PHIL 240 A: Introduction to Ethics

Ethical questions encompass a wide variety of moral concerns. For example: What sorts of things really matter in life: pleasure, family, money, all or none of these? Suppose you could get away with stealing something you really wanted without anyone noticing. Are there good reasons for not stealing it? Would it be okay for us to sacrifice the happiness of a few people, if that sacrifice meant that many, many more people would be happy? In this class, we’ll examine ethical theories from the Western philosophical tradition that provide a philosophical framework for answering these and other ethical questions. We'll also supplement some of these theories with views from other traditions. The class begins with questions about how to live a flourishing life and how such a life might be connected to having a good moral character. From there, we’ll consider questions about the nature of right and wrong and the sources of moral value. Finally, we’ll end the class by either considering at least one contemporary moral problem or by looking at how morality fits in with other things we might value.