Philosophy 1304
MORALITY AND JUSTICE
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Office/Hours: 237 Major Williams Hall; 231-7543; email: william.fitzpatrick@vt.edu. Hours: Wednesdays, 2:30-4:30, or by appointment.
Website: http://www.phil.vt.edu/fitzpatrick/webpage.htm Follow link for Philosophy 1304.
Lectures: Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:25-2:15, 2150 Torgersen Hall. Attendance is mandatory, and you are strongly encouraged to take careful notes during lectures. Half of the final exam will draw directly from the lectures, going well beyond any material in the supplementary notes (see below).
Friday Recitation Sections (with T.A.): Attendance is mandatory and counts toward your final grade. The time and place of your recitation section depends on the 5 digit CRN you were assigned for the course, and may be found on the Timetable of classes online.
T.A.'s: Shaun Bockert (sbockert@vt.edu, office hours: TBA), Bob Darrow (darrow@vt.edu), Michael Milona (michacm@vt.edu, office hours: TBA), Heather Oldham (oldham@vt.edu).
Recitation
Section Assignments:
14663 meets in Smyth 232, Friday 10:10-11:00; TA: Shaun
14664 meets in Squires 236, Friday 11:15-12:05; TA: Shaun
14665 meets in Squires 234, Friday 9:05-9:55; TA: Heather
14666 meets in Squires 234, Friday 12:20-1:10; TA: Heather
14667 meets in Squires 236, Friday 12:20-1:10; TA: Michael
14668 meets in Squires 234, Friday 8:00-8:50; TA: Heather
14669 meets in McBryde 218, Friday 1:25-2:15; TA: Bob
14670 meets in McBryde 212, Friday 12:20-1:10; TA: Shaun
14671 meets in Squires 236, Friday 10:10-11:00; TA: Michael
14672 meets in McBryde 209, Friday 9:05-9:55; TA: Bob
14674 meets in Major Williams 334, Friday 2:30-3:20; TA: Bob
14675 meets in Squires 234, Friday 1:25-2:15; TA: Michael
NOTE: Any student with special needs or circumstances is encouraged to meet with me early in the term to discuss them. Also, anyone experiencing personal difficulties leading to missed attendance (more than three classes) or work should see me right away to manage the problem; we cannot make special arrangements late in the course to deal with extensive absences or missed work. In addition, student counseling services are available free of charge at Cook Counseling Center, McComas Hall (231-6557). Individual and group psychotherapy services are available. The afterhours emergency number is 231-6444.
Please click HERE for important general advice about the course (also included as part of the Supplementary Notes for the first lecture).
Please click HERE for guidelines and advice for writing philosophy papers, including a sample and commentary on it.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is a comprehensive introduction to moral philosophy. We will combine a survey of some classic works (by Plato, Kant and Mill) with an examination of prominent treatments of issues in ethical theory and applied ethics by leading contemporary philosophers. Some questions we'll explore: What should our ultimate goal in life be? Is living morally most conducive to true happiness? What in general makes something right or wrong? What basic political principles can be morally justified? Is it always possible for a good enough end to justify bad means, or do considerations of justice sometimes stand in the way of this? Does morality depend on the commands of God? Are there really objective facts about right or wrong, perhaps transcending differences across cultures and times, or is morality ultimately subjective and/or "relative"? Does anyone ever really act from unselfish motives? Can good or bad luck affect your ultimate 'moral record'? Are there any situations in which every action available to you is wrong? Some more particular problems: Is it morally okay to use embryonic stem cells for research or tissue therapy? If so, is it right to deliberately create embryos just for the purpose of harvesting stem cells, as in the case of therapeutic cloning? Can abortion ever be morally justified, and if so, how? In what cases might euthanasia be morally permissible? Is capital punishment morally justifiable in principle? In practice? How far does our duty to aid distant strangers extend? Do non-human animals have moral rights? Is it morally acceptable, for example, to cause harm to them in biomedical research or to factory farm them, or are such practices in violation of their rights?
Book: Ethics: History, Theory and Contemporary Issues, Third Edition, edited by Steven Cahn and Peter Markie. Readings marked "E" in the schedule below are from this text. We will also make use of online materials. The password for password-protected materials will be announced in class, and will remain the same throughout the semester.
Supplementary Notes: See schedule below for links to supplementary notes for each topic (usually activated several days before the lecture, to help you in thinking about the reading prior to lecture--though occasionally they may not be available until the night before).
