In this class, as in most classes, you are responsible for assigned readings, lecture notes, videos, DVDs, guest speaker information...      Prior to each test, I will provide you with study guide questions, so that you know where to focus your energy. I update the study guide on a weekly basis.

Jan 23, 2008

Items to study

• SYLLABUS
  • Are you familiar with the syllabus  - grading policy, late paper policy, missed tests, R&R, weight of grades, the alternatives to the research paper  ,the URL of my home page, how you can contact me, when I am available ?
• EMPEROR'S CLUB
  • Understanding  the concept deontology, teleology,
  • Understanding  problems and complications intrinsic in  teleological decisions
  • Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of deontology and teleology (critique )

January 30
 

• VIDEO  http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0609/24/se.01.html
  • According to Christiane Amanpour, "Where have all the parents gone?"
  • Why did Hussein consider poisoning his wife, Fatima, and his son Muktar?
  • How many meals a day do the slum children of Nairobi have?
  • Why do some stricken with AIDS not take the anti-retroviral drugs available for them?
    (for info on ARVs read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS_in_Africa
  • Amanpour visits the remote village of Kambi Garba in northern Kenya. What do the Tokana men do to to bring in food for the family?
  • Why are the grandmothers the unsung heroes of Kenya?
  • What is Beatrice's reation when seeing that one more of her grtancchildren has AIDS
  • Who are the invisible victims of AIDS
  • Why were the Mobile Health Workers created, and what do they do?

• From my  Introduction to Ethics Lecture
  • Ability to define ethics
  • Knowing the question ethics asks
  • Understanding why we study ethics
  • Knowing if  Socrates and  Plato believe ethics can be taught
  •  Review the terms to know from the handout: civil disobedience, deontology, descriptive statements, empirical statements, evaluative statements, divine command theory, ethics, ethical theory, fallacy, the good, metaethics, normative ethics, philosophical ethics, philosophy premise, teleology, cardinal virtues
  • Be able to state contemporary thoughts on moral development. Can it be taught and/or accelerated? Where do our ethics come from?

  From the The Emperor's Club

  • Understanding  the concept deontology, teleology,
  • Understanding the ethical expressions  character, slippery slope, the ends justify the means and Machiavellian
  • Understanding the different manners in which one approaches ethical dilemmas based on one's ethical orientation
  • Understanding  problems and complications intrinsic in  teleological decisions
  • Understanding the cumulative effect of slippery slope - that one lie leads to the next & the next
  • Understanding the psychological and spiritual toll incorrect moral actions wreak on one's life.
  • Understanding the relationship between character, virtue, and vice and between character and fate.
  • Familiarity with contemporary theories of moral development
     

=======================================================================================
Test # 2 October 24, 2007       Take-home_portion below

You are responsible for  what I will discuss tonight and everything that was covered since the last test. Read chapters 3, 4 & 5.  You may bring in one 3" X 5" index card with notes on one side.  The test will be short as a great portion is take--home.

I have provided you with my lecture notes of chapters 3, 4, & 5.  You should pay attention to the learning objectives as some questions will be cut and pasted from these.  Below are some of the hyperlinked  learning objectives:

• Egoism
  • To understand the following terms:  psychological egoism, ethical egoism, individual ethical egoism, universal ethical egoism,  altruism, self-interest, selfish, moral education, weakness of will, and descriptive vs. normative
  • To understand the difference between psychological egoism and ethical egoism
  • To understand four arguments used by psychological egoists
  • To understand W.D. Falk's moral point of view:  is everyone who acts "morally" moral? Why or why not?
  • To understand why one cannot philosophically convince animals to be moral
  • To understand insights gained by egoism  and difficulties with egoism (a critique of egoism)                   
• Utilitarianism
  • Know what utilitarianism is, the goals of utilitarianism, the basic moral principle , and the  utilitarian slogan, the utilitarian imperative imperative
  • ability to evaluate case studies from a utilitarian perspective
  • understand "The Principle of Utility"
  • identify the two names commonly associated with utilitarianism & explain their similarities and differences
  • understand and use the hedonic calculus
  • differentiate between instrumental and intrinsic goods and between  act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism
  • explain how utilitarianism has been updated over the years (preference utilitarian & cost-benefit analysis, pages 57 to 59 text)
  • list insights (advantages) gained from utilitarianism and concerns raised by utilitarianism
  • Bentham
    • • Familiarity with some biographical data
      • Ability to explain Bentham's utilitarian theory
      • An understanding of Bentham's view of punishment
      • Ability to use the hedonic calculus to determine ultimate pleasure and action
  • Mill
    • • State basic biographical information on Mill
      • State differences between Mill and Bentham
      • Explain how Mill and utilitarians judge social programs
      • What Does Mill have to say about  government control & interference?
      • Understand what is meant by  Mill's Altruistic Utilitarianism?
  • Kant
    • Provide some biographical data on Kant
    • Understand the term kingdom of ends, moral worth, "Autonomous Being", phenomena and noumena, deontology, categorical imperative and hypothetical imperative
    • State why Kant believed he had started a philosophical "Copernican Revolution"
    • Know the  two main questions Kant believed philosophy should address
    • Know what it means to be a "person" per  Kant & what this implies in the treatment of persons
    • Explain and provide examples of Kantian Respect
    • Provide examples of situations violating people's autonomy
    • Discuss lying from a Kantian perspective
    • Explain  & state the categorical imperative that made Kant so famous
    • To list and explain the three abstract duties that underlie others
    • Understand what determines moral character - per Kant
    • Understand Kant's definition of duty
    • Understand two updates on Kant's Moral Philosophy:
      • Ross's prima facie duties
        Rawls' theory of justice  including the equality principle and difference principle.
    • Critique Kant's moral philosophy
  • Milgram
    • • Describe the Milgram  Learning Experiment
      • Answer, "What did this experiment teach us  about people's willingness to do evil ?"
      • Answer, "Was this experiment ethical?" and support their answer
      • Answer " Could this experiment be repeated today?"
      • Understand how people are like frogs
  • General Information:
    • Know how Utilitarianism, Kantianism & Utilitarianism differ
    • Our text relates a story of Abraham Lincoln rescuing piglets. Why did Lincoln rescue these?
    • You are responsible for the readings  at the end of the three chapters. Some readings are difficult, so you may want to refer to my notes in the booklet I provided during the first class.

