![Moral Issues Piece of paper on desk with balancing scale on it and words Moral Issues](/artsci_online/sites/asowww/files/styles/wide/public/img/Moral-Issues.jpeg?itok=V8hgM8QY)
Overview
This course introduces diverse ethical frameworks representing ways that we do think, or can think, about how to respond to moral issues. We consider critical perspectives on some of the most dominant frameworks and reflect on our own beliefs about moral issues, the need for ethical teachings and how to best make use of them in our personal lives and in law and policy.
We emphasize skills related to carefully reading philosophical texts and others’ opinions more generally, as well as writing respectful and constructively critical reflections on your own and other’s opinions. A major focus is on developing a reasoned opinion on a selected moral issue and supporting it with a sound written argument.
The ethical frameworks we consider include Anishinaabe teachings, Kantian Deontology, Utilitarianism, Feminist Ethics of Care, Buddhist Ethics, and Ubuntu. Issues include lying, cheating, consensual sexuality and its regulation, unequal access to healthcare, climate crisis, violence and incarceration, our responsibilities for the well-being of others (including non-humans in the natural environment), and our responsibilities to address our own ignorance.
Note: The course is suitable for beginner students in any discipline, as well as for philosophy concentrators and upper year students who would enjoy the opportunity to reflect on their own views and reasonable alternatives.
Learning Outcomes
After successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Actively read introductory level philosophical texts.
- Recognize selected concepts and terminology in moral philosophy and ethical teachings.
- Identify, appreciate, and critically evaluate your own and others’ assumptions, reasoning, and insights into selected moral issues.
- Write a short argumentative essay expressing and defending your carefully considered opinion on a selected moral issue.
- Value the practice of thinking carefully about how we, individually and collectively, identify and respond to moral issues.
Terms
Evaluation
5% - Quizzes
10% - Annotated Readings (Perusall)
20% - Written Assignment 1: Preliminary Reasoned Opinion
25% - Written Assignment 2: Considered Alternatives
30% - Written Assignment 3: Essay on Selected Moral Issue
10% - Learner Reflections
**Evaluation Subject to change.**
Textbook and Materials
All required and recommended materials will be available through onQ.
Time Commitment
Students can expect to spend on average about eight to ten hours per week completing relevant readings, assignments, and course activities.