Syllabus

Phil 102: Contemporary Moral Problems, Spring 2009

Room: L126

Daily: 11:30a to 12:30p

Office Hours: 12:30p to 1:30p Wednesday and by appointment in C207

Instructor: David Long

Email: dalong@bellevuecollege.edu

Requirements:

You will need to read all of the assigned material.

You will need to be prepared to discuss material.

50% of your grade will come from two relatively short papers (or projects).

30% of your grade will come from one essay test (or project) that will be the final.

20% of your grade will come from class participation, class exercises and unannounced quizzes.

Goals:

The basic goal of this course will be to familiarize students with various moral theories. An understanding of these philosophical theories will provide the context necessary for the evaluation of a variety of contemporary moral problems. The hope is that this course will inspire students to think more deeply about the nature of morality and contemporary moral problems. In addition, this class will build writing, thinking, and communication skills.

Dante Astray in the Woods - Gustave Doré

Book:

Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues
by Barbara Mackinnin

Online Resources and Handouts:

(I will direct you to sources on the web or give you handouts as the need arises)

Students with disabilities who have accommodation needs are required to meet with the Director of the Disability Resource Center (in Room B132) to establish their eligibility for accommodation. Telephone: (425) 564-2498 or TTY (425) 564-4110. In addition, students are encouraged to review their accommodation requirements with each instructor during the first week of the quarter.

Grading Policy:

Make-up tests will only be given with a verified and legitimate excuse. Papers or projects will receive a 0.5 GPA deduction for each day that they are late. Do not email me your paper. You must hand in a hard copy of your paper in class. Hardship Withdrawals and Incompletes are only given for appropriate reasons which do not include maintaining your GPA. Do not plagiarize!

Course Schedule:

Date	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
April 1^st to 3^rd	X	X	Ch. 1	Moral Relativism	Cont.
April 6^th to 10^th	Cont.	Ch. 2 Midgley / Nietzsche	Cont.	Ch. 3 Plato	Cont.
April 13^th to 17^th	Cont.	Ch. 4 Bentham / Mill	Cont.	Ch. 5	Cont.
April 20^h to 24^th	Cont.	Kant	Ch. 6	X	Cont.
April 27^th to May 1^st	Cont.	Ch. 7 Aristotle / Philippa Foot	Cont.	Ch. 8 1^st Paper Due	Cont.
May 4^th to 8^th	Cont.	Euthanasia	Cont.	Ch. 9	X
May 11^th to 15^th	Cont.	Abortion	Cont.	Ch. 10 Sexual Morality	Cont.
May 18^th to 22^nd	Cont.	Ch. 11 Pornography	Cont.	Ch. 13 Economic Justice	Cont.
May 25^th to 29^th	X	Ch. 16/ Animal Rights	Cont.	Ch. 17	Cont.
June 1^st to 5^th	Cont.	Ch. 18 / Violence, Terrorism, and War	Cont.	2^nd Paper Due	Cont.
June 8^th to 12^th	Cont.	Ch. 19 / Global Issues	Cont.	Final	Cont.
June 15^th to 19^th	Cont.	Final	X	X	X

This course schedule is meant to give you a rough idea of how the quarter will go. The dates and content may change depending on how much time is needed to properly cover material.

Final: Tuesday, 6/16, 11:30 am-1:20 pm