Please download and print out each set of supplementary notes prior to that lecture, so you can bring it with you to lecture for reference. These notes are provided as an aid to understanding the readings and lectures, but are not a substitute for either. The course is not designed to be passable by relying only on these supplementary notes, and I have cut back on their content from previous years.
COURSE POLICIES
Laptops, etc.: Use of Laptops will not generally
be permitted during lectures, as
the vast majority of laptop use in the past has involved internet surfing,
email and other messaging, rather than note-taking, which is a distraction both
to the student and to those sitting behind him or her. Individual exceptions
will be granted by special request
for students who pledge to use them during class time only for
note-taking. I will record the names of students granted this exception, and
only they will be permitted to use laptops during lecture. TA's will identify
anyone using laptops during class for any purpose other than note-taking, and
those students will subsequently lose their permission to use laptops in class
for the remainder of the semester.
Late Paper Policy: Papers are due in your recitation sections (see schedule below). A paper is considered late even if it is turned in to your TA's office later that afternoon. A paper turned in late but on the due date will be penalized 1/3 of a grade (e.g. from an A to an A-, or from an A- to a B+, or from a B+ to a B). Papers turned in the following Monday or Tuesday will be penalized 2/3 of a grade (e.g. from a B to a C+, etc.) Papers turned in on Wednesday or Thursday will be penalized one full grade. By Friday, the paper is a week late, and will be penalized 1 1/3 grade. After that, another 1/3 of a grade will be subtracted for each business day, until the following Friday, when the paper will no longer be accepted for credit. Exceptions will be made only in unusual circumstances or where there is written documentation of illness or family emergency, etc. Note: Electronic submission of papers is not acceptable, except in emergencies with special permission from your TA.
Exam Policy: In cases of illness, university sponsored club or athletic events out of town, or genuine emergencies, you may make a request, prior to the regularly scheduled exam, for a make-up exam. Requests received after the exam time will not be considered.
Grade Appeal Policy: If you feel that a grade you receive on an exam or paper is unfair, the first step is to meet with your TA to go over the assignment and the reasons for the grade. Most grade complaints are resolved at that stage--in most cases with the student's acknowledgement that the paper had more problems than he or she had realized, and that the grade was fair. If after that meeting you still feel that the grade is in error, you may contact me to go over it with you, and I'll make a judgment. (If you give me the paper to review, I'll require a follow up meeting to discuss it in person.)
Class Discussion Ground Rules: By its very nature, moral philosophy engages with controversial issues and positions, many of which have strong emotional components for people. Our purpose in this course is to explore these issues in an open and critical manner that is at the same time always respectful of everyone involved. It is expected that students will disagree about many issues they may feel strongly about, but what is important is that each person be willing to think critically and support his or her positions with reasons in respectful dialogue with others who may disagree. Personal attacks or disrespectful speech will not be tolerated. Please see Virginia Tech's Principles of Community, at http://www.vt.edu/principles.php.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:
It is a violation of the UNIVERSITY HONOR CODE (http://www.honorsystem.vt.edu/) to
use material from any source (other than yourself) in your papers without
attribution and, where relevant, use of quotation marks. This applies
especially to copying and pasting material from websites. It is very easy for
us to use search engines to catch and document such cases of cheating, and when
we find clear cases of plagiarism (of which there have been several in this
class in the past few years), the student's plagiarized work is sent directly
to the Honor Court. There are no warnings or second chances about this. So
PLEASE do not be tempted to forge a paper from material copied from websites:
the worst you can get for a bad honest paper is an 'F', which is a lot better
than what one gets from an Honor Court conviction for plagiarism. You may, of
course, make limited use of academically respectable web resources where
relevant, as long as they are properly cited (I'm not picky about the exact
format of your citations, as long as they contain the relevant information) and
any quoted material is clearly placed in quotation marks (though this should
still be a very limited portion of
your paper). However, you should never make any
use at all of student 'essay mills'--websites that offer students canned
student essays for 'research' purposes: these essays are not research and do
not meet the standards for scholarly sources; they have no place in the writing
of your papers.
GRADING BREAKDOWN:
(i) Section attendance and participation (10%)
(ii) Midterm Exam (20%) (closed book and notes):
Wednesday, February 18.
(iii) First Paper: 4 or 5 pages, double-spaced (20%): Friday, March 20.
(iv) Second Paper: 4 or 5 pages, double-spaced
(25%): Friday, April 17.
