PHI 102 Sec. 07 Ethics MWF 10:00-10:50, MAK BLL110

Prof. David Vessey Office Hours: MW: 1-2:20

Office: MAK B-3-201 Th: 8:00-11:00, and by appointment

vesseyd@gvsu.edu (616) 331-3158

Course Texts:

Plato, Gorgias (Hackett)

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (Hackett)

Chuang Tzu, The Inner Chapters (Hackett)

Kant Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (Hackett)

Additional material by Plato, David Hume, Virginia Held, Patricia Hill Collins, Annette Baier,

and Susan Moller Okin

Course Description:

No questions are more important than these: How should we live our lives? and What kind of person should we be? These are the central questions of ethics. We will look at a variety of ways philosophers have sought a general answer to these questions. What makes their answers philosophical rather than personal is their appeal to reasons as evidence for their conclusions. In this class we are interested both in their conclusions and their reasoning. We will read two ancient Greek philosophers—Plato and Aristotle—one ancient Chinese philosopher—Chuang Tzu—two modern European philosophers—David Hume and Immanuel Kant—and a selection of readings from contemporary feminist authors—Virginia Held, Patricia Hill Collins, Allison Jaggar, and Susan Moller Okin. The material covered after Thanksgiving will be chosen by a class vote held on Nov. 2.

Course Method:

Philosophy is best done in conversation. The greater variety of ideas we can draw on the better we will be able as a class to come to some reliable insights on philosophical questions. Therefore although there will be some lectures to set the stage for the discussion, the majority of the class time should be spent in discussion. This means that students must come to class ready to discuss—having read carefully the material, at least once, and being prepared to raise and address issues found in the text. Since discussions cannot be made up, attendance and participation are important parts of the grade. The daily attendance/participation grade is: F-not in class; D-in class unprepared; C-in class, prepared, not participating in discussion; B-in class, prepared, participating in discussion; A-in class, prepared, significantly contributing to the discussion. It is assumed all absences are excused absences; over six absences will result in the highest possible grade being a C. Computers are not allowed in the classroom as they tend to take attention away from the focus of the discussion.

Course Assignments:

In addition to the reading and participation requirements, there will be six tests, and a comprehensive final exam. The tests will be in-class essay tests, with one longer essay (one page) and three quotation comprehension questions. Three possible questions for the longer essay will be given out the class period before the test and students will be allowed not only to work on the questions before class, but to bring a typed copy of a written answer to class to be handed in at the time of the test. Students are free to work together in preparing for the test, though all writing handed in must be the student’s own work and all references used must be cited. Failure to cite references is plagiarism—a sign that the student has lost his or her sense for the point of going to college. A plagiarizing student is expected to drop the class; a meeting will be scheduled with the student and someone from the Dean of Students office.

If you have disabilities that require special accommodation you should speak to Prof. Vessey as soon as possible at the start of the term.

Foundation: Philosophy and Literature

This course fulfills a foundation general education requirement for the philosophy and literature. Here is what the catalogue says about such classes:

Literary and philosophical works represent an ongoing conversation about the fundamental ideas and values that shape cultures and civilization. To participate fully in this conversation requires knowledge both of those works that are recognized as defining the history of the conversation, and of works that offer original or critical additions to it in the present. Through the study of great works of Philosophy and Literature, students will come to understand more clearly their own response to the world and to the ideas that give it form and comprehensibility.

Courses in this category will introduce students to the interpretation of a significant body of literary or philosophical work, and assist them in the careful reading, discussion, and analysis of primary texts.

Content Goals

All courses in the Philosophy and Literature category include the following content:

1. The introduction of philosophy or literature as a "way of knowing"; an examination of principles and questions that define the field and its contributions to human knowledge and civilization;
2. A consideration of the relationship between the works discussed, the cultures in which they were created, and the human concerns they illuminate;

3. The critical analysis and interpretation of one or more primary texts as a major portion of course content.

Skills Goals

All courses in a Foundation use teaching methods that help students become more proficient in the following skills:

1. To engage in articulate expression through effective speaking or writing;
2. To think critically and creatively;
3. To locate, evaluate, and use information effectively.

Grade Breakdown:

Attendance and Participation: 30%

Tests: 60% (10% each)

Final Exam: 10%

Course Schedule

Mon. Aug 31 Introductions

Wed. Dept. 2 Plato’s Apology (on Blackboard and online: http://cat.xula.edu/apology/)

Fri. Sept. 4 Plato’s Meno (online at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1643)

Mon. Sept. 7 No Class

Wed. Sept 9 Plato’s Euthyphro (on Blackboard)

Fri. Sept 11 Plato’s Gorgias 447a-461b

Mon. Sept 14 Plato’s Gorgias 461b-481b

Wed. Sept 16 Plato’s Gorgias 481b-527e

Fri. Sept 18 Test 1

Mon. Sept 21 Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics Bk 1, 1094a1-1097a14

Wed. Sept. 23 Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics Bk. 1, 1097a15-1102a4

Fri. Sept. 25 Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics Bk. 2, 1102a5-1109b28

Mon. Sept 28 Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics Bk. 3, 1109b30-1111b4

Wed. Sept 30 Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics Bk 8, 1155a4-1159b24

Fri. Oct 2 Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics Bk 10, 1172a20-1181b25

Mon. Oct. 5 Test 2

Wed. Oct 7 Chuang Tzu The Inner Chapters, Chp. 1-2

Fri. Oct 9 Chuang Tzu The Inner Chapters, Chps. 3-4

Mon. Oct 12 Chuang Tzu The Inner Chapters, Chps, 5-6

Wed. Oct 14 Chuang Tzu The Inner Chapters, Chp 7 & TBD

Fri. Oct 16 Test 3

Mon. Oct 19 Hume An Enquiry into the Principles of Morals, Sections 1 &2

(online: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/hume/david/h92pm)

Wed. Oct 21 Hume An Enquiry into the Principles of Morals, Sections 3 & 4

Fri. Oct 23 Hume An Enquiry into the Principles of Morals, Sections 5 &6

Mon. Oct 26 Hume An Enquiry into the Principles of Morals, Sections 7 & 8

Wed. Oct 28 Hume An Enquiry into the Principles of Morals, Section 9

Fri. Oct 30 Test 4

Mon. Nov 2 Kant Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, 7-9

Wed. Nov 4 Kant Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, pp. 9-14

Fri. Nov 6 Kant Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, pp. 15-21

Mon. Nov 9 Kant Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Second Section, pp. 22-30

Wed. Nov 11 Kant Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Second Section, pp. 30-45

Fri. Nov 13 Test 5

Mon. Nov 16 Virginia Held, “The Ethics of Care as Moral Theory”

(from The Ethics of Care, Oxford Scholarship Online)

Wed. Nov 18 Annette Baier, “Hume, the Woman’s Moral Theorist?”

Fri. Nov 20 Susan Moeller Okin, “Is Multiculturalism Good for Feminism?” (Blackboard)

Mon. Nov 23 Patricia Hill Collins, “Black Feminist Epistemology”

from Black Feminist Thought (ebrary)

Wed. Nov 25 No Class

Fri. Nov 27 No Class

Mon. Nov 30 TBD

Wed. Dec 2 TBD

Fri. Dec 4 TBD

Mon. Dec 7 TBD

Wed. Dec 9 TBD

Fri. Dec 11 Test 6/ Course Evaluations