William O’Shea
osheaw@yorku.ca

Office Location:  TBA
Phone number:  TBA
Office Hours:  TBA

What is morality and what does it mean to live a moral life? In this course, we will study foundational philosophical approaches to answering these questions. We will begin with Aristotle who argues to live morally means to develop the virtues (virtue theory). We will then move on to Immanuel Kant who argues that morality consists in actions which accord with reason and universalizable rules (deontology). Hume will follow who argues emotions play a central role in morality (expressivism). Then, we will look at a couple arguments for why morality requires us to maximize happiness (utilitarianism). Once we have covered these theoretical foundations of moral philosophy we will move to how such theories can help us understand current social issues of ethical importance.

This is an in-person course.

Russ Shafer-Landau, The Ethical Life: Fundamental Readings in Ethics and Moral Problems, 5^th edition.

This course will evaluate you on three different criteria. (1) Argumentation, debate, and critical thinking; (2) writing (3) knowledge of foundational theories in moral philosophy. Grading in this course will be based primarily on essay writing, but will also include participation and a final exam.

10% Participation

Listening well to others and understanding their views are crucial steps to developing and voicing your own viewpoint. Philosophical training requires practicing argumentation and that requires practicing debate with your peers. There will be opportunities to discuss course material during class and your tutorials.

15% Short Response Paper (1)

This paper will be approximately 500 words long and written in-class. It will be based on a prompt of your choosing from a series of arguments that will be chosen for you.

50% Long Essay Papers (2)

Each essay paper will be worth 25% of your final grade. The first essay will be 1500 words long and the second essay will be 2500 words long.

25% Final Exam

In-person, closed-book comprehensive exam. There will be some multiple choice and short answer questions.

This is an in-person course. The structure of the class will be as follows. We will begin classes with a synopsis of the assigned readings for that week. We will then work through a series of prompts to focus discussion of the reading. Students will be split into groups to discuss the reading and prompts. We will then reconvene to take up groups’ views on the topic.

The goals of this course are to practice skills of analysis, evaluation, argumentation and debate. Philosophy requires careful reading of difficult texts and listening well to the opinions of your peers. Both will aid in the development of your own opinions. Classes will help cultivate paying careful attention to philosophers’ arguments through the lectured portion. We will also practice argumentation and debate through group discussion. My aim is to help you acquire the tools to critically evaluate others’ arguments and to develop considered arguments of your own.

Course policies

There will be no audio-visual recordings of our class sessions on Moodle.

Assignment Submission: Proper academic performance depends on students doing their work not only well, but on time.  Accordingly, assignments for this course must be received on the due date specified for the assignment.  Assignments are to be handed in on eClass through a Turnitin submission portal.

Lateness Penalty: Assignments received later than the due date will be penalized (State penalty:  e.g., one-half letter grade (1/3 letter grade) per day that assignment is late).  Exceptions to the lateness penalty for valid reasons such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., may be entertained by the Course Instructor but will require supporting documentation (e.g., a doctor’s letter).

Missed Tests:  Students with a documented reason for missing a course test, such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., which is confirmed by supporting documentation (e.g., doctor’s letter) may request accommodation from the Course Instructor. (State accommodation arrangement: e.g., allowed to write a make-up test on xx date.) Further extensions or accommodation will require students to submit a formal petition to the Faculty.

Academic integrity

York students are required to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty and they are subject to the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty (http://secretariat-policies.info.yorku.ca/policies/academic-honesty-senatepolicy-on/). The Policy affirms the responsibility of faculty members to foster acceptable standards of academic conduct and of the student to abide by such standards. There is also an academic integrity website with comprehensive information about academic honesty and how to find resources at York to help improve students’ research and writing skills, and cope with University life. Students are expected to review the materials on the Academic Integrity website at - http://www.yorku.ca/academicintegrity/