(v) Final Exam (25%) Tuesday, May 12, 3:25-5:25, in
our regular lecture hall. (Closed
book and notes)
SCHEDULE: Reading assignments are to be completed prior to each lecture. Note: Readings marked "E" in the schedule below are from the textbook.
PART I: THE ROLE OF MORALITY IN HUMAN LIFE AND HAPPINESS
No reading. Click on the link for Supplementary Notes Please read section I of the notes carefully: It contains important general information and advice about the course (also linked above). Your TA will go over section II on Friday if I don't get to it in lecture.
M 1/26 The Ideals of Socrates:
Rdg: (1) Plato's Defense of Socrates (E, 16-32), and (2) Plato's Crito (E, 33-41). Focus on the arguments in the Crito, which we will analyze in lecture. (If you have time, you can also look at the 2 page selection from the Phaedo for an account of Socrates' death, E 42-43.) Supplementary Notes
*Note: If you haven't yet been able to get a copy of the book, you can get the reading online, at: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html ("Apology" is just an alternative title for "Defense of Socrates") and http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/crito.html (for "Crito")
W 1/28 Glaucon's Social Contract Theory of Justice, and Challenge: Why Be Moral If You Can Get Away With Cheating?
Rdg: first half of Book II of Plato's Republic, pp. 65-72 (through marginal page 368c) (E). Supplementary Notes
M 2/2 Plato's Answer: Justice as the Soul's Greatest Good:
Rdg: just the following selections from
Plato's Republic, Book IX (E): pp. 107-114 (up to marginal page 580d), and pp.
120 (starting from the bottom of the second column, with "Well, then, I
continued...") through 123 (the end). There is a lot going on in this chapter,
and don't worry if some of it is hard to understand. Basically, the
chapter centers around the "tyrannical man," who is the paradigm of
injustice, and thus a good test case for Glaucon's challenge (from previous
class). The point of the chapter is to answer Glaucon's challenge by showing
that such a man is far from happy, i.e. that injustice does not really pay.
This is done through an examination of the soul and the effects that justice
and injustice have on it, which requires an account of the parts of the soul and
their proper interaction. Be sure you understand the central metaphor Plato
develops to describe all of this, and how he thinks it answers the challenge. Supplementary Notes
Rdg: Click Here for manuscript, and PRINT OUT to read. Supplementary Notes
M 2/9 Film: "Judy's Time", by international award-winning director Erin Flannery. (Please note that this film cannot be made available outside of class, so those who miss lecture will not be able to make it up.)
(This film won: Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 1st place Documentary and Best Presentation of a Humanitarian Concern; 2001 Cannes International Film Festival Kodak Emerging Filmmakers Showcase; CINE Masters Series Award for Best Student Film and CINE Eagle Award; and many others.)
Rdg: re-read previous assignment, in light of the lecture on it. Supplementary Notes
PART II: TWO COMMON PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SOURCE AND NATURE OF MORALITY
W 2/11 God and Ethics: Divine Command Theory:
Rdg: (1) PRINT OUT and read Mortimer, "Morality is Based on God's Commands", and (2) Arthur, "Morality without God,"; both at http://www.central.edu/philrel/arthur.html. Supplementary Notes
M 2/16 Moral Relativism: Is Right and Wrong "All Just Relative"?
Rdg: Rachels, "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" (E, 651-658). Supplementary Notes (OPTIONAL: For those interested in Aristotle, whom we are not covering explicitly, there is an excellent discussion of an Aristotelian argument against moral relativism in Nussbaum, "Non-Relative Virtues: An Aristotelian Approach" (E, 659-678). I recommend it.)
W 2/18 MIDTERM EXAM: Be sure to bring "blue books" to write in (packets of lined paper, with blue covers, available at university bookstore for about 25 cents each). Note: Friday sections will meet this week to discuss moral relativism.
PART III: TOPICS IN ETHICAL THEORY AND ITS
APPLICATIONS
M 2/23 Killing, Letting Die, and Two Kinds of Rights:
Rdg: Foot, "Killing and Letting Die" (E, 783-788). Supplementary Notes
W 2/25 The Altruistic Demands of Morality: How Much Does Morality Require Of Us?
Rdg: Singer, "Famine, Affluence and Morality" (E, 789-796). Supplementary Notes
M 3/2 Justice in Society: What Political Principles are Ethically Justifiable?
