Graduate Seminar in Ethics

Selected Topics in Twentieth Century Ethics

Philosophy 6605

Spring 2004

Monday 3:00 – 5:50pm

FAO 248

Professor Brook J. Sadler

Department of Philosophy

University of South Florida

Faculty Office Building 219

Email: bsadler@chuma1.cas.usf.edu

Office: 813-974-5518

Office hours: TBA

Course Description

This course will examine some of the prominent themes and issues in twentieth-century moral philosophy in the analytic tradition. Certainly not every issue of interest or importance in twentieth-century analytic moral philosophy is covered on this syllabus; however, the selected topics and texts will provide the student with a fair acquaintance with the positions and arguments that continue to influence current work in moral philosophy.

Although a sharp division between meta-ethics, normative ethics, and moral psychology is not sustainable, the course is roughly divided into parts along these lines. The first half of the course focuses on problems in meta-ethics. We will begin at the beginning, with G.E. Moore’s hugely influential argument against naturalism and similar attempts to wrestle with the status of moral philosophy. We will consider early responses to the meta-ethical predicament by Ayer, Stevenson, and Mackie, which set in motion the contemporary non-cognitivist trend. We will take a brief look at the debate between Foot and Hare, introducing universal prescriptivism, then review mid-century prospects for normative ethics discussed by Rawls, Firth, and Anscombe. In section six, we will briefly visit the realism/anti-realism debate.

Section seven on demandingness and impartiality and section eight on dilemmas and consistency serve as a transition from the meta-ethical concerns of the first half of the course to the concerns of the second-half of the course, which are centered around moral psychology. We will consider the rise of virtue ethics, the problem of moral luck, the question of moral motivation, the role of emotion, the influence of gender on character and on moral theory, and the prospects for a more empirically-informed moral psychology.

Required Texts

· Steven Cahn and Joram Haber, eds., Twentieth Century Ethical Theory.

· Additional REQUIRED readings will be available through JSTOR or electronic course reserves.

assignments and grades

Your grade for the course will be based on the overall quality of your written work and your participation in class. Although the term paper will be weighted more heavily in the assessment of your work for the course, you are expected to give each and every assignment your best effort. Details about assignments will be given in class.

Participation: You are expected to attend every class, to read all of the assignments at least once, and to be prepared to contribute intelligently to discussion.

Presentation: You will be scheduled to make one presentation to the class. Your presentation shall consist in reading a paper (approximately 4-5 pages or 8-10 minutes) to the class and fielding questions. You will turn in your paper for a grade on the day of the presentation. Your presentation paper will exposit a central or significant argument from the assigned reading and offer a critical comment or question, counterargument, or counterexample. Presentation papers should be highly focused and precise. They must engage directly with one of the assigned essays.

Response Papers: You must write SEVEN one-to-two page response papers. Response papers may not be more than two pages, typed, double-spaced, in a 10- or 12-point font, with one-inch right and left margins. Response papers are due the day in which the essay is scheduled to be discussed in class. Response papers are NOT summaries, abstracts, or book reports. Response papers should offer ONE well-formulated, thoughtful critical point about the reading. Response papers will be graded (NOT using the plus/minus scale) and treated with the same seriousness as the other written assignments. It is your responsibility to make sure that you do all SEVEN of the response papers. You may not turn in more than one paper per week.

Term Paper: A term paper of approximately 20-pages will be due at the end of the semester. The due date will be announced at least three weeks in advance. No additional research is required for the term paper. A paper proposal MAY be required in advance of the due date for the final paper.

Course Policies

General: The usual norms of classroom etiquette apply: You may consume beverages but not food during class. Turn off all cell phones and electronic gizmos before class starts. Be on time. Raise your hand to contribute to discussion. Listen respectfully to whomever is speaking. Bring the required texts to class.

Recordings: Audio and video recordings of class sessions are prohibited. If you believe unusual circumstances warrant an exception, please speak with me about the matter. The sale, lease, or distribution of lecture notes or transcripts is prohibited.

Learning Disabilities: If you have a learning disability that you believe requires special accommodation in this course, you must SPEAK to me IN PERSON before the SECOND class meeting. Be prepared to provide the appropriate documentation.

