COURSE DESCRIPTION

NOTE: This course will be offered exclusively in an ONLINE VERSION each spring semester, and usually again during the summer term.  For details, contact Midland College counselors or call or e-mail Dr. Franks.  Online students who do not live near Midland often find it frustrating to locate the textbook in their own nearby libraries or bookstores.  You are advised to call or e-mail the Midland College bookstore to arrange to have the textbook shipped to you.  Look for contact information on the Midland College home page.

Office: Science-Faculty Building, Room 109 (hours to be announced)
Telephone: 432-685-4607 (direct line to my office)
E-mail, MC: franx@midland.edu

The study of ethics is surely the most practical of the traditional subdisciplines of philosophy. It touches upon immediate human concerns, such as "What is Good?" (instead of bad); "What is Right?" (instead of wrong), and "How can I live a good and worthwhile life?" In contrast, metaphysics concerns itself with the nature of reality, while epistemology deals with the nature of truth and knowledge. Philosophical ethics must always attempt to justify an ethical position with reasons. It must appeal to the intellect and never simply assert its claims. (Another attachment deals with the problem of "Ethical Relativism."

Louis P. Pojman, THE MORAL LIFE: AN INTRODUCTORY READER IN ETHICS AND LITERATURE (Oxford University Press,  Second Edition, 2004)

The "goals" of this course are for each student to be able:

--To distinguish philosophical ethics from religion, laws, and social conventions.
--To distinguish philosophical ethics from private feelings about right and wrong.
--To recognize and distinguish among various schools of ethical thought, in particular those of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and J.S. Mill.
--To acknowledge and comprehend the ethical problems that arise in connection with relativism, egoism, and determinism.

More specifically, the main "objective" of this course is for each student to demonstrate skill, whether in writing or speaking, in justifying ethical positions with reasons rather than mere assertions.

Student Contributions; Class Policies

While hoping to keep this course flexible and attuned to student interests, we will use the texts systematically. Bring the assigned text to class for every meeting. I will also encourage you to look for examples of ethical dilemmas in your own reading, and to bring clippings to class for discussion. You might wish to share or trade such clippings for use as references. [Also note: If you intend to claim status under the Federal Disabilities Act, please let me know at your earliest convenience.]

Evaluation of Students

There will be no conventional testing in this class. Instead, your grade will derive from a series of three substantial essays on ethical dilemmas of interest to you. Each paper will be equal in value for grading purposes. Except for the final, these essays can be rewritten or revised at will in light of my commentary and recommendations. The papers should refer to outside readings as well as to the assigned material. Discussion questions following some of the assigned readings should help guide you to appropriate subjects for your papers, but we will develop the format as we go, both in class and during conferences in my office. You will be expected to show that you can apply classroom theory to real-life ethical dilemmas. One-quarter (25%) of your grade will be for attendance and participation. I will assign this grade as soon as I have adequate impressions to go on. For most of you, this is likely to be a very good grade. It is intended to encourage you to come to class and demonstrate your interest in what we are doing. I will revise it upwards or downwards as seems appropriate towards the end of the semester.

WEEK ONE: Read Pojman's Introduction (p. 1), as well as the Introductions to Part I and Chapter 1: "What Is the Purpose of Morality?" We will discuss the Golding, Pojman, and Hobbes selections.

WEEK TWO: Read the Introduction to Chapter 2: "Good and Evil," plus the selections from Melville, Dostoevski, Styron, and Nietzsche. Study questions at the end of each reading will guide our discussions.

WEEK THREE: Read the Introduction to Chapter 3, "Is Everything Relative?" Then read the selections from Herodotus, Benedict, Pojman, and Ibsen. Study questions at the end of each reading will guide our discussions.

WEEK FOUR: Read Pojman's Introductions to Part II (p. 223), as well as to Chapter 4: "Utilitarianism." Then read the selections from Bentham, Le Guin, and Huxley. Study questions at the end of each reading will guide our discussions.

WEEK FIVE: Read the Introduction to Chapter 5: "Deontological Ethics." Then read the selections from Kant, The Golden Rule, Whatley, and Bierce. Study questions at the end of each reading will guide our discussions.

WEEK SIX: Read the Introduction to Chapter 6: "Virtue Ethics." Then read the selections from Hugo, Aristotle, and Hawthorne. You will receive a special study guide to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.  [Online students can request it.]

WEEK SEVEN: FIRST MAJOR ESSAY IS DUE THIS WEEK. We will also discuss a few selections from Chapter 7, "Virtues and Vices." Read Jesus of Nazareth, Tolstoy, Kant, Keller, The Story of David and Bathsheba, and Russell.

WEEK EIGHT: Read the Introductions to Part III and to Chapter 8, "Ethics and Egoism: Why Should We Be Moral?" Then read the selections from Plato, Ayn Rand, and Pojman. Study questions at the end of each reading will guide our discussions.

WEEK NINE: Read the Introduction to Chapter 9, "Does Life Have Meaning?" Then read the selections from Epicurus, Epictetus, Camus, and Gautama.

WEEK TEN: Read the Introduction to Chapter 10, "Freedom, Autonomy, and Self-Respect." Then read the selections from Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jean-Paul Sartre. Study questions at the end of each reading will guide our discussions.

WEEK ELEVEN: Read the Introductions to Part IV and to Chapter 11, "Sex, Love, and Marriage." Then read the selections from Kant, C.S. Lewis, and Steinbock.  [Students can also request items from an earlier edition  on "The Vatican Declaration on Sexual Ethics" and "Is Homosexuality 'Unnatural'?"]

WEEK TWELVE: THE SECOND MAJOR ESSAY IS DUE THIS WEEK. Concurrently, we will discuss selections from Chapter 12, "Is Abortion Morally Permissible?," as time permits and according to student interest.

WEEK THIRTEEN: Read the Introduction to Chapter 13, "Substance Abuse." Then read selections from Mill, Vidal, and Bennett. Choose discussion questions according to your interests.

WEEK FOURTEEN: Read the Introduction to Chapter 14, "Our Duties to Animals." Then read the selections from Orwell, Kant, and Singer. Choose discussion questions according to your interests.

WEEK FIFTEEN: Read the Introduction to Chapter 15, "Our Duties to the Environment." Then read the selections from Sophocles, Heilbroner, Hardin, and Baxter. Choose discussion questions according to your interests in the topics.

WEEK SIXTEEN: YOUR FINAL MAJOR ESSAY IS DUE. A DEADLINE WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN CLASS.  The textbook's CHAPTER SIXTEEN is about international terrorism, and can be used as a reference for possible final essays topics.

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