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AFRICAAM 223: Literature and Human Experimentation (COMPLIT 223, CSRE 123B, HUMBIO 175H, MED 220)

This course introduces students to the ways literature has been used to think through the ethics of human subjects research and experimental medicine. We will focus primarily on readings that imaginatively revisit experiments conducted on vulnerable populations: namely groups placed at risk by their classification according to perceived human and cultural differences. We will begin with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), and continue our study via later works of fiction, drama and literary journalism, including Toni Morrison's Beloved, David Feldshuh's Miss Evers Boys, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann and Vivien Spitz's Doctors from Hell, Rebecca Skloot's Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. Each literary reading will be paired with medical, philosophical and policy writings of the period; and our ultimate goal will be to understand modes of ethics deliberation that are possible via creative uses of the imagination, and literature's place in a history of ethical thinking about humane research and care.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Ikoku, A. (PI)

AMSTUD 137: The Dialogue of Democracy (COMM 137W, COMM 237, POLISCI 232T, POLISCI 332T)

All forms of democracy require some kind of communication so people can be aware of issues and make decisions. This course looks at competing visions of what democracy should be and different notions of the role of dialogue in a democracy. Is it just campaigning or does it include deliberation? Small scale discussions or sound bites on television? Or social media? What is the role of technology in changing our democratic practices, to mobilize, to persuade, to solve public problems? This course will include readings from political theory about democratic ideals - from the American founders to J.S. Mill and the Progressives to Joseph Schumpeter and modern writers skeptical of the public will. It will also include contemporary examinations of the media and the internet to see how those practices are changing and how the ideals can or cannot be realized.
Last offered: Winter 2013 | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

BIOE 131: Ethics in Bioengineering

Bioengineering focuses on the development and application of new technologies in the biology and medicine. These technologies often have powerful effects on living systems at the microscopic and macroscopic level. They can provide great benefit to society, but they also can be used in dangerous or damaging ways. These effects may be positive or negative, and so it is critical that bioengineers understand the basic principles of ethics when thinking about how the technologies they develop can and should be applied. On a personal level, every bioengineer should understand the basic principles of ethical behavior in the professional setting. This course will involve substantial writing, and will use case-study methodology to introduce both societal and personal ethical principles, with a focus on practical applications.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

CLASSICS 35: Becoming Like God: An Introduction to Greek Ethical Philosophy

(Formerly CLASSGEN 35.) This course investigates key ethical philosophies in classical Greece. After reading several Greek tragedies (representing traditional Greek values), we examine the Greek philosophers' rejection of this tradition and their radically new ethical theories. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle offered different ethical theories, but they shared basic conceptions of goodness and happiness. They argues that we could "become like gods" by achieving philosophic wisdom. What kind of wisdom is this? How does it make us ethically good and supremely happy people?
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Nightingale, A. (PI)

CLASSICS 121: Ecology in Philosophy and Literature

(Formerly CLASSGEN 116.) The basic principles of ecological thinking, exploring the ways that different writers represent and relate to the natural world. Some key questions: What is nature, and where do humans fit in the natural world? How exactly do humans differ from other animals? Do these differences make us superior beings? What are our ethical responsibilities towards the earth and its inhabitants? In what ways have the technologies of writing, television, and computers affected humankind's relationship to the natural world?
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Nightingale, A. (PI)

COMM 137W: The Dialogue of Democracy (AMSTUD 137, COMM 237, POLISCI 232T, POLISCI 332T)

All forms of democracy require some kind of communication so people can be aware of issues and make decisions. This course looks at competing visions of what democracy should be and different notions of the role of dialogue in a democracy. Is it just campaigning or does it include deliberation? Small scale discussions or sound bites on television? Or social media? What is the role of technology in changing our democratic practices, to mobilize, to persuade, to solve public problems? This course will include readings from political theory about democratic ideals - from the American founders to J.S. Mill and the Progressives to Joseph Schumpeter and modern writers skeptical of the public will. It will also include contemporary examinations of the media and the internet to see how those practices are changing and how the ideals can or cannot be realized.
Last offered: Winter 2013 | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

COMPLIT 190: Tolstoy's Anna Karenina in Dialogue with Contemporary Philosophical, Social, and Ethical Thought (COMPLIT 390, SLAVIC 190, SLAVIC 390)