Academic Dishonesty and Disruption: This course will adhere to USF policies regarding academic dishonesty and disruption. Please consult the USF web site for further information at: http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/0304/adadap.htm . Academic dishonesty includes cheating and plagiarism. If you have any doubts about what constitutes cheating or plagiarism on any given assignment, you should consult me before it is too late! If you are unsure about how to appropriately cite or quote texts, ask me for assistance. Note: This also applies to Internet resources, such as the online Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Incompletes: As stated in USF policies, course grades of “Incomplete” are granted at the prerogative of the professor. If you would like to take an “Incomplete” in the course, you MUST speak to me in person (unless serious illness or misfortune prohibits it, in which case you must email or telephone me) IN ADVANCE OF THE DUE DATE OF THE FINAL PAPER (unless, of course, an emergency arises at just this time, in which case you should contact me as soon as possible thereafter). If you do not contact me before the final paper is due, and you do not turn in the final paper, you will receive a very low grade for the course (probably a D or F, depending on whether you successfully completed the other assignments for the course).

Schedule of readings

The schedule of readings is subject to change, and therefore so is the schedule of presentations. Changes will be announced in class. If you must miss class, it is your responsibility to find out about any changes to the schedule.

Key: An [O] in brackets indicates that the reading is optional. (Page numbers in parentheses refer to the Cahn and Haber book.)

1. Introduction

2. Meta-Ethics: Discovering the Problem of Moral Philosophy

· G. E. Moore, “The Subject Matter of Ethics” (12-32)

· H.A. Prichard, “Does Moral Philosophy Rest on a Mistake?” (37-47)

· Ludwig Wittgenstein, “A Lecture on Ethics” (81-86)

3. Emotivism and Error Theory: The Beginning of Contemporary Non-Cognitivism

· A. J. Ayer, “A Critique of Ethics” (108-115)

· C. L. Stevenson, “The Emotive Meaning of Ethical Terms” (116-128)

· C. L. Stevenson, “The Nature of Ethical Disagreement” (139-144)

· John Mackie, “A Refutation of Morals” (145-152)

4. Moral Disagreement

· P. Foot, “Moral Beliefs” (365-377)

· R.M. Hare, “A Moral Argument” (386-399)

5. Hope for Normative Ethics

· John Rawls, “Outline of a Decision Procedure for Ethics” (212-224)

· R. Firth, “Ethical Absolutism and the Ideal Observer” (225-246)

· G. E. M. Anscombe, “Modern Moral Philosophy” (351-364)

6. Realism and Anti-Realism/Relativism

· Gilbert Harman, “Moral Relativism Defended” (519-530)

· Peter Railton, “Moral Realism” (673-700)

7. Demandingness and Impartiality

· Samuel Scheffler, “Morality’s Demands and Their Limits” (667-672)

· [O] Bernard Williams, “Critique of Utilitarianism” (457-475)

· [O] Susan Wolf, “Moral Saints” (JSTOR)

· [O] Michael Stocker, “The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories” (531-540)

8. Conflict and Dilemmas

· Ruth Barcan Marcus, “Moral Dilemmas and Consistency” (594-604)

· Barbara Herman, “Obligation and Performance: A Kantian Account of Moral Conflict”

· Earl Conee, “Against Moral Dilemmas” (JSTOR)

9. Character and Virtue

· J. O. Urmson, “Saints and Heroes” (322-331)

· Lawrence Blum, “Moral Exemplars: Reflections on Schindler, the Trocmes, and Others”

· Philippa Foot, “Virtues and Vices” (583-593)

· [O] Alasdair MacIntyre, “The Nature of the Virtues” (617-633)

10. Luck

· Bernard Williams, “Moral Luck” (reserve)

· Thomas Nagel, “Moral Luck” (573-582)

· Michelle Moody-Adams, “On the Old Saw that Character Is Destiny”

11. Internalism/Externalism and Motivation

· Bernard Williams, “Persons, Character, and Morality”(634-646)

· Bernard Williams, “Internal and External Reasons”

· John McDowell, “Might There Be External Reasons?”

· Harry Frankfurt, “Freedom of the Will and the Concept of the Person”

12. Emotions

· P.F. Strawson, “Freedom and Resentment”

· Gary Watson, TBA

· Martha Nussbaum, TBA

13. Gender and Feminism

· Nel Noddings, “Caring” (reserve)

· Carol Gilligan, “Moral Orientation and Moral Development” (reserve)

· Claudia Card, “Gender and Moral Luck” (reserve)

· Annette Baier, “Trust and Its Vulnerabilities” (reserve)

14. Moral Psychology and Naturalism

· Owen Flanagan, “The Principle of Minimal Psychological Realism” (reserve)

· Mark Johnson, “How Moral Psychology Changes Moral Theory” (reserve)

· Virginia Held, “Whose Agenda? Ethics versus Cognitive Science” (reserve)