Philosophy 3100 - Ethical Theory

Additional Readings

(see syllabus for reading due dates, if not listed below)

1. Ayer, “Critique of Ethics and Theology,” from Language, Truth and Logic (1936). Read pp. 102-113 (rest optional).
2. Hume, excerpts on subjectivism from A Treatise of Human Nature (1740), bk. 3, pt. 1, sec. 1;
   and An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), app. 1.
3. Moore, "The Nature of Moral Philosophy," from his Philosophical Studies (1922). Required: pp. 329-334. Rest optional.
4. Plato, excerpt from Euthyphro (380 BCE).
5. Moore, §§5-13 from Principia Ethica (1903). You can skip §§11-12.
6. Ross, "What Makes Right Acts Right?" from The Right and the Good (1930). Required for now:
        - big paragraph on pp. 19-20;
        - p. 29 (middle of page) - p. 34 (very top, until the break);
        - p. 39 (from the break) - p. 41 (to the break).
   Rest optional for now.
7. Mackie, "The Subjectivity of Values," ch. 1 of Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong (1977). Required: §§ 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 12. Rest optional.
8. Mill, excerpts from Utilitarianism (1963). [due Mon 2/23]
9. Feldman, "What is Act Utilitarianism?" from his Introductory Ethics (1978). [due Mon 2/23]
10. Feldman, "Act Utilitarianism: Arguments Pro and Con," from his Introductory Ethics (1978). Required:
         - "The 'Too High for Humanity' Objection" (pp. 36-38)
         - "The 'Lack of Time' Objection" (pp. 38-41).
    Rest optional.    [due Wed 2/25]
11. Feldman, "Problems for Act Utilitarianism," from his Introductory Ethics (1978). Required pp. 52-60. Rest optional.    [due Fri 2/27]
12. Ross, "What Makes Right Acts Right?" from The Right and the Good (1930). See #6 above. Required: p. 34 (from the break) - p. 39 (to the break).     [due Fri 2/27]
13. Nielsen, "Against Moral Conservativism," Ethics 82 (1972): 219-231. Section III optional, but recommended.     [due Fri 2/27]
14. Bentham, excerpt from An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1781). Optional sections: ch. 1, §§VII-X; ch. 4, §§IV-VIII.    [due Mon 3/2].
15. Parfit, "What Makes Someone's Life Go Best?" from Reasons and Persons (1984). Section J not required.    [due Wed 3/4]
16. Nozick, "The Experience Machine," from Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974).    [due Wed 3/4]
17. Ross, "What Things Are Good?" from The Right and the Good (1930).   [due Mon 3/9]
18. Parfit, "Equality and Priority," Ratio 10 (1997): 202-221.    [§§1-4 due Wed 3/11; §§5-8 due Fri 3/13]
19. Norcross, "Puppies, Pigs, and People: Eating Meat and Marginal Cases," Philosophical Perspectives 18 (2004): 229-245. Read pp. 229-236; rest optional.   [due Mon 3/16]
20. Kant, excerpts from Groundwork for the Metaphysic of Morals (1785), from the version by presented by Jonathan Bennett at www.earlymoderntexts.com. Required:
         - pp. 10 (righthand side, from the break) - 12 (lefthand side, 3/4 of the way down);
         - pp. 24 (lefthand side, from "So there is only ...") - 27 (lefthand side, two lines from top).
21. Feldman, "Kant I," from his Introductory Ethics (1978).
22. Ross,"What Makes Right Acts Right?" from The Right and the Good (1930). Required: pp. 16-29 (middle of page).
23. McNaughton and Rawling, "Deontology," from D. Copp (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory (Oxford University Press, 2006).
24. Foot, "The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect," Oxford Review 5 (1967): 5-15.
25. OPTIONAL: Quinn, "Actions, Intentions, and Consequences: The Doctrine of Double Effect," Philosophy and Public Affairs 18 (1989): 334-51. THIS READING IS NOW OPTIONAL.
26. Thomson, "Killing, Letting Die, and the Trolley Problem," The Monist 59 (1976): 204-217.

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