Ethics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the question of how
to live. Revolving around that question is a cluster of other
questions central to ethics: What is good? What is right? What is
morally permitted, required, or prohibited? And what is it that
determines whether certain actions are morally right or morally wrong?

In this class, we will consider how some ethical theories construct
answers to these questions. Divine Command Theory, for example,
claims that morality issues from God’s commands. Moral relativism, as
the name suggests, claims that moral evaluations are true or false
only relative to some evaluator or some cultural standard. We will
scrutinize these claims. We will then delve into the two most
dominant modern ethical theories, Utilitarianism and Kantian Ethics.
If time allows, we will look at an alternative tradition rooted in
the work of Aristotle, a view known as Virtue Ethics. We will also
periodically use these theoretical frameworks to examine some real
life ethical problems. Ethical problems we will consider include the
following: Are we ever morally permitted or morally required to lie?
Are we morally required to give money to the disadvantaged? Are we
ever morally permitted or morally required to kill the innocent? Are
we ever morally permitted to end our own lives at a time of our
choosing?

This is a philosophy course, and, although no prior experience with
philosophy is required, you should be aware that we will be doing
close and critical reading of challenging (and fascinating!)
philosophical texts. You will be graded on the basis of attendance
and participation, weekly quizzes, 3 short writing assignments, and a
midterm and final exam. The readings will be drawn mostly from
Ethics: History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues, Eds. Steven M. Cahn
and Peter Markie. If you have any questions about the course, feel
free to email the instructor at amcaninc@indiana.edu.