Anna Karenina, the novel as a case study in the contest between "modernity" and "tradition," their ethical order, ideology, cultural codes, and philosophies. Images of society, women and men in Tolstoy v. those of his contemporaries: Marx, Mill, Nietzsche, Weber, Durkheim, Freud. Open to juniors, seniors and graduate students. Requirements: three interpretive essays (500-1000 words each). Analysis of a passage from the novel; AK refracted through a "philosophical" prism and vice versa (30% each); class discussion and Forum (10%).
Last offered: Winter 2014 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI

COMPLIT 223: Literature and Human Experimentation (AFRICAAM 223, CSRE 123B, HUMBIO 175H, MED 220)

This course introduces students to the ways literature has been used to think through the ethics of human subjects research and experimental medicine. We will focus primarily on readings that imaginatively revisit experiments conducted on vulnerable populations: namely groups placed at risk by their classification according to perceived human and cultural differences. We will begin with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), and continue our study via later works of fiction, drama and literary journalism, including Toni Morrison's Beloved, David Feldshuh's Miss Evers Boys, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann and Vivien Spitz's Doctors from Hell, Rebecca Skloot's Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. Each literary reading will be paired with medical, philosophical and policy writings of the period; and our ultimate goal will be to understand modes of ethics deliberation that are possible via creative uses of the imagination, and literature's place in a history of ethical thinking about humane research and care.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Ikoku, A. (PI)

CS 181: Computers, Ethics, and Public Policy

(Formerly 201.) Primarily for majors entering computer-related fields. Ethical and social issues related to the development and use of computer technology. Ethical theory, and social, political, and legal considerations. Scenarios in problem areas: privacy, reliability and risks of complex systems, and responsibility of professionals for applications and consequences of their work. Prerequisite: 106B or X.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

CS 181W: Computers, Ethics, and Public Policy (WIM)

Writing-intensive version of CS181. Satisfies the WIM requirement for Computer Science and Computer Systems Engineering undergraduates.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

CSRE 123B: Literature and Human Experimentation (AFRICAAM 223, COMPLIT 223, HUMBIO 175H, MED 220)

This course introduces students to the ways literature has been used to think through the ethics of human subjects research and experimental medicine. We will focus primarily on readings that imaginatively revisit experiments conducted on vulnerable populations: namely groups placed at risk by their classification according to perceived human and cultural differences. We will begin with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), and continue our study via later works of fiction, drama and literary journalism, including Toni Morrison's Beloved, David Feldshuh's Miss Evers Boys, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann and Vivien Spitz's Doctors from Hell, Rebecca Skloot's Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. Each literary reading will be paired with medical, philosophical and policy writings of the period; and our ultimate goal will be to understand modes of ethics deliberation that are possible via creative uses of the imagination, and literature's place in a history of ethical thinking about humane research and care.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Ikoku, A. (PI)

ENGLISH 163D: Shakespeare: The Ethical Challenge (TAPS 163D)

Was the eighteenth century right in proclaiming Shakespeare to be the greatest moral philosopher? What are the ethical challenges Shakespeare's major plays still pose for us? Can we divorce ethical decisions from the contingencies of experience? We will ask a series of normative ethical questions (to do with pleasure, power, old age, self-sacrifice, and truth telling) and attempt to answer them in relation to the dramatic situation of Shakespeare's characters on the one hand and our own cultural situation on the other. The ethical challenge of Shakespearean drama will be set against selected readings in ethical theory.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lupic, I. (PI)

ETHICSOC 20: Introduction to Moral Philosophy (PHIL 2)

A survey of moral philosophy in the Western tradition. What makes right actions right and wrong actions wrong? What is it to have a virtuous rather than a vicious character? What is the basis of these distinctions? Why should we care about morality at all? Our aim is to understand how some of the most influential philosophers (including Aristotle, Kant, and Mill) have addressed these questions, and by so doing, to better formulate our own views. No prior familiarity with philosophy required.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Schapiro, T. (PI)

ETHICSOC 136R: Introduction to Global Justice (INTNLREL 136R, PHIL 76, POLISCI 136R, POLISCI 336)

Recent work in political theory on global justice. Topics include global poverty, human rights, fair trade, immigration, climate change. Do developed countries have a duty to aid developing countries? Do rich countries have the right to close their borders to economic immigrants? When is humanitarian intervention justified? Readings include Charles Beitz, Thomas Pogge, John Rawls.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 170: Ethical Theory (PHIL 170, PHIL 270)

