Here’s a shocking but true statement: The Earth is round. That’s
objectively true no matter what anyone says or thinks.  Are there any
objective moral truths like this? For example, is the fact that
murder is wrong objectively true in the same way?  Or, is the only
reason why murder is wrong the fact that in America we pass laws
against it?  Suppose there are objective moral truths.  Then what
makes an action morally good or bad?  Is an action like giving food
and money to the poor morally good because God commands it?  Or, is
an action like this good because it maximizes overall happiness in
the world?  And, if there are objective moral truths, then what
exactly are they?  Is it an objective moral truth that abortion is
wrong?  Is it an objective moral truth that euthanasia is wrong?  Or,
are these morally permissible?

These are some of the ethical questions at the heart of the Western
philosophic tradition.  We will be surveying a number of answers to
these questions.  We will look at historically important answers from
philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Sartre, Ayer, Mill,
and Kant.  But, we will also look at contemporary answers from
philosophers such as Bernard Williams, Judith Jarvis Thomson, and
Peter Singer.

As an introductory class, no background in this subject matter will
be required.  The goals of this class will be for you to learn the
theoretical benefits and drawbacks with each position that we cover,
and for you to learn how to analyze and evaluate moral claims and
arguments.  You should leave this class able to think about these
issues more deeply and to thereby develop further your personal views
on these issues.



Coursework will include a mid-term, term paper, and final exam.  Our
course text will be the third edition of Steven Cahn and Peter
Markie’s Ethics: History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues.  Feel free
to direct any further questions about the class to
asgehrin@indiana.edu.

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