PHIL 3100 -- Ethical Theory
Fall 2019
Prof. Chris Heathwood
TA: Megan Kitts
University of Colorado Boulder

What We Did Each Day

(or plan/hope to do)

WEEK 1

M 8/26:  First day stuff: Introductions (especially concerning stuttering), syllabus.

W 8/28:  Informal discussion of issues in metaethics.  Example of the teenagers and the cat.  Some initial views that some of you came up with on what we are saying when we say that the act is wrong.  List-A terms vs. List-B terms: evaluative/normative terms vs. descriptive/naturalistic terms.  Some distinctions we touched on: non-reductionism vs. reductionism, subjectivism vs. objectivism.

WEEK 2

M 9/2:  NO CLASS - LABOR DAY

W 9/4:  Reading Quiz #1.  What is ethics?  What is metaethics?  Evaluative/normative statements.  Deontic statements, axiological statements, aretaic statements.  Definitions of 'subjective property' and 'objective property'.  Lots of examples; possible sources of confusion.

WEEK 3

M 9/9:  Definitions of 'subjective property' and 'objective property'.  Lots of examples; possible sources of confusion.  Poll on "Is morality objective of subjective?"  Moral Realism vs. Moral Anti-Realism.  Subjectivism/Constructivism; Non-Cognitivism; Nihilism.  Realist Reductionism/Naturalism; Non-Naturalism/Intuitionism.  Cognitivism and Non-Cognitivism officially defined.

W 9/11:  Reading Quiz #2.  Cognitivism and Non-Cognitivism officially defined.  The Analytic/Synthetic Distinction.  The Empirical/A Priori Distinction.

WEEK 4

M 9/16:  The Empirical/A Priori Distinction.  Empiricism.  Rationalism.  A Possible Example of a Synthetic A Priori Truth.  Why ethical knowledge is an apparent problem for Ayer's Empiricism.  Ayer's solution. 

W 9/18:  Reading Quiz #3.  Individual Subjectivism: Belief Subjectivism and its Problems.  Humean Subjectivism.  Disapproval.  The difference between Subjectivism and Non-Cognitivism.  Starting on Moore's No-Disagreement Argument against Humean Subjectivism.

WEEK 5

M 9/23:  Moore's No-Disagreement Argument against Humean Subjectivism.  Arguing Against a Theory.  Giving the rationale for a premise.  Rationales for the premises of Moore's No-Disagreement Argument against Humean Subjectivism.  Some Other Forms of Constructivism: Humanist Constructivism, Cultural Relativism, Divine Command Theory, Ideal Observer Theory.  Do any of these imply what Moore says Humean Subjectivism implies?  Do any of these imply something similar?  Do any of these imply nothing similar?  Why Humanist Constructivism avoids Moore's No-Disagreement Argument. 

W 9/25:  Moore's No-Disagreement Argument and Cultural Relativism.  Reading Quiz #4.  Socrates' Question.  The Constructivist's Answer and the Realist's Answer.  The Arbitrariness Problem and Divine Command Theory.  The Ideal Observer Theory.  The Arbitrariness Problem against the Ideal Observer Theory as a reductio ad absurdum argument.

WEEK 6

M 9/30:  Finish discussion of Arbitrariness Problem for Constructivism.  Discussed First Paper Assignment.  Discussed Philosophy Paper FAQ.  The objective/subjective distinction ("horizontal") vs. the reductionist/non-reductionist distinction ("vertical").  What is reductionism?

W 10/2:  What is reductionism?  What is naturalism?  What are natural properties?  Reductive views in other areas.  Does reductionism entail naturalism?  Does naturalism entail reductionism?  Non-Reductive Naturalism.  Non-Naturalism / Intuitionism.  Reductionism and: the nature of the moral; moral knowledge; moral supervenience; Ockham's razor. 

WEEK 7

M 10/7:  Why Be a Reductionist?  Analytic Reductive Utilitarianism vs. Utilitarianism as a theory in normative ethics.  Ayer's "Open Question" Argument.