A more challenging version of Phil 2 designed primarily for juniors and seniors (may also be appropriate for some freshmen and sophomores - contact professor). Fulfills the Ethical Reasoning requirement. Graduate section (270) will include supplemental readings and discussion, geared for graduate students new to moral philosophy, as well as those with some background who would like more.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 171: Justice (IPS 208, PHIL 171, PHIL 271, POLISCI 3P, POLISCI 136S, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 103C, PUBLPOL 307)

Focus is on the ideal of a just society, and the place of liberty and equality in it, in light of contemporary theories of justice and political controversies. Topics include financing schools and elections, regulating markets, discriminating against people with disabilities, and enforcing sexual morality. Counts as Writing in the Major for PoliSci majors.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 174A: Moral Limits of the Market (PHIL 174A, PHIL 274A, POLISCI 135P)

Morally controversial uses of markets and market reasoning in areas such as organ sales, procreation, education, and child labor. Would a market for organ donation make saving lives more efficient; if it did, would it thereby be justified? Should a nation be permitted to buy the right to pollute? Readings include Walzer, Arrow, Rawls, Sen, Frey, Titmuss, and empirical cases.
Last offered: Winter 2013 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 178M: Introduction to Environmental Ethics (ETHICSOC 278M, PHIL 178M, PHIL 278M, POLISCI 134L)

How should human beings relate to the natural world? Do we have moral obligations toward non-human animals and other parts of nature? And what do we owe to other human beings, including future generations, with respect to the environment? The first part of this course will examine such questions in light of some of our current ethical theories: considering what those theories suggest regarding the extent and nature of our environmental obligations; and also whether reflection on such obligations can prove informative about the adequacy of our ethical theories. In the second part of the course, we will use the tools that we have acquired to tackle various ethical questions that confront us in our dealings with the natural world, looking at subjects such as: animal rights; conservation; economic approaches to the environment; access to and control over natural resources; environmental justice and pollution; climate change; technology and the environment; and environmental activism.
Terms: Win | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 180M: Collective Action Problems: Ethics, Politics, & Culture (PHIL 73, POLISCI 131A, PUBLPOL 304A)

When acting on one's own, it is often easy to know what the morally right action is. But many moral problems arise from the fact that many individuals act together leading to dilemmas, in which what is individually rational is collectively irrational. For example, the collective result of our consumption decisions is to warm the planet. But individual decisions seem to have no effect on climate change. Such collective action situations give rise to moral questions: Are individuals required to take their contributions to wider systemic effects into account? Does it make a difference whether or not others are doing their share, for example with regard to fighting global poverty? In many cases, the best solution for collective action problems are institutions. But when these are deficient or non-existing, what should individuals do? Do they have a duty to assist in building institutions, and what would this duty imply in practical terms? Interdisciplinary perspective, reading authors from philosophy, politics, economics and sociology such as Elinor Ostrom, Peter Singer or Liam Murphy, relating to current questions such as global poverty and climate change. No background assumed; no mathematical work required.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 182M: Business Ethics (PHIL 74)

What do people mean when they say, "it's just business"? Do they mean that there are no moral norms in business or do they mean that there are special moral norms in business that differ from those of personal relationships and other spheres of social activity? In this class we will examine ethical questions that arise in the domain of business. We will ask, for example: What does the market reward and what should it reward? What are the moral responsibilities of a business owner in a competitive environment? Is it acceptable to employ "sweatshop labor"? How do the moral responsibilities of a business owner differ from that of a policy maker? What information does a seller (or buyer) have a moral duty to disclose? In real estate, is a strategic default morally wrong? How much government regulation of Wall Street is morally justified? We will use the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, J. S. Mill, Marx, Jevons and Menger, Hayek, Walzer, and Sandel, among others, to help us answer these questions. We will see, for example, what Aristotle thought about day trading.
Last offered: Spring 2013 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 185M: Contemporary Moral Problems (PHIL 72, POLISCI 134P)

This course addresses moral issues that play a major role in contemporary public discourse. The course aims to encourage students to consider moral problems in a reflective, systematic manner, and to equip students with skills that will enable them to do so. Questions to be addressed include: Do rich countries have an obligation to accept refugees from other parts of the world? Do such obligations conflict with the right of individuals to protect their culture? Is there anything principally wrong in the use of drones for purposes of warfare? Do we have obligations to the environment, and if so why? What is racism and what makes it wrong? And what are feminist ideals?
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Berkey, B. (PI)

