Phil 103


The last offering of this course was Spring 2014  (See the syllabus from that course below.)

Future offerings:   To be announced


Since you already know "Right From Wrong," why study Ethics? 


                                             Can you do the right thing for the wrong reasons? 
                                             What do we mean by the "right thing to do?"
                                             Are moral acts for an individual also moral for a country?
                                             Is the "right thing to do" ever immoral?
                                             Is something unethical ever the right thing to do? 
                                             When are force and violence ever the right things to do?
                                             How do you decide when two "right things" contradict each other?

What is the right thing to do?  More important, why is the right choice the right choice? More important, do you know this, believe this, or simply prefer to think this?  Who gets to decide what is right?

In Phil 103 you will be teaching the instructor the answers to these kinds of questions. He has lots of questions.  In fact, he admits that he does not really even know "right from wrong." Poor guy!


People have been thinking about these questions for as long as there have been people.  We will take a brief look at the kinds of solutions and answers that have been devised already. Then we will try to work some of these things out for ourselves.   Any good Ethics class is frustrating.  This will not be one of those courses where some professor pretends to have all of the answers. So if you are seeking answers, there are other departments and fields out there for you.  Here we will explore questions. Along the way we will grow to respect the idea that other people also have questions of their own. And their answers are just as silly, just as supernatural, just as illogical as the ones we rely on.  We will discover a respect for uncertainty. The most important thing a study of Ethics will teach?  That an honest statement of uncertainty is the first real step towards tolerance.  If you dream that your views are "the truth" then anyone who disagrees with you must be wrong.  

Would you like to see the syllabus for this course?    Spring 2014 Section 1:  Link to it here (.pdf)
                                                                               Spring 2014 Section 2:  Link to it here (.pdf)

Would you like to see more of the rationale behind this kind of a course?  Link to it here.


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