|
PHIL 1200 Sections 206 and 208 |
Office hours: Tu,
2:00-3:00, and by appointment |
|
Spring 2010 |
Office: HLMS 164B |
|
Professor Alastair Norcross |
Phone: 303 492 7527 Email: norcross@colorado.edu |
Texts: The
Elements of Moral Philosophy (6th ed.), James Rachels and Stuart Rachels
The Right Thing to Do (5th
ed.), James Rachels
and Stuart Rachels, eds.
Course
description: This
course will focus on current moral issues of particular interest and
importance, and will analyze them from the point of view of competing
approaches to morality. The issues
to be studied will be abortion, euthanasia, animal rights, world hunger, and
drug legalization. I will expect
you to participate in class discussion.
Many of you will already have opinions about some of the issues we will
be discussing. Although I will
welcome your opinions, I will also expect you to be able to discuss the
assigned readings. You may often
disagree with what you read. Don't
be afraid to criticize philosophers.
They can't all be right, and they may even all be wrong! I expect you to attend class well-prepared and able to discuss any of the readings
assigned up to and including the week of the class.
Requirements (with approximate weight towards final
grade): mid-term exam (30%), final exam (30%), final paper (30%), class participation (10%). Observance of the Honor Code, which
applies to all aspects of the course. This class has the
following attendance policy: starting in week 2 (the week beginning January 18)
more than five absences, for whatever reason, will result in failing the
course. Since you never know when you might get sick, it is not a good idea to
miss class, unless you absolutely have to.
All
requirements must be satisfactorily met in order to pass the course.
Clickers: You will need a clicker for this
course. If you don't yet have one, please get one.
Suggestions: Do the reading assignments well in
advance. You will probably have to
read the text two or even three times before you have a sufficient grasp of the
material. Philosophy is hard. Don't expect to understand it all at
the first reading. Make use of my
office hours to discuss things you don't understand. Ask questions in class. Very few questions are too silly to ask.
Disability
Accommodations:
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability please submit a letter
to me from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be
addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented
disabilities (303-492-8671, Willard 322, http://www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices).
Schedule of
assignments.
Readings are from The Elements of Moral
Philosophy (EMP), The Right Thing to
Do (RTD), and web pages.
|
Week beginning |
Assignment |
Other |
|
J 11 |
EMP Ch. 1 |
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J 18 |
EMP Chs. 2 & 3 |
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J 25 |
EMP Chs. 4 & 5 |
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F 1 |
EMP Chs. 6 & 7 |
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F 8 |
EMP Chs. 8 & 9 |
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F 15 |
EMP Chs. 10 & 12 |
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F 22 |
Review for
mid-term |
Review session
February 23, mid-term exam, February 25 |
|
M 1 |
RTD 11 & 12 |
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M 8 |
RTD 13 |
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M 15 |
RTD 34 & 35 |
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M 29 |
RTD 14, Cohen (CU Learn Course Content) |
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A 5 |
RTD 15 & 16
|
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A 12 |
RTD 17 & 18 |
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A 19 |
Hardin (web)
(http://www.garretthardinsociety.org/articles/art_lifeboat_ethics_case_against_ helping_poor.html), Gardin
(CU Learn Course Content) |
|
|
A 26 |
RTD 26 |
Final paper due A
29 (see assignment in CU Learn) Guidelines on writing a philosophy
paper (James Pryor, Princeton) (http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/ guidelines/writing.html) |