Rdg: Rawls, PART OF selection from A Theory of Justice (E, 493-498 and 501-509). YOU MAY SKIP SECTIONS #5 AND #40. Please read the rest. Supplementary Notes
W 3/4 Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research and Cloning:
Rdg: For background: online: The "Executive Summary" section of Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions, available at http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/scireport/execSum.asp (about 10 pages). (The report from which this is taken is a very rich and thorough resource, and you are encouraged to make greater use of it if you are interested in this topic. The individual chapters and appendices are all accessible at http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/scireport/ .) Click here for the: Supplementary Notes Optional: Selections from Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry, by the President's Council on Bioethics.
FRIDAY, 3/6: First Paper Topics: Click HERE (Link will be enabled by noon on Friday.) Click HERE for guidelines for writing philosophy papers, plus a sample philosophy paper, and writing resources you can use (including Tech's Writing Center, http://www.composition.english.vt.edu/wc/WC_Home.html).
M 3/9 SPRING BREAK
W 3/11 SPRING BREAK
M 3/16 Abortion and Justice: Does Abortion Violate a Fetus's Rights?
Rdg: Thomson, "A Defense of Abortion" (E, 733-743). Supplementary Notes
W 3/18 Abortion and the Deprivation of Future Valuable Life
Rdg: Marquis, "An Argument that Abortion is Wrong" (E, 754-764). Supplementary Notes
FRIDAY, 3/20: FIRST PAPER DUE at Beginning of Section. *See above for late paper policy.
M 3/23 Euthanasia: Active and Passive:
Rdg: Rachels, "Active and Passive Euthanasia" (E, 779-782). Supplementary Notes
Optional: For another perspective on Euthanasia, from a religious point of view, see for example the Catholic Church's Declaration on Euthanasia (http://www.cin.org/vatcong/euthanas.html), and "What is the Church's Teaching on Euthanasia?" (http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=307&repos=1&subrepos=&searchid=286538).
W 3/25 Beyond Therapy: Ethical Issues Involving Human Enhancement Technologies:
Rdg: *Please print out and read (except for footnotes and endnotes): http://bioethicsprint.bioethics.gov/reports/beyondtherapy/chapter1.html Supplementary Notes
PART IV: MODERN ETHICAL THEORIES: ON THE GOOD AND THE RIGHT
M 3/30 Mill's Hedonistic Theory of Value:
Rdg: first half of Mill, Utilitarianism, chap. 2, i.e., just pages 320-325 for today (E). (Some of this material is clear and easy to follow, but other parts will be difficult. That's okay: stay with it and do your best to understand what you can. It's still important that you work through it. I'll clarify the central points I'm concerned with in lecture.) Supplementary Notes
W 4/1 The Utilitarian Theory of Right and Wrong:
Rdg: second half of Mill, Utilitarianism, chap. 2, i.e., pages 325-330 (E). Supplementary Notes
FRIDAY 4/3: Second Paper Topics: CLICK HERE. (Link will be enabled by noon on
Friday.) Click HERE for guidelines for writing philosophy papers, plus a sample
philosophy paper, and writing resources you can use (including Tech's
Writing Center, http://www.composition.english.vt.edu/wc/WC_Home.html).
NOTE: Those who wish to formulate their own topics for the second
paper must discuss their proposals either with me or with their TA, and get
approval first (usually requiring some refinement of the proposed idea). This
is the time to do that, to allow sufficient time for approval of topics--rather
than coming in the week the paper is due. Please arrange to meet with one of us
within the next week if you wish to exercise this option.
NOTE: Be sure not to miss the following two lectures on Kant, since the material is difficult and will figure heavily in paper topics and on the final exam.