=====================================================================

Exam Number 2 of 3                              Two Take-home questions 

Question # 1:     Our syllabus lists ethics literacy as a goal:
 “Research ethical issues utilizing the library’s online catalog and professional databases;
Evaluate web resources;
Speak and write articulately  on ethical theories and issues;”

 To further this goal I am asking you to print one page (on related topics)  from three different  databases. (You will print a total of 3 pages.)   I would recommend the sources listed below.  Attach a commentary  (at least 1/2 page long) or Excel chart stating the similarities and differences amongst these resources.  You must prove to me that you know how to access these sources, you can navigate these resources , and  that you have reflected upon their usefulness.  Cite one of these sources.  (Databases are the preferred resources because they have been peer reviewed and are accurate.  They add  authority, credibility, and professionalism  to your report.) 

• 1.  Ethics Literacy: Opposing Viewpoints    On-campus      Off-campus Banner ID
  • Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center draws on the acclaimed social issues series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources to provide a complete one-stop source for information on social issues. Access viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.
     
• Facts.Com  On-campus    Off-campusLibrary Barcode
  • Contains five core databases: World News 1940-2005, Issues and Controversies, Today's science, The World Almanac, and The World Almanac Encyclopedia.
     
• CQ Researcher (Congressional Quarterly)    On-campus  Off-campus Banner ID
  • Offers in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues, with regular reports on topics including health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy.
     
• Expanded Academic ASAP    On-campus    Off-campus Banner ID Library Barcode
  • Over 1,400 peer-reviewed journals and 1,800 magazines.  Most titles are full text.

Question # 2:

Our syllabus lists critical reflection and analysis as a goal::

“Reflect critically upon and analyze ethical issues….
Reason toward a decision on complex ethical issues and articulate justification for one’s moral decision and actions.”

Critically analyze the following case study from three ethical perspectives, and then tell me which decision/action you feel would be best and why.   I would recommend one well-developed paragraph for each answer – or a total of four paragraphs.  Each paragraph will receive a separate grade.

Below the case study, I have included information  (5 steps to ethical Decision Making and a Matrix for Ethical decision making) which may help you in formulating your paper.

Case Study for Evaluation

Poor Patricia is the first student to walk in a classroom and sees a $50 bill just lying on the floor. She picks it up and puts it in her pocket. She is a single mom .  Christmas is around the corner; and  Patricia's child believes in Santa Claus.

She is already working 30 hours a week at minimum wage, taking three courses, and struggling to pay rent, transportation costs, food, internet, and cell phone bills.  She really needs money.

She has coincidentally just heard of a one-evening local opportunity to make quick money: She could pose nude for $250, strip for $500, or participate in a X-rated video for $1,000.

Patricia is also having a particularly bad day because she just heard her classmate Pete earned an A- on the  paper he just submitted. He had paid a tutor to help him for 2 hours a day over the past two weeks. (On the previous paper he had earned a C-) What's more, Pete and the tutor are beginning a dating relationship.

Patricia can hardly pay her bills, never mind a tutor, nor does she have time to invest in a relationship. Patricia feels the cards are stacked against her right now. What should she do?   

• Drop out of school temporarily until she is financially stable
• Keep the $50
• Report the $50
• Borrow some money that you may not be able to pay back
• Pose nude
• Strip
• Make an X-rated video
• Other

===================================================================

You are responsible for the following content: Chapters 2 and 2and Plato's Ring of Gyges on pages  39 to 43.    
You are also responsible for the material I covered inn my lectures, which is on the lecture sheet. You should also be familiar with the syllabus and the content covered by Dr. Wayne Silver when he spoke on the American Friends of Kenya.