ETHICSOC 233R: The Ethics of Religious Politics (RELIGST 233)

Is it possible for a deeply committed religious person to be a good citizen in a liberal, pluralistic democracy? Is it morally inappropriate for religious citizens to appeal to the teachings of their tradition when they support and vote for laws that coerce fellow citizens? Must the religiously committed be prepared to defend their arguments by appealing to 'secular reasons' ostensibly accessible to all 'reasonable' citizens? What is so special about religious claims of conscience and expression that they warrant special protection in the constitution of most liberal democracies? Is freedom of religion an illusion when it is left to ostensibly secular courts to decide what counts as religion? Exploration of the debates surrounding the public role of religion in a religiously pluralistic American democracy through the writings of scholars on all sides of the issue from the fields of law, political science, philosophy, and religious studies.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Sockness, B. (PI)

FRENCH 245: French Political Thought From Rousseau to the Present (POLISCI 336C)

An overview of the current awakening of French political thought as it is grounded in a new reading of the great classics of French social thought, from Rousseau to Tocqueville and Benjamin Constant. Readings of Lefort, Castoriadis, Louis Dumont, Ricoeur, Furet, Manent, Ferry, Renaut, Gauchet, Raynaud, etc. Readings in French. (Translations in English will be made available whenever possible.) Discussions in French and in English.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

HISTORY 209C: Liberalism and Violence (HISTORY 309C)

Does LIberalism have a theory of violence? What does modern political thought, in privileging humanity and rights, share with "terrorists" and "rogue states?" How is liberalism transformed by the use of religion and death for political ends? We read key thinkers of modern life- Adorno, Arendt, Agamben, Benjamin, Derrida, Fanon, Foucault, Gandhi, Heidegger, and Schmitt- to interrogate the relationship between religion, sacrifice, and democracy. At the center are connections between war and modern life, and between violence and non-violence.
Terms: Aut | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Kumar, A. (PI)

HISTORY 278S: The Ethical Challenges of Climate Change (HISTORY 478)

This course explores the ethical challenges of climate change from historical, social, economic, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. These include the discovery of global warming over two centuries, the rise of secular and religious denialism and skepticism toward the scientific consensus on it, the dispute between developed and developing countries over how to forge a binding global agreement to mitigate it, and the "role morality" of various actors (scientists, politicians, fossil fuel companies, the media and ordinary individuals) in the US in assessing ethical responsibility for the problem and its solutions.
Terms: Win | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Wolfe, M. (PI)

HUMBIO 174: Foundations of Bioethics

Classic articles, legal cases, and foundational concepts. Theoretical approaches derived from philosophy. The ethics of medicine and research on human subjects, assisted reproductive technologies, genetics, cloning, and stem cell research. Ethical issues at the end of life. Prerequisite: Human Biology core or equivalent, or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Magnus, D. (PI)

HUMBIO 175H: Literature and Human Experimentation (AFRICAAM 223, COMPLIT 223, CSRE 123B, MED 220)

This course introduces students to the ways literature has been used to think through the ethics of human subjects research and experimental medicine. We will focus primarily on readings that imaginatively revisit experiments conducted on vulnerable populations: namely groups placed at risk by their classification according to perceived human and cultural differences. We will begin with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), and continue our study via later works of fiction, drama and literary journalism, including Toni Morrison's Beloved, David Feldshuh's Miss Evers Boys, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann and Vivien Spitz's Doctors from Hell, Rebecca Skloot's Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. Each literary reading will be paired with medical, philosophical and policy writings of the period; and our ultimate goal will be to understand modes of ethics deliberation that are possible via creative uses of the imagination, and literature's place in a history of ethical thinking about humane research and care.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Ikoku, A. (PI)

INTNLREL 136R: Introduction to Global Justice (ETHICSOC 136R, PHIL 76, POLISCI 136R, POLISCI 336)

Recent work in political theory on global justice. Topics include global poverty, human rights, fair trade, immigration, climate change. Do developed countries have a duty to aid developing countries? Do rich countries have the right to close their borders to economic immigrants? When is humanitarian intervention justified? Readings include Charles Beitz, Thomas Pogge, John Rawls.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

