P120 – ETHICS – FALL 2009          This syllabus is for the following sections:

                                                                                           16805    10:30-11:45     TR     SL 011

Instructor:       Chris Kraatz                                           16806     12:00-1:15      TR     IT 164

Office:            Cavanaugh Hall 333B                            

Hours:             MTWR 9:15-10:15, and by appointment.

Phone:              317-274-5344

E-mail:             ckraatz@iupui.edu    

Internet:            http://www.iupui.edu/~philosop/ckraatz.htm

Textbooks:   Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, by Immanuel Kant.
                      Utilitarianism, by John Stuart Mill.
                      The Trial and Death of Socrates (Euthyphro, Apology, Crito), by Plato.

Course Objectives:  We will become acquainted with issues and thinkers in the field of philosophical ethics that are of historical and contemporary significance.  We will be reading, discussing and writing in an effort to investigate possible answers to questions such as the following:

What is the nature of Justice?  Are some things Just or Unjust (or good or bad) only because God says so?  Are people morally obligated to obey the laws of their country?  If not, then why have laws?  If so, then what about laws that are plainly Unjust?  Is there an eternal and unchanging moral law?  If so, what is it?  Is it the consequences of our actions that make them right or wrong, or is it something else?  Is it good or bad for a society to practice legalized discrimination against persons who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered?  How could we identify the discrimination in our society that we have not yet learned to recognize?  What exactly is oppression?  Is it possible for a Just society to permit abortions?  What does it mean to take feminism seriously?  What exactly is genocide?  What is the ultimate source of moral conflict and disagreement?   How can such conflicts best be resolved?  What is the moral status of large corporations, media, and the cultural norms that they seek to reinforce?  Has technology improved the human condition, or made it worse?  Is capitalism really “better” than socialism?  Is vegetarianism really a moral issue?  What are the moral implications of our relationships with the land on which we live and the other species with whom we share it?  Etc.*
Course Requirements:  Discussions and lectures will happen at the assigned times, attendance at all class meetings is expected.  There will be four non-comprehensive open-book take-home tests given in this course, each test will constitute 25% of your final semester grade.  Texts and topics for all class discussions and lectures are listed on the class schedule, each reading assignment listed should be read prior to the day
that it is scheduled to be covered in class.  Also listed on the class schedule are the due dates for the tests; alternate arrangements for tests or due dates must be made in advance. 

Learning Differences and Other Health Impairments:  Students with learning differences or other health impairments that will interfere with success in this class are encouraged to contact the office of Adaptive Educational Services or the office of Counseling and Psychological Services for assistance:      

AES:    http://www.iupui.edu/~divrsity/aes/       CAPS: http://www.life.iupui.edu/caps/index.asp
             Phone: 274-3241                                     Phone: 274-2548   
             E-mail: aes@iupui.edu                            E-mail: capsindy@iupui.edu

Student Advocate:      http://www.life.iupui.edu/advocate/
                                     Phone: 278-7594             E-mail:  stuadvoc@iupui.edu

Conduct:  Respect for all the people in this class is essential.  We shall, therefore, observe these principles:
Plagiarism and other forms of cheating are serious offenses that may result in a grade of zero for an assignment and a report to the dean of students.  Cell phones, CD players, and other potential disruptions must be deactivated during class time.  Disagreements are highly encouraged, but they must remain free of insulting or offensive language.  Clothing which displays a logo or message declared to be “disparaging” by the US Civil Rights Commission or cited as racially hostile and abusive by the NCAA should not be worn in this class.

   http://www.aics.org/mascot/civilrights.html               http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=915

Class Schedule
(* denotes that the reading assignment is a handout available from the instructor)

08/27   -           Introductory comments about this class and Philosophy
09/01   -           Introductory comments about Ethics
09/03   -           Read: “Euthyphro” by Plato.
09/08   -           Read: “Apology” by Plato.
09/10   -           Read: “Crito” by Plato.
09/15   -           Read: “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
                        available online: http://www.almaz.com/nobel/peace/MLK-jail.html
09/17   -           Read: “Prejudice and Homosexuality” by Richard Mohr.*
09/22   -                        TBA                    *First Test Due Today*
09/24   -           Read: Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals
                                   by Kant, pp. 1-8 (P 387-395).
09/29   -           Read: Kant, pp. 8-29 (P 395-420).
10/01   -           Read:  Kant, pp. 29-33 (P 420-424).
10/06   -           Read:  Kant: pp. 33-44 (P 425-440).
10/08   -           Read:  excerpts from the United Nations 1948 Genocide Convention,
                        A Message from the United Confederation of Taino People,
                        and Destruction of  the Indies by Bartolome de las Casas.*
10/13   -           Read: “A Simple Question of Humanity” by Vine Deloria, Jr.*
10/15   -           Watch and discuss movie: “In Whose Honor?”
10/20   -                          TBA                  **Second Test Due Today**
10/22   -           Read: Utilitarianism by Mill, chapters 1 and 2.
10/27   -           Finish chapters 1 and 2 of Mill.
10/29   -           Read: Mill, Chapter 3.
11/03   -           Read: excerpt from A Theory of Justice by John Rawls.*
11/05   -           Read: excerpt from In the Absence of the Sacred by Jerry Mander.*
11/10   -           Read: excerpt from Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.*
11/12   -           Watch and discuss movie: “Meet your Meat”
11/17   -                            TBA                 ***Third Test Due Today***
11/19   -           Read: “A Healing of the People” by Tilda Long Soldier.*
11/24   -           Read: excerpt from The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf.*
12/01   -           Read: “Pornography, Civil Rights, and Speech”
                                   by Catharine MacKinnon.*
12/03   -           Read: “A Feminist Defense of Abortion” by Sally Markowitz.*
12/08   -           Read: “The Power and Promise of Ecological Feminism”
                        by Karen Warren.*
12/10   -           Read: “The Hopping Stone Vision” by David Sunfellow.*

12/15   -           [This is Finals week]       ****Fourth Test Due Today****

____________________________________________________________________

*This is the place to mention (because it is IUPUI’s policy to do so) the Principles of Undergraduate Learning (PULs).  The PULs were adopted by the campus in 1998 to form the conceptual framework for undergraduate education at IUPUI.  The primary PUL for this course is PUL# 6, Values and Ethics; the secondary one is PUL# 2, Critical Thinking.  This does not mean that those PULs are the focus of this course (i.e. -  you won’t be tested on them and we won’t discuss them in class).  It does mean that part of the intent of the course is to cultivate those PULs.  A complete list of the PULs and their associated outcomes is at: 

http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/_Assets/uploads/docs/Principles_of_Undergraduate _Learning4182008.pdf