Items to study

• From my  Introduction to Ethics Lecture
  • Ability to define ethics
  • Knowing the question ethics asks
  • Understanding why we study ethics
  • Knowing if  Socrates and  Plato believe ethics can be taught
  •  Review the terms to know from the handout: civil disobedience, deontology, descriptive statements, empirical statements, evaluative statements, divine command theory, ethics, ethical theory, fallacy, the good, metaethics, normative ethics, philosophical ethics, philosophy premise, teleology, cardinal virtues
  • Be able to state contemporary thoughts on moral development. Can it be taught and/or accelerated? Where do our ethics come from?

  From the The Emperor's Club

  • Understanding  the concept deontology, teleology,
  • Understanding the ethical expressions  character, slippery slope, the ends justify the means and Machiavellian
  • Understanding the different manners in which one approaches ethical dilemmas based on one's ethical orientation
  • Understanding  problems and complications intrinsic in  teleological decisions
  • Understanding the cumulative effect of slippery slope - that one lie leads to the next & the next
  • Understanding the psychological and spiritual toll incorrect moral actions wreak on one's life.
  • Understanding the relationship between character, virtue, and vice and between character and fate.
  • Familiarity with contemporary theories of moral development
     

• Are you familiar with the syllabus  - grading policy, late paper policy, missed tests, R&R, weight of grades, the alternatives to the research paper  ,the URL of my home page, how you can contact me, when I am available ?
   

• Wayne Silver spoke about the organization he founded http://afkinc.org/
    Kenya - Dr. Wayne Silver . You should know where Kenya is; how the organization got started; ethical concerns it has faced; what it does and what its primary mission/focus is; and what students can do to get involved..

• Chapters 1

  •  The items I went over in class regarding chapter 1  are those that will reappear on the test.

  • Know what MacKinnon means by "ethical theory." 

  • Be able to formulate a few sentences regarding the relationship between religion and ethics.

• Classical Readings:   You should be familiar with   Euthyphro, at the end of chapter 1

  • Familiarity with  concepts in Plato's Euthyphro ;
  • Familiarity with the form of a Socratic dialog;
  • An understanding of the term "impiety";
  • Understanding  the "impiety" charge brought against Socrates and his reaction to it;
  • Understanding the "impiety" charge brought against Euthyphro;
  • Familiarity with Socrates' life and the parallels to Jesus'' life.
  • Knowing what crime  Euthyphro accused his father of and why;
  • Understanding Euthyphro's definitions of piety;
  • Understanding Socrates' analogy of being carried to being loved;
  • Weakness of Euthyphro's definitions (specifics and examples rather than a broad definition);
  • Understanding  Socrates' question: "Whether the pious or holy is beloved by the gods because it is holy, or holy because it is beloved by the gods";
  • Understanding  Confucius' view regarding turning in family members.
  • Can you provide me with a 20th or 21st century twist on the Euthyphro story?
     
• Classical Readings, You should be familiar with Plato's The Ring of Gyges
  •  What magical power does the ring hold?
  • Understanding which age-old question the "Ring of Gyges" answers;
  • Familiarity with the famous "Ring of Gyges" dialog;
  • Glaucon's explanation to the origin of justice or law;
  • Glaucon's explanation as to why people are just;
  • Glaucon's explanation as to why people act as they do;
  • Glaucon's rebuttal to justice being valuable for its own sake and not for the rewards it brings;
  • You should develop an opinion as to what brings happiness. Do you agree with Socrates and Glaucon as to what brings happiness?

Be familiar with chapter 2 - relativism

• Understand key terms
  • objective
  • subjective
  • descriptive (or empirical) statements
  • evaluative (normative) statements
  • relativism
  • absolutism
• Understand Dr. Liptak's bridge from relativism to objectivism
  • To understand the hierarchical claims of ethical relativism;
  • To understand the following concepts/terms: individual relativism, cultural relativism, absolutist, conscience, cultural relativism, individual relativism, moral pluralism, moral realism, objectivism, relativism, skepticism, supervenient, objective vs. subjective;
  • To be able to answer -According to a relativism, how does one determine if you are right  or  if I am right;
  • To know what Confucius says about lying and if this is in conformity with Divine Command Ethics;
  • To understand the two forms of ethical relativism:  personal or individual ethical relativism and social or cultural ethical relativism;
  • To know the  three common reasons given to support the claim that relativism is true;
  • To understand the difference between an absolutist and objectivist;
  • Understand moral pluralism;
  • To understand the difference between traditional and contemporary ethics;
  • To understand  conscience as explained by varying historical voices;
  • Ability to provide a critique of (good and bad points) of relativism;
  • Ability to provide a critique of (good and bad point) of absolutism;
• End of Chapter Reading: Trying out One's New Sword by Midgley 
  • Understand what Midgley means by moral isolationism
  • Understand what makes it possible to judge other cultures per Midgley
  • Know if it is possible to understand other cultures per Midgley