MS&E 197: Ethics, Technology, and Public Policy

Ethical issues in science- and technology-related public policy conflicts. Focus is on complex, value-laden policy disputes. Topics: the nature of ethics and morality; rationales for liberty, justice, and human rights; and the use and abuse of these concepts in policy disputes. Case studies from biomedicine, environmental affairs, technical professions, communications, and international relations.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; McGinn, R. (PI)

OSPBEIJ 11: Computers, Ethics, and Public Policy

Ethical and social issues related to the development and use of computer technology. Ethical theory, and social, political, and legal considerations. Scenarios in problem areas: intellectual property, security, privacy, reliability and risks of complex systems, and responsibility of professionals for applications and consequences of their work. Prerequisite: 106A
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Cooper, S. (PI)

OSPFLOR 85: Bioethics: the Biotechnological Revolution, Human Rights and Politics in the Global Era

Birth and development of the philosophical field of bioethics based on advances in several fundamental fields of science and technology, including molecular and cell biology, information technology, neurosciences and converging technologies. Challenges for society and ethical and political issues created by new advances and opportunities for individuals and populations. Philosophical approaches developed in the Italian as well as in the European debate; special attention to controversy about the freedom of scientific research, new conditions of procreation, birth, cures, and death. Complexity of the challenges posed by the `biotechnological revolution'.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

PHIL 2: Introduction to Moral Philosophy (ETHICSOC 20)

A survey of moral philosophy in the Western tradition. What makes right actions right and wrong actions wrong? What is it to have a virtuous rather than a vicious character? What is the basis of these distinctions? Why should we care about morality at all? Our aim is to understand how some of the most influential philosophers (including Aristotle, Kant, and Mill) have addressed these questions, and by so doing, to better formulate our own views. No prior familiarity with philosophy required.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Schapiro, T. (PI)

PHIL 15N: Freedom, Community, and Morality

Preference to freshmen. Does the freedom of the individual conflict with the demands of human community and morality? Or, as some philosophers have maintained, does the freedom of the individual find its highest expression in a moral community of other human beings? Readings include Camus, Mill, Rousseau, and Kant.
Last offered: Winter 2014 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 72: Contemporary Moral Problems (ETHICSOC 185M, POLISCI 134P)

This course addresses moral issues that play a major role in contemporary public discourse. The course aims to encourage students to consider moral problems in a reflective, systematic manner, and to equip students with skills that will enable them to do so. Questions to be addressed include: Do rich countries have an obligation to accept refugees from other parts of the world? Do such obligations conflict with the right of individuals to protect their culture? Is there anything principally wrong in the use of drones for purposes of warfare? Do we have obligations to the environment, and if so why? What is racism and what makes it wrong? And what are feminist ideals?
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Berkey, B. (PI)

PHIL 73: Collective Action Problems: Ethics, Politics, & Culture (ETHICSOC 180M, POLISCI 131A, PUBLPOL 304A)

When acting on one's own, it is often easy to know what the morally right action is. But many moral problems arise from the fact that many individuals act together leading to dilemmas, in which what is individually rational is collectively irrational. For example, the collective result of our consumption decisions is to warm the planet. But individual decisions seem to have no effect on climate change. Such collective action situations give rise to moral questions: Are individuals required to take their contributions to wider systemic effects into account? Does it make a difference whether or not others are doing their share, for example with regard to fighting global poverty? In many cases, the best solution for collective action problems are institutions. But when these are deficient or non-existing, what should individuals do? Do they have a duty to assist in building institutions, and what would this duty imply in practical terms? Interdisciplinary perspective, reading authors from philosophy, politics, economics and sociology such as Elinor Ostrom, Peter Singer or Liam Murphy, relating to current questions such as global poverty and climate change. No background assumed; no mathematical work required.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

PHIL 74: Business Ethics (ETHICSOC 182M)

What do people mean when they say, "it's just business"? Do they mean that there are no moral norms in business or do they mean that there are special moral norms in business that differ from those of personal relationships and other spheres of social activity? In this class we will examine ethical questions that arise in the domain of business. We will ask, for example: What does the market reward and what should it reward? What are the moral responsibilities of a business owner in a competitive environment? Is it acceptable to employ "sweatshop labor"? How do the moral responsibilities of a business owner differ from that of a policy maker? What information does a seller (or buyer) have a moral duty to disclose? In real estate, is a strategic default morally wrong? How much government regulation of Wall Street is morally justified? We will use the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, J. S. Mill, Marx, Jevons and Menger, Hayek, Walzer, and Sandel, among others, to help us answer these questions. We will see, for example, what Aristotle thought about day trading.
Last offered: Spring 2013 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

