Fundamental questions about how to live and act resist easy answers, and the attempt to reach the hard answers they require has occupied some of the greatest minds in history. In this introduction to ethics, we will focus on a tradition of moral philosophy that extends from Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, through Augustine and Aquinas, and on to Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche, Du Bois, and de Beauvoir, among many others. We will be reading selections from their original writings as well as work by a diverse array of important contemporary moral philosophers, including John Rawls, Martha Nussbaum, Onora O’Neill, Robert Nozick, Nell Noddings, and Peter Singer.

Among the questions we will ask: What is the nature of a good life? Is acting morally a necessary part of such a life? What is the basis for moral judgments, and can they be a form of knowledge? Is morality universal, or socially or historically relative? What does “human nature” have to do with morality, and does morality extend in its scope to animals and the natural environment? What role do emotions play in moral theory and practice? How might religion be related to morality? And, does evolution, or contemporary research in psychology and neuroscience, threaten morality?

By considering a range of significant answers to such questions, we hope to contribute to students’ ability to develop their own answers. Discussion is an essential part of philosophical inquiry, and will play an equal role with lectures.

Course Requirements:

Grades will be determined on the basis of a midterm and final exam, two short papers, and class participation.

Intended Audience:

This course will be entirely online and invites online participation.

Class Format:

Synchronous lecture and discussion sections. This course is fully compatible with remote online learning