1 - 7 of 7 results for: ETHICSOC

Justice, as we use the term in this class, is a question about social cooperation. People can produce much more cooperatively than the sum of what they could produce as individuals, and these gains from cooperation are what makes civilization possible. But on what terms should we cooperate? How should we divide, as the philosopher John Rawls puts it, "the benefits and burdens of social cooperation"? Working primarily within the Anglo-American philosophical tradition, we'll discuss different answers to this big question as a way to bring together some of the most prominent debates in modern political philosophy. We'll study theories including utilitarianism, libertarianism, classical liberalism, and egalitarian liberalism, and we'll take on complex current issues like reparations for racial injustice, the gender pay gap, and responses to climate change. This class is meant to be an accessible entry point to political philosophy. No experience with political science or philosophy is required or assumed, and we will spend time on the strategy of philosophy as well: understanding how our authors make their arguments to better respond to them and make our own.

Business activity has been an inalienable part of human life; as a result, there is always a pressing demand to address the ethical issues that arise in the business context and consider the ethical implications of their impact on people, society, and the world. This course introduces students to philosophical inquiry into ethical issues surrounding business and offers an opportunity to combine ethical theory and practice by engaging with essential and timely questions. Why is ethics important for business? Should corporations mainly be responsible for the interests of shareholders, or should they also take other factors into account? How should we understand the conflict of interests between employees and managers? What does the value of diversity imply in hiring and corporate culture? What marks the difference between ethical and unethical advertisements? What are some ethical concerns regarding emerging technologies and business models, such as attention economy, sharing economy, and artificial intelligence? Throughout this course, students will learn how philosophers have tried to address these questions and use them as frameworks to develop their views on the relationships between business, ethics, and society. This course meets the requirement for Ethical Reasoning (ER) and is open to students in all majors across the university. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required.

May be repeated for credit.