We will examine theories and arguments in the area of philosophical ethics. Accordingly, this is a course in highly abstract theories. It will not settle questions that are casuistic in nature, i.e., questions about whether or not it's right to lie in certain situations, cheat on one's spouse or girlfriend, use drugs recreationally, etc. Rather we will investigate theories that deal with the metaphysics and epistemology of ethics, that is to say theories that attempt to account for the nature of ethical right and wrong (or what kind of thing moral goodness and evil are, or are they real things at all?) and theories that try to give an account of how we can know which actions are morally right and which morally wrong.

Immanuel Kant,Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, (Translated by H.J. Paton)
J.S. Mill,Utilitarianism,(Edited by George Scher, Hackett)
Ethics "Fake Book" -- Distributed in class
Lecture Notes by the Instructor -- Distributed in class

At the appropriate time, announcement will be made of required readings placed on reserve in the library.

There will be two hourly exams (each worth 1/3 of your grade) the first at midterm and the last exam being held the last day of classes (the latter will not be a cumulative final exam). Quizzes will be worth 1/3 of your grade and will be unannounced on at least a bi-weekly basis. Additionally, all elements of the General Syllabus also apply. Because class participation affects your grade, your final grade is not necessarily a straightforward computation of all your graded assignments.

The schedule of readings, assignments, and topics to be covered will be announced in class.