FIRST 4 WEEK SESSION May 20, 2019 – June 16, 2019
243-1 Ethics in Business
8:55-11:35 MTWR
Instructor
Suppose that, after many years of hard work, you become the CEO of a large corporation. On Monday, your HR department asks you to approve your company’s new sexual harassment policy: which practices should be prohibited by the policy and why? On Tuesday, you are offered an opportunity to engage in insider trading with no risk of getting caught; should you do it? On Wednesday, you have to decide whether it is better, all things considered, to build a new factory in the United States or in a country that has weaker protections for workers and the environment; which option should you choose? On Thursday, you are asked to re-evaluate your company’s affirmative action policies; what, if any, kinds of affirmative action policies should you use? On Friday, your advertising department and strategic negotiations team ask you about the extent to which it is acceptable to deceive your company’s adversaries or customers; what do you say? In this course, you will develop skills that will help you answer these questions and more.
304-1 Topic in Philosophy-Humanities
Philosophy of Sex and Love
1:10-3:50 TR
Instructor
This course examines historical and contemporary philosophical views concerning sex and romantic love. Here are some of the questions that we will consider: What is the purpose of sex? Are sex and love important for the good life? What counts as consent? Are there reasons for morally condemning certain sexual behaviors? What is love? What sorts of romantic relationships are worth having? How should we morally evaluate marriage and divorce? WARNING: Topics to be discussed may include sexual intercourse, sadomasochism, perversion, polygamy, polyamory, sexual orientation, prostitution, adultery, pornography, and rape
341-1 Contemporary Moral Issues (Comm B)
1:10-3:50 MTWR
Vranas
Under what circumstances, if any, is abortion morally permissible? Should the death penalty be abolished? What causes terrorism, and is it ever morally permissible to torture terrorists? This course teaches students how to think systematically about these fascinating questions. The emphasis is not on defending particular answers, but is instead on providing students with the tools they need to reach their own answers.
501-1 Philosophy of Religion
1:10-3:50 MTWR
Steinberg
Analysis of religious experience and activity, and examination of principal religious ideas in light of modern psychology, philosophy, science, and anthropology.
SECOND 4 WEEK SESSION June 17, 2019 – July 14, 2019
241-1 Introductory Ethics
1:10-3:50 MTWR
Fletcher
Nature of moral problems and of ethical theory, varieties of moral skepticism, practical ethics and the evaluation of social institutions.
THIRD 4 WEEK SESSION July 15, 2019 – August 11, 2019
211-1 Elementary Logic (fulfills QRB requirement)
8:55-11:35 MTWR
Titelbaum
Suppose I say, “If no one moved the cheese since last night, it’s in the fridge. If I didn’t move the cheese, then no one did. I didn’t move the cheese. So it’s still in the fridge.” This argument concerning the whereabouts of the cheese contains some premises followed by a conclusion. The argument is structured so that if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true as well.
In this course we will represent arguments in symbols to reveal their structure, then study argumentative structures that guarantee a true conclusion from true premises. We will also learn how to prove that an argument with a particular structure is valid. The techniques we will learn are necessary for every area of contemporary philosophy, and are relevant to areas of economics, mathematics, computer science, rhetoric, and the law.
441-1 Environmental Ethics
8:55-11:35 MTWR
Instructor
Adequacy of ethical theories in handling such wrongs as harm to the land, to posterity, to endangered species, and to the ecosystem itself. Exploration of the view that not all moral wrongs involve harm to humans. Inquiry into the notion of the quality of life and the ethics of the “lifeboat” situation.