This class is different from other introductory ethics classes.  Most
introductory ethics classes ask questions like: What does it mean to
be a good person?  What duties do I have to my family, community, and
myself? What is the best way to live?  What is good and bad, right
and wrong?  We will ask these questions. But I also want to introduce
you to the broader field of philosophy known as "value theory."
Value theory includes not only ethics but also aesthetics and
philosophy of art.  This class is broader, then, than many
introductory ethics classes in that it will consider both ethics and
aesthetics.  It's also narrower in the sense that I plan to focus on
a very specific set of ethical dilemmas --- dilemmas concerning to
art and beauty.

This class will have three parts.

We will begin by studying three main types of ethical theories:
Kantianism, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Ethics.  We will read primary
material by Kant, Mill, and Aristotle to get a grasp of each of these
theories.  We will then look at how recent philosophers have used them
to evaluate practical dilemmas.  So, for example, we will discuss
Peter Singer's utilitarian arguments on behalf of vegetarianism. We
will also study how proponents of multiculturalism and certain forms
of feminism draw on ideas that can be traced back to Aristotle.

The second part of this class will be devoted to philosophy of art.
We will begin by asking what it means for an object to be a work of
art. What properties make something artistic?  What distinguishes
Warhol's *Brillo Boxes* from everyday cleaning supplies?  What
distinguishes Bach's *Art of Fugue* from the sound of traffic? Why is
the former music while the latter is just noise?  We will then turn
to the topic of beauty.  What does it mean for a person or object to
be beautiful?  Are their universal standards of beauty?  Or is beauty
relative, something in the eye of the beholder?  To answer these
questions we will read essays by Plato, Hume,Kant, Tolstoy, Danto,
Dickey, and Walton.

In the final part of this class we will consider a series of problems
that emerge, as it were, at the intersection between ethics and
aesthetics.
For example:

o Can art be both beautiful and evil?
o Should certain artworks be censored?  Is art dangerously
subversive?  If   so, who should decide what is censored?
o Does art teach us anything about morality?  Does it help us lead
rich,   meaningful lives?  If so, should the government financially
support artists?
o To what extent are our views about beauty shaped by issues of race
and gender?
o Do artworks have rights? Is it immoral to colorize a film like
Casablanca, vandalize a painting like the Mona Lisa, or sample a
melody without an artist's permission (Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby)?
Was Metallic justified in suing I.U. over our students' use of
Napster?
o What obligations do artists have to their subjects?  What does it
mean for a painting, photograph, or film to be abusive?  Are certain
images -- for example, pornographic images -- fundamentally abusive
to their subjects?

Your grade in this course will be based on five things.  I will ask
you to (1) take a midterm exam, (2) take a final exam, and (3)
complete a final project.  Each of these will count for twenty
percent of your grade.

There will be biweekly quizzes throughout the semester.  (Another
twenty percent.)  Finally, you will be graded on the basis of your
classroom participation.  (The final twenty percent.)

I should warn you, then, that this class will be a lot of work.  I
take classroom participation very seriously.  This class may not be
for you if you don't like to talk in front of your peers.  I should
also warn you that I plan to look at art that is often considered to
be controversial: Mapplethorpe's and Serrano's photos, passages from
Nabokov's Lolita, and portions of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the
Will.  This may not be the best class for you if you are easily
offended or squeamish.  On the plus side, I am *very* excited about
this class.  I plan to put a lot of time, energy, and enthusiasm into
making it an excellent class.