PHIL 76: Introduction to Global Justice (ETHICSOC 136R, INTNLREL 136R, POLISCI 136R, POLISCI 336)

Recent work in political theory on global justice. Topics include global poverty, human rights, fair trade, immigration, climate change. Do developed countries have a duty to aid developing countries? Do rich countries have the right to close their borders to economic immigrants? When is humanitarian intervention justified? Readings include Charles Beitz, Thomas Pogge, John Rawls.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

PHIL 101: Introduction to Medieval Philosophy (PHIL 201)

Classics of Western philosophy by Augustine, Boethius, Anselm, and Aquinas. Explore the puzzles facing someone seeking to lead a good life and to understand herself and her world. A theory of will and human motivation, a theory of ethics based on the agent's intention, and a theory of divine omniscience and omnipotence consistent with divine goodness and human freedom. Works include On Free Choice, The Consolation of Philosophy, On the Fall of the Devil, and Summa Theologiae.
Last offered: Autumn 2013 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 170: Ethical Theory (ETHICSOC 170, PHIL 270)

A more challenging version of Phil 2 designed primarily for juniors and seniors (may also be appropriate for some freshmen and sophomores - contact professor). Fulfills the Ethical Reasoning requirement. Graduate section (270) will include supplemental readings and discussion, geared for graduate students new to moral philosophy, as well as those with some background who would like more.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 171: Justice (ETHICSOC 171, IPS 208, PHIL 271, POLISCI 3P, POLISCI 136S, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 103C, PUBLPOL 307)

Focus is on the ideal of a just society, and the place of liberty and equality in it, in light of contemporary theories of justice and political controversies. Topics include financing schools and elections, regulating markets, discriminating against people with disabilities, and enforcing sexual morality. Counts as Writing in the Major for PoliSci majors.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

PHIL 174A: Moral Limits of the Market (ETHICSOC 174A, PHIL 274A, POLISCI 135P)

Morally controversial uses of markets and market reasoning in areas such as organ sales, procreation, education, and child labor. Would a market for organ donation make saving lives more efficient; if it did, would it thereby be justified? Should a nation be permitted to buy the right to pollute? Readings include Walzer, Arrow, Rawls, Sen, Frey, Titmuss, and empirical cases.
Last offered: Winter 2013 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 178M: Introduction to Environmental Ethics (ETHICSOC 178M, ETHICSOC 278M, PHIL 278M, POLISCI 134L)

How should human beings relate to the natural world? Do we have moral obligations toward non-human animals and other parts of nature? And what do we owe to other human beings, including future generations, with respect to the environment? The first part of this course will examine such questions in light of some of our current ethical theories: considering what those theories suggest regarding the extent and nature of our environmental obligations; and also whether reflection on such obligations can prove informative about the adequacy of our ethical theories. In the second part of the course, we will use the tools that we have acquired to tackle various ethical questions that confront us in our dealings with the natural world, looking at subjects such as: animal rights; conservation; economic approaches to the environment; access to and control over natural resources; environmental justice and pollution; climate change; technology and the environment; and environmental activism.
Terms: Win | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

PHIL 174D: Moral Luck (PHIL 274D)

We draw a fundamental distinction between what a person voluntarily does, and what is beyond her control. Such a distinction seems central to how we think about what it is to justify our actions (whether to ourselves or to one another), as well as to our practice of holding one another morally responsible for what we do. Yet under pressure, this distinction can appear to collapse ¿ we find that we cannot successfully disentangle what a person controls from what she does not when she acts. This course examines this problem in depth, and considers how we might respond in the face of it: Is it really a problem? If so, does it threaten our moral practices? How should it influence the way in which we make choices, or the way we understand those choices once we¿ve made them?
| Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas

POLISCI 3P: Justice (ETHICSOC 171, IPS 208, PHIL 171, PHIL 271, POLISCI 136S, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 103C, PUBLPOL 307)

Focus is on the ideal of a just society, and the place of liberty and equality in it, in light of contemporary theories of justice and political controversies. Topics include financing schools and elections, regulating markets, discriminating against people with disabilities, and enforcing sexual morality. Counts as Writing in the Major for PoliSci majors.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

