Bellevue College

(Previously Bellevue Community College)

Syllabus

Phil 102: Contemporary Moral Problems, Winter 2011

Room: R303

Class: Daily 9:30a to 10:20a

Office Hours: 11:30a to 12:20p Monday and by appointment in B200D

Instructor: David Long

Email: david.long@bellevuecollege.edu Phone: 425-564-4129

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.

30%.of your grade will come from one essay test (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. These will include: relativism, egoism, utilitarianism, Kant’s moral theory, Aristotle’s moral theory, among others. An understanding of these philosophical views will provide the context necessary for the evaluation of a variety of contemporary moral problems. These will include: euthanasia, abortion, animal rights, pornography, sexuality (gender and orientation), violence, terrorism, torture, and war. 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 MacKinnon

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 DRC (Disability Resource Center)(room B132-G; 425-564-2498 or TTY 425-564-4110) to establish their eligibility for accommodation. The DRC office will provide each eligible student with an accommodation letter. Students who require accommodation in class should review the DRC accommodation letter with the instructor during the first week of the quarter.

Grading Policy:

Make-up tests will only be given with a verified and legitimate excuse. Papers 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
Jan. 3rd to Jan. 7^th	Ideas & Thoughts	Chapter 1	Plato	Moral Relativism	Moral Relativism
Jan. 10^th to Jan. 14^th	Moral Relativism	Chapter 2	Midgley	Midgley	Nietzsche
Jan. 17^th to Jan. 21^st	X	Chapter 3	Egoism	Plato	Hobbes
Jan. 24^th to Jan. 28^th	Chapter 4	Bentham / Mill	Bentham / Mill	Chapter 5	Kant
Jan 31^st to Feb. 4^th	Chapter 6	Natural Law	Chapter 7	Virtue Ethics	Aristotle
Feb. 7^th to Feb. 11^th	(1^st Paper due)	Aristotle	Euthanasia	Euthanasia	Euthanasia
Feb. 14^th to Feb. 18^th	Abortion	Abortion	Abortion	Abortion	Abortion
Feb. 21^st to Feb. 25^th	X	Sexual Morality	Sexual Morality	Sexual Morality	Sexual Morality
Feb. 28^th to March 4^th	Pornography	Pornography	Pornography	Economic Justice	Economic Justice
March 7^th to March 11^th	Animal Rights	Animal Rights	Animal Rights	Violence	Violence
March 14^th to March 18^th	(2^ndPaper due)	Terrorism	War	War	War
March 21^nd to March 23^rd	X	X	Final

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 and the particular interests of the class.

Final: Monday, 3/21, 9:30a -11:20a