M 4/6 Kant's Categorical Imperative, Formula of Universal Law:
Rdg: Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals (E): (1) pp. 273 (starting at Section 1) -- 278 (to the end of the first column); (2) 283 (starting from second paragraph in first column, "Now, all imperatives command either...") -- 284 (up to the middle of the first column); (3) 286 (middle of first column: "When I think of...") -- 288 (up to the middle of the second column), (E). Supplementary Notes
W 4/8 Kant's Categorical Imperative, Formula of the End in Itself:
Rdg: (1) Click HERE for manuscript and PRINT out to read. (2) Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals (E), pp. 289 (starting near the top of the second column, with "But suppose there were...") -- 291 (middle of first column), (E). Supplementary Notes
PART V: FURTHER TOPICS IN APPLIED ETHICS AND ETHICAL THEORY
M 4/13 Capital Punishment, Part I:
Rdg: (1) Van Den Haag, "In Defense of the Death Penalty" (E, 824-833); (2) See links below. Supplementary Notes
For a wealth of up to date information, facts and figures about the death penalty, particularly as practiced in this country, please have a look at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/. In particular, you might skim some of these reports: On exonerations of death row inmates, with statistics (by state, by year, and by race): http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=412&scid=6 . Relating to our discussion today and Wednesday, African Americans are highly over-represented in this group: of the roughly 130 death row inmates exonerated by new evidence--which means that they made it all the way to death row in error--more than half (66) are black; well under half (50) are white. This is obviously out of proportion to the overall racial makeup of the population. There is more on race and the death penalty at: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=105&scid=5 . You can also find information about the issue of arbitrariness that I will talk about today at: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=1328 . For information on studies of the issue of deterrence (e.g., comparing states with the death penalty and states without it), see: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?&did=1705#stateswithvwithout . Finally, for information about how much more expensive the death penalty is than life-without-parole, see: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=108&scid=7 .
W 4/15 Capital Punishment, Part II: Video: Selection from "20/20" episode about my brother, Michael FitzPatrick, illustrating the potential for gross error in the criminal justice system. (Please note that this video cannot be made available outside of class, so those who miss lecture will not be able to make it up.)
Rdg: (1) Click HERE to download and print out reading assignment on recent actual cases of error, racism, and resistance to testing; (2) Nathanson, "An Eye for an Eye: The Morality of Punishing by Death" (E). Supplementary Notes
Also Recommended: a recent episode of "60 Minutes" that features a particularly salient example of a false conviction that resulted from an erroneous eyewitness identification, and what happened with the parties involved afterwards: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/06/60minutes/main4848039.shtml You can either watch the video or read it.
FRIDAY 4/17 SECOND PAPER DUE at Beginning of Section. *See above
for late paper policy.
M 4/20 Ethical Questions Concerning Our Treatment of Non-Human Animals.
Rdg: (1) Regan, "The Case for Animal Rights" (E, 809-816); (2) See links below. Supplementary Notes
In addition to reading
Regan's article, please familiarize yourself
with the facts about contemporary large-scale animal agriculture in the U.S.
and its impact on animal welfare. I recommend starting here: http://www.hsus.org/farm/resources/research/
(there are drop-down menus next to each category in the bottom half of the
page, with detailed articles you might selectively skim). In particular, there
is a good general overview here: http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/farm/welfare_overview.pdf
, and also here: http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/farm/hsus-the-welfare-of-intensively-confined-animals.pdf
. On the chicken industry in particular, which has by far the highest slaughter
totals, see: http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/farm/welfare_broiler.pdf
. For data on U.S. slaughter totals for various animals, see: http://www.hsus.org/farm/resources/pubs/stats_slaughter_totals.html
. For information on the meanings of various welfare-related egg carton labels
(such as "free range") see: http://www.hsus.org/farm/resources/pubs/animal_welfare_claims_on_egg_cartons.html
.
W 4/22 Animal Ethics: Toward a Plausible Moderate Position?
Rdg: Click HERE to download and print out reading. Supplementary Notes
M 4/27 The Problem of Moral Luck:
Rdg: Nagel, "Moral Luck" (E, 719-727). Supplementary Notes
W 4/29 Moral Dilemmas: What Are They and Do They Really Exist?
Rdg: Just SKIM Marcus, "Moral Dilemmas and Consistency" (E, 558-567). It is difficult, and I will explain the essential ideas in class. Supplementary Notes
M 5/4 Summary Remarks, Distribution of Study Guide, Information About Final Exam, and Q&A Session.
Rdg: Catch up on any missed reading. After some brief remarks about the course and about the final exam, I will open the class up to general questions you may have accumulated over the semester--not review-session type questions for the exam (which are for Wednesday's review session), but substantive philosophical questions you would like to raise and have my input on, including (if you like) my own views about topics we've discussed. So please come prepared with questions. Supplementary Notes
W 5/6 Review Session
Come prepared with specific questions that you have after studying the material (not just questions straight off the review sheet). There will be no formal presentation of material. This is meant simply as a chance to ask questions and get clarification about particular issues.
FINAL EXAM: Tuesday, May 12, 3:25-5:25 in our regular lecture hall. Closed book and notes. Be sure to bring blue books to write in.