POLISCI 131A: Collective Action Problems: Ethics, Politics, & Culture (ETHICSOC 180M, PHIL 73, PUBLPOL 304A)

When acting on one's own, it is often easy to know what the morally right action is. But many moral problems arise from the fact that many individuals act together leading to dilemmas, in which what is individually rational is collectively irrational. For example, the collective result of our consumption decisions is to warm the planet. But individual decisions seem to have no effect on climate change. Such collective action situations give rise to moral questions: Are individuals required to take their contributions to wider systemic effects into account? Does it make a difference whether or not others are doing their share, for example with regard to fighting global poverty? In many cases, the best solution for collective action problems are institutions. But when these are deficient or non-existing, what should individuals do? Do they have a duty to assist in building institutions, and what would this duty imply in practical terms? Interdisciplinary perspective, reading authors from philosophy, politics, economics and sociology such as Elinor Ostrom, Peter Singer or Liam Murphy, relating to current questions such as global poverty and climate change. No background assumed; no mathematical work required.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

POLISCI 134L: Introduction to Environmental Ethics (ETHICSOC 178M, ETHICSOC 278M, PHIL 178M, PHIL 278M)

How should human beings relate to the natural world? Do we have moral obligations toward non-human animals and other parts of nature? And what do we owe to other human beings, including future generations, with respect to the environment? The first part of this course will examine such questions in light of some of our current ethical theories: considering what those theories suggest regarding the extent and nature of our environmental obligations; and also whether reflection on such obligations can prove informative about the adequacy of our ethical theories. In the second part of the course, we will use the tools that we have acquired to tackle various ethical questions that confront us in our dealings with the natural world, looking at subjects such as: animal rights; conservation; economic approaches to the environment; access to and control over natural resources; environmental justice and pollution; climate change; technology and the environment; and environmental activism.
Terms: Win | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

POLISCI 134P: Contemporary Moral Problems (ETHICSOC 185M, PHIL 72)

This course addresses moral issues that play a major role in contemporary public discourse. The course aims to encourage students to consider moral problems in a reflective, systematic manner, and to equip students with skills that will enable them to do so. Questions to be addressed include: Do rich countries have an obligation to accept refugees from other parts of the world? Do such obligations conflict with the right of individuals to protect their culture? Is there anything principally wrong in the use of drones for purposes of warfare? Do we have obligations to the environment, and if so why? What is racism and what makes it wrong? And what are feminist ideals?
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Berkey, B. (PI)

POLISCI 135P: Moral Limits of the Market (ETHICSOC 174A, PHIL 174A, PHIL 274A)

Morally controversial uses of markets and market reasoning in areas such as organ sales, procreation, education, and child labor. Would a market for organ donation make saving lives more efficient; if it did, would it thereby be justified? Should a nation be permitted to buy the right to pollute? Readings include Walzer, Arrow, Rawls, Sen, Frey, Titmuss, and empirical cases.
Last offered: Winter 2013 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

POLISCI 136R: Introduction to Global Justice (ETHICSOC 136R, INTNLREL 136R, PHIL 76, POLISCI 336)

Recent work in political theory on global justice. Topics include global poverty, human rights, fair trade, immigration, climate change. Do developed countries have a duty to aid developing countries? Do rich countries have the right to close their borders to economic immigrants? When is humanitarian intervention justified? Readings include Charles Beitz, Thomas Pogge, John Rawls.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

POLISCI 136S: Justice (ETHICSOC 171, IPS 208, PHIL 171, PHIL 271, POLISCI 3P, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 103C, PUBLPOL 307)

Focus is on the ideal of a just society, and the place of liberty and equality in it, in light of contemporary theories of justice and political controversies. Topics include financing schools and elections, regulating markets, discriminating against people with disabilities, and enforcing sexual morality. Counts as Writing in the Major for PoliSci majors.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

POLISCI 232T: The Dialogue of Democracy (AMSTUD 137, COMM 137W, COMM 237, POLISCI 332T)

All forms of democracy require some kind of communication so people can be aware of issues and make decisions. This course looks at competing visions of what democracy should be and different notions of the role of dialogue in a democracy. Is it just campaigning or does it include deliberation? Small scale discussions or sound bites on television? Or social media? What is the role of technology in changing our democratic practices, to mobilize, to persuade, to solve public problems? This course will include readings from political theory about democratic ideals - from the American founders to J.S. Mill and the Progressives to Joseph Schumpeter and modern writers skeptical of the public will. It will also include contemporary examinations of the media and the internet to see how those practices are changing and how the ideals can or cannot be realized.
Last offered: Winter 2013 | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