End of Study Guide for Test # 1  Fall 2007

====================================================================

Week 1

• Introductory Activities   
• Ethics - Introduction
• The Emperor's Club
• Teleologist or   Deontologist self-inventory
• End of Chapter Reading:  Rings of Gyges
• End of Chapter Reading:  Euthyphro

Weeks 2,3,4,5

• Answering Questions on End of Chapter Reading:  Rings of Gyges
• Answering Questions on End of Chapter Reading:  Euthyphro
• What is character - a continuation of the Emperor's Club discussion
• Reviewing vocabulary terms distributed on week # 1 Ethics - Introduction
• Completing Chapter 1  Understanding Ethics, Philosophy & Religion & their interplay 
  Ethical Relativism" online survey    
• My   " Ethical Relativism"  survey
• Chinese Horse Story - an introduction to relativism
• M&M - Evaluative vs. Descriptive statements
•   Chapter 2  Ethical Relativism
• End of Chapter Reading: Trying out One's New Sword by Midgley
•  Environmental Ethics lecture -

IN PREPARATION FOR THE FIRST TEST, READ ALL OF CHAPTERS 1 AND 2   - AND READ THE INTRODUCTORY PART OF CHAPTER 15 (IN OTHER WORDS, FOR CHAPTER 15, EVERYTHING BUT THE READINGS AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER)     ALSO LOOK OVER MY LECTURE SHEETS  (HYPERLINKED BELOW) WHICH I WILL GO OVER ON 2/21.  THE FIRST OF THREE TESTS WILL BE ON 2/28.

Week One  -  Study Questions from first class
Overview of the 1st class:
During the first class we did the following:  introductions, review the class syllabus/rules, voted on the grading policy, began to define ethics & reasons for studying ethics,  discussed happiness, I provided background information about  and summarized The Ring of Gyges Myth and  Euthyphro & we viewed and discussed a scene from The Emperor's Club.  I also informed students that 20% of the grade would come from either a formal research paper and oral  OR  from getting involved in an ethical issue and writing a reflective essay about your experience (i.e. what ethical issues does this institution face; when deciding how to spend limited resources on great needs, which issues takes precedence and what is the ethical justification for the selection...).

Items to study

• From my  Introductory lecture
  • Ability to define ethics
  • Knowing the question ethics asks
  • Understanding why we study ethics
  • Knowing if  Socrates and  Plato believe ethics can be taught
  • Additionally, I distributed terms to you that you need to be familiar with if you are to get through the readings. Although we did not go over them in class, you re responsible for knowing these terms.  I will go over these  in class when we meet, so do bring your handouts.  The terms are civil disobedience, deontology, descriptive statements, empirical statements, evaluative statements, divine command theory, ethics, ethical theory, fallacy, the good, metaethics, normative ethics, philosophical ethics, philosophy premise, teleology,
• From the The Emperor's Club

  • Understanding the following terms:  Deontology/deontological, Teleology/(Consequentialism),  Ends justifying the Means, which we have gone over in class.   There are additional terms listed on The Emperor's Club handout which we will go over in class

• Are you familiar with the syllabus  - grading policy, late paper policy, missed tests, R&R, weight of grades, the URL of my home page?

• Chapter 1 and Readings at the end of chapter 1  Gyges Myth and  Euthyphro. These will be further reviewed in class. Know what MacKinnon means by "ethical theory."

• From the class lecture asides/notes
  • What is conscience?
    Socrates sees conscience as "the mystical voice that warned him not to do certain things. This voice, to which he often referred, was regarded as a divine voice and he always paid heed to it. Further than this, Socrates held that a divine purpose was expressed in the creation of the world and this purpose was directed toward the moral and spiritual development of human beings" from Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo by Dr. Charles H. Patterson, 1975 , Cliff Notes, Lincoln Nebraska, page 18).
    Freud saw conscience as the internal voice of the parents  repeating commands.
    Augustine of Hippo saw conscience as the voice of God.
    The traditional definition of conscience is "The Operation of the intellect whereby one determines the rightness and wrongness of an action.
  • Who is the happy man according to Socrates and Aristotle?  
    The virtuous man who does what he is supposed to do.
  • What is it, in the instructor's opinion, that brought you to this very point of your life, to this class?
    All the ethical decisions/choices you have made have brought you up to this point in your life. And the decisions you make now will determine where you will be in the future.
  • In teleology, TIME, PLACE, and CIRCUMSTANCE matter.
  • In deontology TIME, PLACE, AND CIRCUMSTANCE do not matter

END OF CLASS # 1==================================================

Class # 2
We saw An Inconvenient Truth & I distributed a study guide. Review the study guide.

