| Week/Dates | Topics | Assigned Readings |
| Week 1: 8/28-9/1 | Course overview Ethics and Metaethics |
Mark Timmons, "Introduction to Moral Theory" (CC, 1-20) |
| Week 2: 9/6-9/8 No class on 9/4 |
Evaluative Criteria Cultural and Ethical Relativism |
James Rachels, "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" (CC, 69-75) |
| Week 3: 9/11-9/15 | Psychological and Ethical Egoism Morality and Religion: Moral Knowledge and Moral Motivation |
Plato, "The Myth of Gyges" (CC, 23-25); James Rachels, "Egoism and Moral Skepticism (CC, 32-42) Robert C. Mortimer, "Morality is Based on God's Commands" (CC, 50-54); John Arthur, "Morality Without God" (CC, 54-62) |
| Week 4: 9/18-9/22 | Divine Command Theory Introduction to Aristotle |
Review Arthur |
| Week 5: 9/25-9/29 | Aristotelian Virtue Ethics (AVE): -The Supreme Good -The Function Argument -Virtue and the Movies |
Aristotle, "Virtue and Character" (CC, 233-236) |
| Week 6: 10/2-10/6 | AVE (continued): -The Acquisition of virtue -The Doctrine of the Mean -Rules and Proverbs -The Classification of Virtue PAPER #1 DUE: Friday, 10/6 |
Aristotle, "Virtue and Character" (CC, 236-244) |
| Week 7: 10/9-10/13 | AVE (continued): -Circularity and the way out Problems with Virtue Ethics EXAM #1: Friday, 10/13 |
Robert B. Louden, "On Some Vices of Virtue Ethics" (CC, 259-266) |
| Week 8: 10/16-10/20 | Thomistic Natural Law Theory | St. Thomas Aquinas, "Treatise on Law" (CC, 76-85) |
| Week 9: 10/23-10/27 | Natural Law Theory Applied (Sex and Death) | C.E. Harris, "The Ethics of Natural Law" (CC, 85-98) |
| Week 10: 10/30-11/3 | Utilitarianism (U): -Utilitarianism & Consequentialism -Utilitarian Value -Rule vs. Act Utilitarianism |
J.J.C. Smart, "An Outline of a System of Utilitarian Ethics" (U, 3-30) |
| Week 11: 11/6-11/10 | U continued: Justification and Moral Motivation: Standard Problems Separateness of Persons |
Smart, continued (U, 30-42) John Rawls, "Classical Utilitarianism" (R); Robert Nozick, "Side Constraints" (R) |
| Week 12: 11/13-11/17 | Negative Responsibility and Integrity Kantian Ethical Theory (KET): -Practical/Theoretical Reason -Imperatives -The Supreme Principle of Morality |
Bernard Williams, "A Critique of Utilitarianism" (U, 82-118) Immanuel Kant, "The Moral Law and Autonomy of the Will" (CC, 154-162) |
| Week 13: 11/20-11/22 No class on 11/24 |
KET continued: -Right/Wrong Action -Universal Law Formulation |
Robert L. Holmes, "Kantianism" (CC, 162-184) |
| Week 14: 11/27-12/1 | KET continued: -Rule Utilitarianism -Summary Objections to Kantianism PAPER #2 DUE: Friday, 12/1 |
Review Holmes (CC, 172-174; Fred Feldman, "On Training People as Ends in Themselves: A Critique of Kant" (CC, 180-187) |
| Week 15: 12/4-12/6 Last day of classes, 12/6 |
Contractualism | T.M. Scanlon, "Contractualism and Utilitarianism" (R) |
| MON., 12/11 | FINAL EXAM: 10:15-12:15 |