W 10/9:  Handed out and discussed Combined Handout on Metaethics.  What is Intuitionism?  What is Nihilism?  Intuitionist Moral Epistemology.  The Concept of Epistemic Justification.  Inferential vs. Non-Inferential Epistemic Justification.  Examples of non-inferentially justified beliefs, based on different kinds of appearances (perceptual, introspective, mnemonic).  The Regress Argument for the Idea that Some Moral Beliefs Must Be Non-Inferentially Justified (if any are justified at all).  Possible Examples of Non-Inferentially Justified Moral Beliefs.  Intellectual appearances / rational intuition.  Striking Ross passage.  The Argument from Disagreement Against Intuitionism/Moral Realism.  Examples of Moral Disagreement.  Why widespread disagreement might seem surprising if Moral Realism is true.  How Nihilism explains disagreement.

WEEK 8

M 10/14:  Review for Midterm.

W 10/16:  Midterm Part 1.  Return Midterm Part 1.  More review.

WEEK 9

M 10/21:  Midterm Part 2.  BRING A BLUEBOOK!!!

W 10/23:  Three Areas of Ethics.  Three Areas of Normative Ethics: Normative Ethics of Behavior; Axiology; Virtue/Vice Theory.  Moral Principles.  Some sample moral principles (KSP, PG, BP).  Fully General Moral Principles.  Necessary and sufficient conditions.  A sample moral theory: 10C.  The fundamental project of the normative ethics of behavior.  A couple more sample theories: GR, GHP.  Refuting Moral Theories.  Counterexamples.  Counterexamples to 10C.  Tips for giving good counterexamples.

WEEK 10

M 10/28:  Reading Quiz #6.  What are some uncontroversially wrong actions?  What do they have in common?  The Suffering Principle.  Problems with the Suffering Principle: Happiness matters too.  A famous passage by Mill.  How best to state Mill's idea?  Mistaken formulations. 

W 10/30:  Returned and Reviewed Bluebooks (Midterm Part 2).  Hedonic utility.  Maximization, alternative.  Our official formulation: AUh.  Understanding AUh.  Some important features of AUh.

WEEK 11

M 11/4:  Possible Counterexamples to AUh: Promise-to-the-Dead-Man Objection; Punish-the-Innocent Objection; Footbridge/ Organ Harvest; the Demandingness Objection (the cabinetmaker's life, kidney donation). 

W 11/6:  Reading Quiz #7.  Footbridge; Punish-the-Innocent; Demandingness: a Possibly Common Root to these Objections.  Preliminaries on Moral Rights: moral rights not legal rights; negative rights vs. positive rights.  Utilitarianism of Rights (UR).  UR and Footbridge.  UR and Punish the Innocent.

WEEK 12

M 11/11:  UR and Demandingness.  Rights as Side-Constraints.  RT.  Who Has Rights?  Personhood Theory / Rationalism.  What Rights Are There? 

W 11/13:  Reading Quiz #8.  Nozick's four categories of rights.  Our Nozickian Rights Theory (NRT).  NRT and Footbridge.  NRT and the Punish-the-Innocent Objection.  NRT and Demandingness.  NRT and the Promise-to-the-Dead-Man Objection.  Problems for Nozick's Rights Theory.  Underdemandingness (Shallow Pond).  Locke's appeal to positive rights.  The Anna Case.  

WEEK 13

M 11/18:  Discussed Second Paper Assignment.  W.D. Ross.  The Concept of a Prima Facie Duty. 

W 11/20:  Reading Quiz #9.  The Promise/Accident example.  The Splinter example.  Ross's List of Prima Facie Duties.

-- T H A N K S G I V I N G   B R E A K --

WEEK 14

M 12/2:  (a) Fidelity; (b) Reparations (and how to apologize); (c) Gratitude; (d) Justice; (e) Beneficence; (f) Self-Improvement; (g) Non-Maleficence.  Rossian Pluralism (RP).  Applications of Rossian Pluralism.  How we know what maximizes p-f rightness over wrongness on Ross' view.  "Deontology."  Ross's Argument from Promises against AU.

W 12/4:  Second Paper Due (at noon).  FCQ's.  Impromptu Ethical Theory Mini-Conference.  Is Deontology Irrational?  Why be moral?

WEEK 15

M 12/9:  Review Day

W 12/11:  Final Exam Part 1.  Return Final Exam Part 1.  More review.