Class # 3.
Wayne Silver spoke about the organization he founded http://afkinc.org/
  Kenya - Dr. Wayne Silver . You should know where Kenya is; how the organization got started; ethical concerns it has faced; what it does and what its primary mission/focus is; and what students can do to get involved..

I reminded students to read All of chapters 1 and 2 and to read the beginning of chapter 15. 
I had distributed a copy of lecture notes below:

Class 4 - Snow Date
Class 5
From Amanda's lecture: Know how to access Web Vista.  Print one sheet from your Web Vista and attach it to the test next week.
From Steve Neufeld's presentation: Know what his goals are for the AFK club.
Review my lecture notes hyperlinked below & pay attention to the learning objectives at the start of each set of notes. Some test questions were cut & pasted from these.

Week 1

• Introductory Activities   
• Ethics - Introduction
• The Emperor's Club
• Teleologist or   Deontologist self-inventory
• End of Chapter Reading:  Rings of Gyges
• End of Chapter Reading:  Euthyphro

Weeks 2,3,4,5

• Answering Questions on End of Chapter Reading:  Rings of Gyges
• Answering Questions on End of Chapter Reading:  Euthyphro
• What is character - a continuation of the Emperor's Club discussion
• Reviewing vocabulary terms distributed on week # 1 Ethics - Introduction
• Completing Chapter 1  Understanding Ethics, Philosophy & Religion & their interplay 
  Ethical Relativism" online survey    
• My   " Ethical Relativism"  survey
• Chinese Horse Story - an introduction to relativism
• M&M - Evaluative vs. Descriptive statements
•   Chapter 2  Ethical Relativism
• End of Chapter Reading: Trying out One's New Sword by Midgley
•  Environmental Ethics lecture -

END OF STUDY GUIDE FOR TEST # 1---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For test # 2    Print out three pages from three different databases.  Write a paragraph comparing the three sources.

• Accessing Online Databases:
  Visit the TRCC library website & click on Library Databases & then on General Databases.
   
• Recommended  online databases are as follows:
  • Opposing Viewpoints    On-campus      Off-campus Banner ID
    • Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center draws on the acclaimed social issues series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources to provide a complete one-stop source for information on social issues. Access viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.
       
  • Facts.Com  On-campus    Off-campusLibrary Barcode
    • Contains five core databases: World News 1940-2005, Issues and Controversies, Today's science, The World Almanac, and The World Almanac Encyclopedia.
       
  • CQ Researcher (Congressional Quarterly)    On-campus  Off-campus Banner ID
    • Offers in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues, with regular reports on topics including health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy.
       
  • Expanded Academic ASAP    On-campus    Off-campus Banner ID Library Barcode
    • Over 1,400 peer-reviewed journals and 1,800 magazines.  Most titles are full text.

• From Gyges Myth story

  • Questions in text on this story
  • Understanding which age-old question the "Ring of Gyges" answers
  • Familiarity with the famous "Ring of Gyges" dialog
  • Glaucon's explanation to the origin of justice or law
  • Glaucon's explanation as to why people are just
  • Glaucon's explanation as to why people act as they do
  • Glaucon's rebuttal to justice being valuable for its own sake and not for the rewards it brings.
     

• Euthyphro

  • What is the similarity between the William Ginglen bank robbing story and Euthyphro's story?
  • What it is that moved Plato to write this dialogue
  • What crime  Euthyphro accused his father of and why
  • Euthyphro's definitions of piety
  • Understanding Socrates' analogy of being carried to being loved
  • Weakness of Euthyphro's definitions
  • An understanding of Socrates' question: "Whether the pious or holy is beloved by the gods because it is holy, or holy because it is beloved by the gods"

Fall 2006 study guide below

TEST # 3
As I've stated in class, you are responsible for three chapters: (7) Virtue Ethics, (8) Euthanasia, and (9) Abortion.
Read the contents of these chapters carefully. You should focus on items that are most important in these chapters, and  to assist you with your studies, I've listed these items  below. 

You are also responsible for the contents of the oral reports. Question sheets were distributed.

You are responsible for the content of the oral reports & the video on  euthanasia .

