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Philosophy Texts
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Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle, Politics
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
John Locke, Second Treatise of Government
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
David Hume, Treatise of Human Nature
Immanuel Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto
Karl Marx, Theses on Feuerbach
Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism
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Philosophy 304Contemporary Moral Problems
Announcements
You have two options for taking the final exam:
- Friday, May 2, 4-6pm, WCH 1.120
- Monday, May 12, 10am-12noon, UTC 2.112A (our usual classroom)
The practice midterm exam is online, together with answers. So are the midterm review slides.
You'll also find the midterm exam, answers to it, a practice final exam, answers, and the review slides.
Course Description
This course discusses contemporary moral issues in the context of ethics and political philosophy. Often, when people disagree about an issue such as abortion or welfare, they disagree not only about the facts but about basic ethical issues. In this course we will ask some basic ethical questions, investigate answers proposed by important moral and political philosophers, and think about what those answers mean for contemporary public problems.
The course falls into four parts:
- Liberty.
What are the limits of liberty? Are there decisions you should be free to make without outside interference? We will consider the views of John Stuart Mill, applying them to the issues of drug legalization and freedom of speech.
- First Principles.
Some philosophers think that the right thing to do is whatever is, in the long run, for the best. How do we decide what is for the best? Is that always a good moral guide? Other philosophers think that respecting others as ends-in-themselves, equal to ourselves, is the key to moral thinking. Still others stress virtues. We will look at Aristotle, Kant, and Mill, testing their views on issues of sexual behavior and the environment.
- Rights and Responsibilities.
What rights do you have? How do we decide? What does it mean to have a right? We will turn to Burke, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Mill for answers, and apply our insights to controversies concerning war.
- Justice and Equality.
What is justice? Is the current distribution of resources fair? Are there ways of making it fairer? We will examine Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Camus, Rawls, and Nozick for answers in theory, and consider issues of economic equality for answers in practice.
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Requirements
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There are two paths to a grade in this course.
The path of reflection emphasizes the homework writing assignments, though exams are also important.
The path of examination emphasizes the exams, though the homework remains important.
We will figure your grade according to both paths and assign you the higher grade.
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Path of Reflection |
Path of Examination |
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Midterm Exam |
25% |
40% |
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Final Exam |
25% |
40% |
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Homework |
50% |
20% |
Your grade in this course will be determined by your performance on the following things:
Midterm examination. On March 17, you'll take a closed-book, 55-question multiple-choice exam covering the first half of the course.
Final examination. On either Friday, May 2, 4:00-6:00pm in WCH 1.120 or Monday, May 12, 10:00-12:00 noon, in our usual classroom, UTC 2.112A, you'll take a closed-book, 55-question multiple-choice exam covering the second half of the course. You may also take an optional part, of similar format, that will replace your midterm exam grade if you score higher.
Homework papers. You should turn in three homework papers-- two- to three-page (1200 words or less) answers to homework questions.
Discussion sections. Your TA will evaluate your attendance at and participation in discussion sections. That evaluation will determine what happens to those with borderline final averages.
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Homework
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To submit your homework, email it to your TA.
Do NOT email it to Professor Bonevac! He is easily confused.
Homework 1, due March 1: On January 30, 2008, two teenage girls in Florida robbed a 9-year-old Girl Scout selling cookies, taking $167. (1) Explain, from the perspective of (a) Aristotle, (b) Kant, and (c) Mill, why this was morally wrong. (2) Choose one of those philosophers, and explain whether or not, from his point of view, there could ever be circumstances in which it would be morally acceptable to rob a Girl Scout selling cookies.
Homework 2, due April 14: "No taxation without representation!" That slogan of the American Revolution was inspired by the English Bill of Rights enacted after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which Locke viewed as his philosophy put into practice. It forbade the Crown to levy taxes without consent of Parliament. (1) How would Locke argue against taxation without representation? (2) Does that argument succeed? Why or why not?
Homework 3, due May 3: Ronald Dworkin is perhaps the leading philosopher of contemporary liberalism. He argues that "market allocations must be corrected in order to bring some people closer to the share of resources they would have had" except for unfortunate circumstances. (1) What are these unfortunate circumstances? (2) Sketch his argument for this conclusion. (3) Evaluate his position.
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Discussion Sections
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T 1 |
UTC 4.120 |
Steven |
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T 2 |
GAR 1.134 |
Soyoung |
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T 3 |
CAL 323 |
Soyoung |
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T 3 |
SZB 330 |
Wooyoung |
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T 4 |
MEZ 1.212 |
Soyoung |
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W 3 |
JES A216A |
Joy |
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W 3 |
JES A218A |
Aidan |
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W 4 |
MEZ 1.122 |
Wooyoung |
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W 4 |
MEZ 2.102 |
Joy |
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Th 2 |
WEL 3.266 |
Aidan |
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Th 3 |
BUR 234 |
Steven |
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Th 3 |
CAL 323 |
Aidan |
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Th 4 |
MEZ 1.202 |
Steven |
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Th 4 |
MEZ 1.212 |
Wooyoung |
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