Ethics in Theory and Practice

Catalog description

The goal of this course is to provide students with an integrated understanding of ethical theory and ethical practice. The course includes a survey of major intellectual approaches to ethics from ancient times to the current day. This includes major philosophical theories (e.g. utilitarianism, deontology, virtue theory, feminist ethics and the ethics of care, the capability approach) and more recent contributions from psychology, behavioral economics, and neuroscience. Students also engage in several ethical practices, such as: engaging in productive dialogue to achieve consensus views on case studies, investigating the lived experience of individuals to inform judgements of ethical impact and/or conduct, identifying individual values and practicing living by them, performing a personal ethical inventory, doing good deeds, advocating for change, practicing conflict resolution, and facilitating productive discussion. Throughout the semester, students are asked to reflect upon their experiences of ethical practices and relate them to theory. In their final essay, students provide their own perspective on how best to integrate ethical theory and practice in relation to a specific topic or issue. Offered as PHIL 305 and PHIL 405 . Counts as a Moral & Ethical Reasoning course.