealogy, Preface and First Essay
11/5
Are we free?
Genealogy, Preface and First Essay (focus on
11/8
M
Discussion
3 Paper Due
Genealogy, Preface and First Essay
11/10
The right to make promises
What is the will to power?
Genealogy, Second Essay
11/12
The ascetic ideal
Genealogy, Third Essay
11/15
M
Discussion
Genealogy, Second and Third Essays
11/17
Is there an alternative to the ascetic ideal?
Genealogy, Third Essay
§13)
rd
rd
3 Paper Due
(focus on §1)
(focus on §§1-22)
(focus on §§23-25)
Gay Science, excerpts
11/19
View: “The Only Truth” (from Errol Morris’s First
Person)
11/22
M
Discussion
Genealogy and “The Only Truth”
11/24
NO CLASS
4 Paper Due
NO CLASS
4 Paper Due
11/26
NO CLASS
NO CLASS
11/29
M
Individualism and the ideal of authenticity
EA, 1-3
12/1
Horizons, recognition and dialogue
EA, 4-6
12/3
Discussion
EA, 1-5
12/6
M
Arguing about authenticity
EA, 6-8
12/8
Instrumental reason and apathy
EA, 9-10
12/10
Discussion
EA, 6-10
th
12/15
th
th
5 Paper Due 9a.m.
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Academic Honesty
Any case of suspected academic dishonesty must be reported. Note: “To plagiarize is
to use without proper citation or acknowledgment the words, ideas, or work of another.
Plagiarism is a form of cheating that refers to several types of unacknowledged borrowing.” A
simple rule: When you are in doubt about whether to provide a citation, provide the citation.
For more information, please see the handbook on Community Standards here:
http://www.dickinson.edu/student/files/commstand0809.pdf
Disabilities
In compliance with the Dickinson College policy and equal access laws, I am
available to discuss requests made by students with disabilities for academic
accommodations. Such requests must be verified in advance this semester by Marni Jones,
Coordinator of Disability Services, who will provide a signed copy of an accommodation
letter. This must be presented in a scheduled meeting with me prior to any accommodations
being offered. Requests for academic accommodations should be made during the first
three weeks of the semester (except for unusual circumstances) so that timely and
appropriate arrangements can be made.
Students requesting accommodations are required to register with Disability Services,
located in Academic Advising, first floor of Biddle House (contact ext. 1080 or
jonesmar@dickinson.edu) to verify their eligibility for reasonable and appropriate
accommodations.
Participation
What it is:
1. A comment or question on a specific claim or argument made by the author.
a. This can be interpretive. E.g. ‘What does Socrates mean when he says S on page
P?’ Here you have the burden of saying what you think S means.
b. Or it can be critical. E.g. ‘Socrates claims S, but he doesn’t seem to have a good
reason for it.’ Here you have the burden of saying why you think the person has
a bad reason.
2. A comment or question on a specific claim made by me or someone else.
a. As above, this can be interpretive or critical.
What it is not:
1. Asking what the assignment is for next time.
2. Saying ‘yea’ to what someone else says.
3. Sitting in your chair and saying nothing.
4. Saying things like, “The central impediment to a transcendental deduction of the
systematic marginalization of the epistemic condition of the proletariat is what the poststructuralist movement has called ‘the malaise of language’.” Aim to speak plainly and to
the issues at hand. One way to achieve this is by rooting your comments in specific
claims in the text.
Each act of participation is worth 1 “credit”. You need 5 credits to count as participating fully.
(Basically, each act of proper participation is worth 2 percent of your total grade.)
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