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Schedule
Assignment & Discussions
| Lesson | Assignments/Discussions |
| Week 1 |
Introduction to the course; Class standards, Roll, Syllabi; Assign reading; Film: Truth on Trial |
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Pojman text, pp. 5-31; The Moral Life, 2nd ed., by Louis P. Pojman; Golding: Lord of the Flies; (Note: With each reading assignment, be prepared for a quiz. Sometimes I will assign a take-home quiz; therefore, if you miss a class, check with a friend to see if there was a take-home quiz. Note on the Reading: The readings for today and next time examine one of the oldest questions asked about humankind: “Are humans fundamentally good or are we fundamentally evil in our nature?” During much of what we call the “Romantic Period,” various authors seem to depict humans as fundamentally good although they were often corrupted by power or by the influences of civilization. On the other hand, a traditional Christian doctrine often emphasizes that since the sins of Adam and Eve in Eden, we have inherited a “fallen” nature, a natural propensity for evil that must be tamed or suppressed if we are to become “good.” Another way of asking the question is, “How would you act when tempted if you knew you could never be caught or punished?” Assignment for next time: Read “CornPone Opinions” and “The Ophelia Syndrome” by Mark Twain. Written assignment on the readings: Summarize and respond to the two readings. Do you agree with the views of Twain and Plummer? Also, summarize the steps Plummer gives to students to help us avoid the Ophelia Syndrome. Due: September 4 readings are located on the Dixie OWL with our syllabus: Go to <dsc.dixie.edu/owl> Find and click on the link to our Syllabus; then click on each of the readings. |
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| Week 2 |
31-40; Pojman: On the Nature and Purpose of Morality |
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54-68; Melville: Billy Budd |
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| Week 3 |
127-40: Nietzsche: Beyond Good and Evil; Nietzsche turns Christian morality on its head: The “good”human, with “master morality” is the one who accepts his/her superiority and is willing to exercise power over— even enslave— lesser creatures in order to advance civilization. Christian morality, which tries to claim that all humans are equal, preaches a “slave morality.” |
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155-65; Benedict: The Case for Moral Relativism Note on the Reading: The readings for today and next time argue another important question that is often asked in the study of ethics: “Must we look to our own culture only for answers about what is good or evil, or are there some objective standards that exist for good and evil beyond the culture we live in? In fact, are there some objective or universal or absolute rules about how we should act?” |
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| Week 4 |
166-91, Pojman: The Case against Moral Relativism; Pojman: The Case for Moral Objectivism; Note: It is important to note that Pojman builds a case for some objective measurements for whether ethical rules are good or bad, but he does not make a claim that there are absolute rules. His argument does not depend on someone believing in a God who has given his creatures rules of behavior. In short, he rejects the claim that some people make that if there is no God then there are no rules about good or bad. |
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201-22; Ibsen: The Enemy of the People |
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| Week 5 |
223-36; Bentham: Utilitarianism; Mill’s refinements ( If you wish, you can review the PowerPoint on Utilitarianism in the Dixie OWL); Note on the reading : This reading (and PowerPoint) and the next several present “objective” systems that are intended to help us identify the ethical choices that are “good” or “right.” these are ethical systems that appear to guide many people and institutions in the past and in the present time. You will likely find yourself agreeing with parts of each ethical theory but disagreeing with some of the conclusions the philosophers reach. That is normal. But it is helpful at that point to ask, “What is there in my own value system that makes me think this idea is good and this idea is bad?” |
| Week 6 |
252-71; Williams: Against Utilitarianism; Le Guin: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas; These two readings are intended to show that there are limits for most of us regarding Utilitarianism. Do you agree? Do some actions that might seem good by Utilitarian standards strike you as bad or wrong? Quiz Assignment for today: After you read the Le Guin story, explain whether you might be one who walks away from Omelas. Why would you or would you not walk away? Are there drawbacks either way? (One or two pages) |
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295-316; On Duty; Kant: The Moral Law; Note: Kant, I have heard, is difficult to read in his native German; translating his philosophy into English has not made it easier to read. There are a couple of things to keep in mind: first, Kant lived during the “Age of Reason,” a time that held high hopes for the ability of humans to use their minds to solve all the problems that humans face; second, a simple way of summarizing what Kant is proposing is that when faced with an ethical choice, we should ask, “What if everyone did that?” or more precisely, “Could I rationally will to live in a world in which everyone did that?” |
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| Week 7 |
Group Preparation; Review Online Search Techniques and Sources |
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346-56; Fried: The Evil of Lying; Note: This essay is one of the more difficult in the text. Part of the difficulty lies in the ways he uses “bad” and “wrong.” As I read it, he seems to be saying that lying can be “bad” because it can cause harm. He also suggests that lying may be “wrong” in a deontological sense. If lying is “wrong,” he argues, then it must be “bad in itself,” whether or not it hurts people.Assignment Due: hand in a 1-2 page essay in which you identify the Consequentialist arguments against lying, i.e., the harms of lying, and the Deotological arguments, i.e, arguments against lying whether it causes harm or not, used by Fried. Film: On Lying; |
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| Week 8 |
356-70; Glaspell: A Jury of Her Peers 388-407; Hugo: The Bishop and the Candlesticks; film clip (?); Introduction to Virtue Ethics |
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407-23; Aristotle: Virtue Ethics; 423-29; Mayo: Virtue and the Moral Life; Review for Exam; Handout Essay Questions for Exam # |
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| Week 9 |
464-78; Bible; Tolstoy: How Much Land Does a Man Need? Group Research and Preparation |
| Week 10 |
486-90; Gansberg: Moral Cowardice; Review of how to write the Scholarly Paper; Assign quiz on Stockdale for next time
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521-35; Stockdale: Courage and Endurance; Assignment: After reading Stockdale, write a one to two page essay in which you identify what you would draw upon for the most strength if you were in such a terrible condition. |
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| Week 11 |
616-23; Camus: Life is Absurd; 630-38; Frankl: The Human Search for Meaning; Discuss Absurd and Tragic Existentialism; Questions for Exam # 3; |
| Week 13 |
Group Presentation; (In addition to making the presentation, each group should give to each member of the class and the instructor a handout on the presentation and 4 multiple choice questions–and the answers–on the material covered.); Email a copy of the answers to me. |
| Week 14 |
Group Presentation; (In addition to making the presentation, each group should give to each member of the class and the instructor a handout on the presentation and 4 multiple choice questions–and the answers–on the material covered.); Email a copy of the answers to me. |
| Week 15 |
Group Presentation; (In addition to making the presentation, each group should give to each member of the class and the instructor a handout on the presentation and 4 multiple choice questions–and the answers–on the material covered.); Email a copy of the answers to me. |
| Final Exam | |