If you find, while studying, that there is something you don't understand, please email & I will get back to you immediately.   Best of luck to each and every one of you!
====================================================================

• November 8 & 15 - Euthanasia and Abortion
  Familiarity with euthanasia handout I distributed covering basic terms
   
  • The definitions of death, whole brain death, persistent vegetative state, and coma
  • The distinction between active and passive euthanasia
  • The distinction between physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia
  • The distinctive between voluntary and involuntary euthanasia
  • The distinction between ordinary and extraordinary measures.
  •  The distinction between killing and allowing to die per the AMA
  • * Familiarity for arguments    for and against euthanasia
  • * Familiarity with Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990
  • * Aristotle's view on euthanasia
  • *Familiarity with 2 readings in text (pro and con euthanasia)

  Familiarity with euthanasia chapter, with particular emphasis on

  • What is brain death ?(page 133)
  • What is the distinction between brain death and PVS ? (pages 133 & 134)
  • What is a coma? (page 135
  • Familiarity with Karen Quinlan & Nancy Cruzan - What did the courts say in terms of their care?
  • Our text explains  Dutch physicians can medically end a patient's life is 8 conditions are met.  Be able to list  four requirements (page 135)
  • Know  what is Dr. Jack Kervorkian  known for ? (pages 136-137)
  • Familiarity with some of the requirements of Oregon's   Death With Dignity Act (page 137)
  • According to the principle of double effect, when is it OK to give medicine that may cause death (morphine, for example) ?  ( page 138)
  • What are consequentialist and nonconsequentialist concerns  regarding euthanasia? (text, pages 143 & 144)
  • Infant Euthanasia. Be able to provide me with one example of a case that has gone to court.  (page 145)
  • General familiarity with pro & con readings at the end of the chapter. Review study questions provided by the text. on pages (148 and 151.) Why does Williams believe euthanasia is wrong? Why does Brandt believe euthanasia is right?
• Familiarity with 60-minutes video  on Switzerland's Suicide Tourists
  • CBS article can be found at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/12/60II/main540332.shtml
  • You should be familiar with the questions I asked after class:
    • What are the two requirements for assisted suicide per the video?
    • What is the difference between assisted suicide and euthanasia in Switzerland?
    • Does Dignitas allow the mentally ill to die?
    • What are ethical concerns mentioned in the tape?
• Abortion Chapter
  You should be familiar with the chapter, but pay particular attention to the following
  • Ability to define fertilization, zygote, blastocyst, embryo and fetus. (page 161)
  • Familiarity with abortion procedures (162)
  • An important court case is the 1973 Roe vs. Wade case. What rights or limitations did  this give to women?
  • Utilitarian view on abortion & critique of utilitarian view (page 165 on)
  • My Critique of Thomson's "A Defense of Abortion" may assist you.
  • Don Marquis Reading - you should understand "Why Abortion is Immoral"  according to Marquis. 

November 1  Virtue Ethics -  

• Virtue Ethics  - The basics handout
• define habit, virtue, vice, character, and virtue ethics
• understand the interrelationship amongst these terms
• know the goal of moral education
• identify the questions virtue ethics asks
• explain the difference between virtue ethics and other ethical theories we have studied.
• define happiness per Aristotle, Helen Keller and Schweitzer
• explain Aristotle's Golden Mean and provide examples of virtues
• compare Aristotle's virtues and Covey's 7 habits
• explain what Abraham teaches mankind about virtue ethics
• critique virtue ethics
• state Hunter's criteria for evaluating character and relate it to virtue ethics
• understand the difference between male and female ethical perspectives
   
• Gilligan  Feminist Ethics handout
• Familiarity with  Chapter 7, Virtue Ethics & learning objectives listed on the handouts
  Ability to answer the following questions on the readings
  • How are Philippa Foot and Aristotle alike? (text 109)
    They both see virtues as corrective, helping us to things that are difficult
  • What question does Foot ask? (text 109)
    Is the virtue in the intention or action?
  • What does Foot mean by saying virtues are corrective?
    Virtues are in relation to things that are for us to do. Examples
    Being studious is a virtue because it is hard to always study when we should
    Being courageous is a virtue because it is too easy for to be the opposite
    Being truthful is a virtue because sometimes it is easier to lie

Questions from Gilligan  Feminist Ethics handout

aside on Foot:
She is the granddaughter of Grover Cleveland & was born  (in 1920) & educated in the UK
She is one of the founder of contemporary virtue ethics  

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You are responsible for all the material that was  assigned  covered , & discussed, since the last test. You are responsible for content the guest speakers covered.

Basically, we covered chapter 3,  Egoism; chapter 4, Utilitarianism; chapter 5, Kant;
chapter 6,  Natural Law pages 89 & 1/2 of 90 only;

The test will consist of the following: Take-home portion on databases; True and False taken from teacher's guide; multiple choice taken from teacher's guide; multiple choice from online MacKinnon's quizzes; short answers;  and questions submitted from students.    I will post your grades on Web Vista so that you do not need to wait a week to receive feedback.  

Email me if you have any questions

Week # 8   October 18   (Week # 8 will be updated Thursday to reflect the class lecture)

Familiarity with content from guest lecturers' presentations
  * Jon Brammer - Writing Lab
   * Daniel Axelrod - Journalism Ethics guidelines
Familiarity with content of brief lecture on Chapter 6 Natural Law & Natural Rights
Familiarity with Ayn Rand:
  *What is Ayn's Rand justification for (explanation of) her affair with Nathaniel Branden? Why does Rand say it is OK?
  * What is the moral purpose of your life?
  *ability to state a a few actions in her life that show how she lived, personified, and embodied the philosophy of ethical
    egoism that she professed

 Selected Readings from Natural Law - Chapter 6  1 1/2 pages only( 89 & up to Historical Origins: Aristotle on page 90)
Learning objectives - ability to answer the following questions:
Why did Locke say all humans should be treated equally?
Who was a great influence on Thomas Jefferson?
What were some of the crimes that Nazi war criminals were accused of?
What is the law that is more basic than civil law?
What are human rights & why can we claim them?
What is the difference between descriptive laws and prescriptive laws?

