This is a substantial writing component course. Your course grade will rest primarily on your writing. The goal: an excellent 15 page (5000 word, more or less) paper on a topic of your choosing, relating to at least one of the approaches to ethical theory explored in this course. You will pursue this goal in five stages:

1. Detailed notes on a session of the class, to be emailed to the professor within three days of that session. (10% of your grade.)
2. A 1-3 page prospectus, explaining your topic, your objective, and how you plan to go about achieving it, due by June 28. (10% of your grade.)
3. A draft of your paper, to be distributed to a group of students working on related topics as well as to the professor, due by July 5. (10% of your final grade.)
4. A presentation of your draft to the class, and comments on other students' drafts, pointing out strengths and weaknesses, and giving advice for improvement, July 7-10. (10% of your final grade.)
5. Your final paper, revised in light of comments from your group members and the professor, due by July 12. (60% of your final grade.)

A good paper will address an important topic; state clearly the thesis to be advanced; argue for that thesis clearly and compellingly; show an awareness of possible questions, objections, and counterarguments, indicating at least in outline how to respond to each; and show familiarity with some relevant secondary and contemporary literature. The Philosophers' Index is your friend.

Read carefully the advice on writing philosophy papers found on web sites linked from this page.

These articles are excellent overviews of areas central to the course. They also have terrific bibliographies.

• Consequentialism
• Ancient Ethics
• Chinese Ethics
• Deontological Ethics
• Natural Law Ethics
• Virtue Ethics
• Kant's Moral Philosophy
• Aristotle's Ethics
• Aquinas's Moral, Political, and Legal Philosophy
• Moral Particularism
• Plato's Ethics
• Plato's Shorter Ethical Works
• Practical Reason
• Value Pluralism
• Moral Dilemmas