Department of Philosophy

Courses

Moral Skepticism

This course will explore two main forms of moral skepticism: skepticism about moral objectivity and skepticism about the importance of morality. We will also investigate the potential links between the first form of skepticism and the second. We will, in particular, examine the following question: if morality is not (in some sense) objective, does it follow that morality is therefore less important than it is typically and traditionally taken to be? The course will consider a variety of arguments for moral skepticism and a variety of responses to the different kinds of skeptic. We will also consider the following questions: What can someone interested in developing a non-skeptical conception of morality learn via the process of articulating and responding to moral skepticism? What do one's responses to moral skepticism reveal about one's own implicit conception of morality? What is the broader cultural and historical context of these philosophical concerns about moral truth and moral authority?

The Art of Living

This course will explore different conceptions of the good life and some of the ways that philosophers have proposed one can achieve it (or practice it). We will examine the following questions: What habits or skills does one need to live well and how, if at all, can one go about acquiring them? Is living well primarily a matter of feeling good about one's life or does it involve other more 'objective' components? Should we think of the art of living as identical with morality or should we think of the art of living as something broader and more all-encompassing than morality? We will by looking at these questions also thereby consider the merits of the Socratic tradition of philosophy as a practical enterprise directed at the goal of living well (as opposed to a rival understanding of philosophy, one which became dominant in the West, according to which the main business of philosophy is theoretical rather than practical).

Moral Conflict

This course will examine both the philosophical and practical issues raised by the (apparent) fact that values can come into conflict. We will examine potential tensions both within morality (between liberty and equality for instance) and between morality and other evaluative concerns (such as self-interest). Questions to be considered include: Do moral values necessarily harmonize with one another? Might the idea of all good things co-existing be conceptually incoherent? If one comes to think that moral values are inevitably in tension with one another, what philosophical and practical upshot should this have? How much, if at all, can moral theory help in resolving moral dilemmas? Does liberalism, as some have argued, embody the best form of socio-political response to the plural and conflicting nature of value?

Philosophy of Psychiatry

This course examines the philosophical and ethical issues raised by the theory and practice of psychiatry. Questions to be considered are: What philosophical and ethical problems are raised by the very idea of 'mental health'? In what sense do different approaches to psychiatric care embody different underlying philosophical assumptions? What different philosophical reasons are there for thinking that psychiatric treatment should be aimed at the mind, the brain, behavior, the self, the soul, the whole person, the family, or the broader culture or community? What are the philosophical and ethical assumptions behind psychoanalysis? Is psychoanalysis a science, and does it matter if it is not? What philosophical and ethical questions are raised by the use of medication in psychiatric practice?

Virtue and Vice

Virtue ethics, or the ethics of character, is an ancient approach to the subject that has undergone a tremendous revival in recent decades. This course provides an introduction to contemporary virtue ethics. We will examine the philosophical and ethical import of the claim that character and character traits should be the central concern of ethical thought and practice. We will, in particular, investigate the claim that virtue ethics offers a more accurate and appealing model of ethical agency than that offered by principle-based views such as Utilitarianism and Kantianism. The course will examine particular virtues such as courage and truthfulness, and will consider what character traits might make it on to contemporary society's list of virtues. We will also explore what benefits might come from studying vice as well as virtue. The course readings are drawn from contemporary philosophers; we will also discuss various characters from film, fiction, and public life.

Ethical Theory

What is morality? What is its basis? What norms or principles should guide our actions? This course offers a detailed investigation of these fundamental questions. We will examine theories about the source of morality (topics from the area known as metaethics) and theories concerning how we ought to structure our moral thought and action (topics from the area known as normative theory). We will be concerned throughout to see how metaethical and normative questions interrelate: what are the arguments, for example, for thinking that moral norms derive from different cultural ways of life, and what effect should agreement with such arguments have on one's moral outlook? The fact that this is primarily a course in highly abstract theory does not mean that we will not devote time to the discussion of real life moral problems and dilemmas. Indeed, one major goal of the course will be the exploration of the relationship between ethical theory and everyday life.

Ethical Theory: Graduate Seminar

This seminar provides an advanced level survey of contemporary ethical theory. The course will aim 1) to consolidate and expand each student's knowledge of important recent work in moral philosophy, 2) to pay special attention to the relationship between ethical theory and moral practice, and 3) to provide the necessary foundation in ethical theory for other graduate level offerings.

Contemporary Ethical Issues

This course is an introduction to contemporary ethical issues. We will look at some of the most important questions facing us in today's world. Topics to be discussed include euthanasia, abortion, media ethics, globalization, drug policy, war and terrorism, affirmative action, and social justice. The aim is not only to acquire or improve familiarity with some of the central questions of public policy and social life but to develop the knowledge of philosophical tools and concepts necessary to clarify and improve one's reasoning about these issues. Thus the fact that this is primarily a course in practical issues does not mean that we will not devote time to the discussion of fairly abstract theories. Indeed, one major question will be whether some of the most prominent theories in the Western tradition (Utilitarianism, Kantianism, and Virtue Ethics) help us resolve real life moral problems and dilemmas. Special emphasis is placed on how to read ethical arguments critically and analytically and to write in a reasoned and argumentatively effective manner.

Freshman Interest Group: The Culture Wars

This course explores the various debates about moral values that have come to be known as ‘the culture wars’. Questions to be addressed include the following: How much freedom should individuals have in forming their own plan of life? What is the proper role of government? Does moral thought and practice depend upon some form of religious belief? Is there really a ‘blue state morality’ and a ‘red state morality’? The aim is not only to increase familiarity with some of the central questions of public policy and social life but to develop the knowledge of philosophical tools and concepts necessary to clarify and improve one’s reasoning about these issues. The readings and class discussion will examine contested issues such as marriage and the ethics of family life, sexuality, abortion, euthanasia, drug policy, media ethics, cultural elitism, war and terrorism, and globalization and social justice.

Freshman Interest Group: Ethics, Culture, and Mental Health

This course is an introduction to contemporary ethical issues with a special focus on ethics, culture, and mental health. Topics related to mental health are increasingly visible in contemporary American society: one sees therapists in Hollywood movies and on television shows, and there are advertisements for mental health medication throughout the media. Some of the questions concerning ethics and mental health explored in this FIG course include: What ethical questions are raised by the idea of defining ‘mental health’? How should we assess the effects of culture on medical categorization and diagnosis? What ethical concerns should one have, if any, about the advertising of psychiatric medication and services? The course will also examine other important ethical questions facing us in today’s world – topics to be discussed include Euthanasia, Abortion, Media Ethics, War and Terrorism, and Globalization – and will give special attention to some of the connections between these issues and topics in ethics, culture, and mental health. The aim is not only to acquire or improve familiarity with some of the central questions of public policy and social life but to develop the knowledge of philosophical tools and concepts necessary to clarify and improve one’s reasoning about these issues. Special emphasis is placed on how to read ethical arguments critically and analytically and to write in a reasoned and argumentatively effective manner.