Clarification of  natural law:
Webster's define it as "a body of law or a specific principle held to be derived from nature and binding upon human society in the absence of or in addition to positive law."  This universal natural order is good and must be obeyed by all. It is of a higher order than specific laws of any particular society. Nazi war criminals should have obeyed natural law rather than superiors' orders - per those believing in natural law.

Natural Rights: Rights that belong to everyone, based solely on the fact that we are human.
Life and  liberty are considered to be the two highest priorities.

Week # 7  -October 11
Familiarity with Chapter 5   Kant  & Kant's reading at the end of the chapter .
Familiarity with reasons supporting gay marriage per current event article.
Ability to provide me with an example of complicity (think of current event discussions).

• State why Kant believed he had started a philosophical "Copernican Revolution"
• Define and understand the terms phenomena and noumena
• Know the  two main questions Kant believed philosophy should address
• Know what it means to be a "person" per  Kant & what this implies in the treatment of persons
• Explain and provide examples of Kantian Respect
• Define and  understand the term "Autonomous Being"
• Provide examples of situations violating people's autonomy
• Discuss lying from a Kantian perspective
• Explain  & state the categorical imperative that made Kant so famous
• Understand the difference between categorical imperative and hypothetical imperative
• Define and understand deontology
• To list and explain the three abstract duties that underlie others
• Understand what determines moral character - per Kant
• Understand Kant's definition of duty
• Understand two updates on Kant's Moral Philosophy:
  • Ross's prima facie duties
    Rawls' theory of justice
• Critique Kant's moral philosophy

Week # 6- October 4
Focus:  Familiarity with Chapter 4    Utilitarianism,   Mill &   Bentham.  & Mill's reading at the end of the chapter
Look at the learning objective review questions at the top of each handout

• define utilitarianism
• understand the goals of utilitarianism
• evaluate case studies from a utilitarian perspective
• state the basic moral principle of utilitarianism
• familiarity with the utilitarian slogan
• state the basic utilitarian imperative
• understand "The Principle of Utility"
• identify the two names commonly associated with utilitarianism & explain their similarities and differences
• understand and use the hedonic calculus
• differentiate between instrumental and intrinsic goods
• explain the difference between utilitarianism and egoism
• explain how utilitarianism has been updated over the years (preference utilitarian & cost-benefit analysis)
• list insights (advantages) gained from utilitarianism
• list concerns with utilitarianism
• calculate the greatest amount of happiness per the hedonic calculator, understanding what each term means: Intensity, Duration, Certainty, Propinquity, Fecundity, Purity, Extent

Week 5    September 27

Take Home Portion:

Download one page from 3 databases Mona introduced you to.   ( - preferably on your research topic or a topic somewhat related to your research topic -)   Write a paragraph or bullet 10 points , or create a chart,  commenting upon or contrasting these sources

Per Mona Florea's lecture & class notes, September 27

• What is the difference between a database and a search engine?
• How do you get help at midnight when you're working on a paper?
• Why is database material  generally preferable to Googled material?

• Know the meanings of the following terms:  psychological egoism, ethical egoism, individual ethical egoism, universal ethical egoism,  altruism, self-interest, selfish, moral education, weakness of will
• Understand the difference between psychological egoism and ethical egoism
• You need not memorize the four arguments used by psychological egoists (pages 35 & 36), but you must understand what each one says.
• Understand W.D. Falk's moral point of view:  is everyone who acts "morally" moral? Why or why not?
• Understand why one cannot philosophically convince animals to be moral
• Understand insights gained by egoism     
• Understand difficulties with egoism
• You should be familiar with Chapter3 Readings (The_Virtue_of_Selfishness by_Rand & Self Love by  Hobbes)

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Week 4 Test # 1

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Week # 3 September 13

Items discussed in class  - these will be posted on this page on the day following class.

