PHI 3630

Fall 2000

T & R 3:30 – 4:45 PM

Instructor: Dr. David P. Schenck

Office: FAO 203

Phone: 813-974-7533

Office Hours: 2 – 3 PM, T & R

REQUIRED TEXT: Boss, Judith A. Analyzing Moral Issues. Mayfield: Mountain View, CA, 1999. (Page numbers below indicate readings in this book.)

This course explores some major moral issues of our time, issues related to abortion, cloning, assisted suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, homosexuality, sexism and violence against women, and animal rights. We will also consider some moral theories and key factors in moral reasoning that will give us a common "language" with which to explore these contemporary moral issues. This will primarily be a discussion class with an emphasis on learning to analyze ethical arguments for and against particular issues, as well as an emphasis on helping you to develop your own ethical positions on these issues from a sound, rational point of view. One need not have had any prior work in philosophy in order to succeed in this course. Developing good argumentation skills and clarity of expression, however -- what the instructor will endeavor to teach you -- will be of high priority.

Regular attendance is expected. Please note that 15% of the final course grade is based on class discussion. Missed work may be made up, depending upon the circumstances. Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from a class or scheduled examination for a major religious observance are expected to provide the instructor with notification prior to the event. (See the USF Policy on Religious Observances for the complete policy statement). Plus/minus grades will not be used in this course. Students with an average of A or B on quizzes and papers prior to Oct. 19 are not required to take the mid-term exam.

Aug 29 INTRODUCTION; case discussion.

1. ABORTION; pp.108-119

Sep 5 Judith Jarvis Thomson, A Defense of Abortion

1. John T. Noonan, An Almost Absolute Value of History

1. MORAL THEORY; pp.1-20

14 pp. 20-41

1. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics

1. Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the

1. CLONING AND GENETIC ENGINEERING; pp. 173-184

Richard A. McCormick, Blastomere Separation: Some

>> QUIZ <<

Oct 3 Leon Kass, The Wisdom of Repugnance: Why We

1. MORAL REASONING; pp.86-107

1. EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE; pp. 243-254

1. Margaret Pabst Battin, The Case For Euthanasia

1. Susan M. Wolf, A Feminist Critique of Physician-

1. MID-TERM EXAM

1. DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE; pp.401-412

1. Stanton Peele, A Moral Vision of Addiction

1. James Q. Wilson, Against the Legalization of Drugs

Nov 2 HOMOSEXUALITY, SAME SEX MARRIAGES, AND OUTING;

pp. 486-498

7 Michael Ruse, Is Homosexuality Bad Sexuality?

John M. Finnis, Law, Morality, and Sexual Orientation

1. Richard Mohr, The Outing Controversy: Privacy and

>> QUIZ <<

14 SEXISM, PORNOGRAPHY, AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN;

pp. 623-634

1. Catherine MacKinnon, Pornography, Civil Rights,

Lois Pineau, Date Rape: A Feminist Analysis

21 Judith A. Boss, Throwing Pearls to the Swine:

Steven Goldberg, Male Aggression and the

>> QUIZ <<

28 RIGHTS AND WELFARE OF NONHUMAN ANIMALS;

pp. 775-786

1. Tom Regan, The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism

Dec 5 Peter Singer, from Animal Liberation

Carl Cohen, Do Animals Have Rights?

7 TBA

Class discussion/participation 15%

Quizzes (7 ea. X 6%) 42%

Papers (3 ea. X 6%) 18%

Final Exam 25%

*NB: If you take the mid-term exam, it will count as 36% of your final course grade, and this 36% will replace the grade average of quizzes and papers recorded prior to the mid-term.