PUBLPOL 103C: Justice (ETHICSOC 171, IPS 208, PHIL 171, PHIL 271, POLISCI 3P, POLISCI 136S, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 307)

Focus is on the ideal of a just society, and the place of liberty and equality in it, in light of contemporary theories of justice and political controversies. Topics include financing schools and elections, regulating markets, discriminating against people with disabilities, and enforcing sexual morality. Counts as Writing in the Major for PoliSci majors.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

PUBLPOL 304A: Collective Action Problems: Ethics, Politics, & Culture (ETHICSOC 180M, PHIL 73, POLISCI 131A)

When acting on one's own, it is often easy to know what the morally right action is. But many moral problems arise from the fact that many individuals act together leading to dilemmas, in which what is individually rational is collectively irrational. For example, the collective result of our consumption decisions is to warm the planet. But individual decisions seem to have no effect on climate change. Such collective action situations give rise to moral questions: Are individuals required to take their contributions to wider systemic effects into account? Does it make a difference whether or not others are doing their share, for example with regard to fighting global poverty? In many cases, the best solution for collective action problems are institutions. But when these are deficient or non-existing, what should individuals do? Do they have a duty to assist in building institutions, and what would this duty imply in practical terms? Interdisciplinary perspective, reading authors from philosophy, politics, economics and sociology such as Elinor Ostrom, Peter Singer or Liam Murphy, relating to current questions such as global poverty and climate change. No background assumed; no mathematical work required.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

RELIGST 140: RELIGION AND ETHICS: The Limits of Dialogue

How do religious traditions address ethical problems? Although ¿the good¿ seems like a universal goal, religious traditions force us to consider non-universal ways of defining it. From marriage to genetic engineering, from abortion to organ donation, issues of community, faith, and practice continue to complicate our ethical thinking. Exploration of case-studies and concepts, with readings from Kant, Foucault, Butler and others, as well as Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Bible.
| Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas

RELIGST 233: The Ethics of Religious Politics (ETHICSOC 233R)

Is it possible for a deeply committed religious person to be a good citizen in a liberal, pluralistic democracy? Is it morally inappropriate for religious citizens to appeal to the teachings of their tradition when they support and vote for laws that coerce fellow citizens? Must the religiously committed be prepared to defend their arguments by appealing to 'secular reasons' ostensibly accessible to all 'reasonable' citizens? What is so special about religious claims of conscience and expression that they warrant special protection in the constitution of most liberal democracies? Is freedom of religion an illusion when it is left to ostensibly secular courts to decide what counts as religion? Exploration of the debates surrounding the public role of religion in a religiously pluralistic American democracy through the writings of scholars on all sides of the issue from the fields of law, political science, philosophy, and religious studies.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Sockness, B. (PI)

SLAVIC 190: Tolstoy's Anna Karenina in Dialogue with Contemporary Philosophical, Social, and Ethical Thought (COMPLIT 190, COMPLIT 390, SLAVIC 390)

Anna Karenina, the novel as a case study in the contest between "modernity" and "tradition," their ethical order, ideology, cultural codes, and philosophies. Images of society, women and men in Tolstoy v. those of his contemporaries: Marx, Mill, Nietzsche, Weber, Durkheim, Freud. Open to juniors, seniors and graduate students. Requirements: three interpretive essays (500-1000 words each). Analysis of a passage from the novel; AK refracted through a "philosophical" prism and vice versa (30% each); class discussion and Forum (10%).
Last offered: Winter 2014 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI

TAPS 163D: Shakespeare: The Ethical Challenge (ENGLISH 163D)

Was the eighteenth century right in proclaiming Shakespeare to be the greatest moral philosopher? What are the ethical challenges Shakespeare's major plays still pose for us? Can we divorce ethical decisions from the contingencies of experience? We will ask a series of normative ethical questions (to do with pleasure, power, old age, self-sacrifice, and truth telling) and attempt to answer them in relation to the dramatic situation of Shakespeare's characters on the one hand and our own cultural situation on the other. The ethical challenge of Shakespearean drama will be set against selected readings in ethical theory.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lupic, I. (PI)

UGXFER GER4D: GER 4D Substitution

| Units: 0-99 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas | Repeatable for credit
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