• Lecture highlighting importance of chapter 1 Ethics Overview 
• Ability to define basic  terms of ethics:
  •  Descriptive Statements or Empirical Statements, Divine Command Theory, Ethics, Ethical Theory, Fallacies,  The Good, Metaethics, Normative Ethics or Evaluative Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Premise
• Understanding different responses to the question, "Can ethics be taught?"
• Understanding why ethics is taught
• Understanding the relationship between ethics and religion
• Understanding the structure of an argument from premise to conclusion
• Chapter 2  Ethical Relativism my notes explaining relativism
  • Understand the following concepts/terms: absolutist, conscience, cultural relativism, individual relativism, moral pluralism, moral realism, objectivism, relativism, skepticism, supervenient, objective vs. subjective
  • Be able to answer -According to a relativism, how does one determine if you are right  or  if I am right
  • Know what Confucius says about lying and if this is in conformity with Divine Command Ethics.
  • Understanding the two forms of ethical relativism:  personal or individual ethical relativism and social or cultural ethical relativism
  • What are  three common reasons given to support the claim that relativism is true?
  • To understand the difference between an absolutist and objectivist
  • Ability to provide a critique of (good and bad points) of relativism
  • Ability to provide a critique of (good and bad point) of absolutism
  • Understanding Dr. Liptak's bridge from relativism to absolutism
• 
   Trying out One's New Sword by Midgley lecture & questions from text

Week Two, September 6

• From the Character handout (which completed our discussion on "The Emperor's Club"
  Understand the following  terms: Virtue, Vice, Habit, Character
  Explain the quote  & author of the famous quote" Character is fate "
   

• From Web Tour
  Where is my home page
  How does one access grades for tests online
   

• From Gyges Myth story

  • Questions in text on this story
  • Understanding which age-old question the "Ring of Gyges" answers
  • Familiarity with the famous "Ring of Gyges" dialog
  • Glaucon's explanation to the origin of justice or law
  • Glaucon's explanation as to why people are just
  • Glaucon's explanation as to why people act as they do
  • Glaucon's rebuttal to justice being valuable for its own sake and not for the rewards it brings.
     

• Euthyphro

  • What is the similarity between the William Ginglen bank robbing story and Euthyphro's story?
  • What it is that moved Plato to write this dialogue
  • What crime  Euthyphro accused his father of and why
  • Euthyphro's definitions of piety
  • Understanding Socrates' analogy of being carried to being loved
  • Weakness of Euthyphro's definitions
  • An understanding of Socrates' question: "Whether the pious or holy is beloved by the gods because it is holy, or holy because it is beloved by the gods"

• Polygamy current event discussion & handout

  • Understand and differentiate between terms polygamy, polygyny, polyandry & bigamy
  • Understand the reasons for supporting polygamy
  • Understand the reasons for opposing polygamy

  • Why has polygamy hit the news as of late?

• M&M - Evaluative vs. Descriptive statements
  Be able to differentiate between evaluative and descriptive statements and give an example of each type of statement

Familiarity with two current event items in ethics.  Be able to write a  brief paragraph (3 sentences is fine)

Week One   August 30 -  Study Questions from first class

• From my Introductory Comments
  • Ability to define ethics
  • Knowing the question ethics asks
  • Knowing how the author of our test responds to "Can ethics be taught?"
  • Understanding why we study ethics
• From the The Emperor's Club

  • Understanding the following terms:  Deontology/deontological, Teleology/(Consequentialism), Machiavellianism, Ends justifying the Means,

• Are you familiar with the syllabus  - grading policy, late paper policy, missed tests, R&R,

Test # 3

Generally speaking, you are responsible for
 *content from oral reports (focus on the study questions)
*all class lectures & videos
*and assigned readings from the text: chapters  8(euthanasia); 9 (abortion); 10 (sexual morality); 11 (pornography) and pages 302 to 313.

I would suggest you look at the learning objectives I have placed on the web for each assigned chapter. I have cut and pasted some of these onto your test.

You may also want to prepare yourself by looking over the review questions in reach assigned chapter, as well as the company test.

You may bring in one small index card (which I will provide) for notes.

Sample student questions

What is eminent domain?

Ethically speaking, what would governments consider themselves as far as eminent domain is concerned?

What year was abortion legalized 1973 with Jane Roe

What would the utilitarian reaction be?

1. What was the name of the program implemented for teen pregnancies?

2. What is one objective of the program?

Why can virtue ethics be used to support both comprehensive and abstinence-only sex education programs?

How has organically modified foods helped?

What are bad consequences of genetically modified food?

What is one definition of alcoholism?

In what year did alcohol abuse increase and why?

Who started the view that alcoholism was a disease and when

What would utilitarians say about capital punishment

What would Kant say about Capital Punishment

How many homeless are there in New London county 924

Who said ethical behavior cannot be taught because it is a matter of choice

What is polygamy –

What is polygyny? 

Bigamy

Name a criteria in Oregon to permit assisted suicide

Name 1 argument for supporters of suicide

 Name of sheep: Dolly

2 forms of closing that were discussed: reproductive and therapeutic.

What is a stem cell?

What is an embryo and why are embryo cells the best?

Under what circumstances is a person detained under the U.S. judicial system not granted H.C.

How would Kant view the H.C clause

Should assisted suicide be legalized in the US

Supporters of assisted suicide increased by  (46%) between 1950 and 2003

Two main benefits to using nuc