Final Exam

Just a reminder: the final exam is Friday, December 21st, in our normal classroom and at our normal class time. You'll have 50 minutes to take it.

Quiz #2

Quiz #2 is worth 7.5% of your overall grade, and will be held at the beginning of class on Monday, December 10th. You'll have about 25 minutes to complete it. It will consist of about 5 or 6 short answer questions, and will be on everything we've covered since the midterm:

• abortion (Warren and Marquis)
• animal ethics (Norcross)
• death penalty (Primoratz, Nathanson)

Paper #2 Guideline

Due Date: The beginning of class on Wednesday, December 19th, 2012

Worth: 10% of your final grade

Assignment: Write an argumentative essay on the topic below. Papers must be typed, and must be between 600-1200 words long. Provide a word count on the first page of the paper. (Most programs like Microsoft Word have automatic word counts.)

Topic: Explain and defend your definition of “person” as it relates to morality, and specifically to the ethics of abortion and animal ethics.

(1) First, briefly explain and critically evaluate the different definitions of “person” that we have discussed in class. Be sure to explain the definition offered by Mary Anne Warren.

(2) Second, explain how each of the following authors uses the concept of “person” to attempt to settle the particular ethical debate she or he wrote about. (Warren and Marquis on abortion, and Norcross on animal ethics).
[NOTE: Many of these authors think personhood is irrelevant to their issue.]

(3) Third, explain and defend your definition of “person”: do you agree with one of the definitions we discussion in class, or do you have one of your own?

(4) Fourth, explain the solution that your definition of “person” gives to the ethical debates of abortion and animal ethics.

When outlining your definition of person, be sure to consider and answer the following questions: Which living entities are persons, and which living entities are not persons? Do you believe one needs to be a person in the moral sense in order to be worthy of moral consideration (for instance, do some non-persons have a right to not be killed and a right to not suffer unnecessarily)? Do persons have special moral significance? Can someone have moral rights before they have moral duties? Be sure to fully explain and philosophically defend each of your answers.

November 26th Class Canceled

I'm sick, so Monday's Ethics class is canceled.

This pushes a few things back on the schedule. Consensus group #1 on animal ethics is now presenting in class on Wednesday, November 28th. Consensus group #2--the Igor Primoratz article on the death penalty--will present on Friday, November 30th, and group #3--the Nathanson article on the death penalty--presents Monday, December 3rd.

Consensus Email Tips

I'd like to clarify something. In the email your group (9AM and 10AM) sends me a week before your consensus session presentation, I only want two things:

1. A formal premise/conclusion version of the main argument in your article.
2. Your group's systematic evaluation of this argument (check each premise and the argument's structure).

That's it! Furthermore, this is basically what I expect you to do in your group presentation: present and explain the main argument in the article, and lead a class-wide evaluation of this article using the thumbs-up/thumbs-down voting system.

In other words, I don't expect your group to give a general presentation on your topic. There's no need to go into a detailed explanation of the topic, or explain the science behind your issue, or whatever. Nor do I want you to make up your own argument for what you believe on the issue.

I just want you to present the author's argument as you understand it. I don't care whether you like or dislike this argument; your job is to (fairly) explain it to the rest of the class. If you dislike the arg, you can mention reasons why when you lead the class-wide evaluation of it.

So here's an example of the type of email I expect:

To: slandis@camdencc.edu, other members of your group
Sent: at least 1 week before our presentation
Subject: Ethics Group #1's Argument

Our Version of Mary Anne Warren's Argument
P1) A fetus is at best a potential person.
P2) A full-fledged person’s rights always outweigh a potential person’s rights.
P3) A pregnant woman’s right to have an abortion outweighs a fetus’s right to life.
C) Abortion is morally acceptable.

Our Evaluation of Her Argument
P1: we buy her definition of 'person,' but others might not...
P2: questionable! While persons' rights IN GENERAL might be more important than non-persons' rights, it's not clear this is ALWAYS true.
P3: this is supported by P2. We actually buy this, but not for the reason that Warren does. Her arg for this isn't the best.
Support: good! P1 and P2 get us to P3, and P3 is just a rewording of the conclusion.

That's it! It doesn't have to be a long email. Just give me the argument and your evaluation of it.

Midterm Exam

Just a reminder: the midterm exam is Friday, November 9th. It's worth 15% of your overall grade, and will cover everything we've done in class so far:

• Doing Philosophy
• Understanding and Evaluating Arguments
• Moral Skepticism vs. Moral Realism
• Divine Command Theory
• Natural Law Theory
• Utilitarianism
• Kant's Ethics
• Virtue Ethics
• Ethics of Care and Feminist Criticisms of Traditional Theories

You should be capable of briefly explaining each theory in your own words and briefly explaining the one or two criticisms of each theory that we discussed in class.  You also should be able to explain how to use each theory in ethical decision making--that is, explain what each theory would say we should do in some specific ethical dilemma outlined on the test.

The test is a mix of short-answer questions, argument evaluations, and essays. You'll have all 50 minutes of class to take it.

Paper #1 Guideline

New Due Date: the beginning of class on Monday, November 12th, 2012

Due Date: the beginning of class on Monday, November 5th, 2012

Worth: 5% of your overall grade

Assignment: Write an essay on one of the topics below in which you support your opinion with an argument. Papers must be typed, and must be between 400-700 words long. Provide a word count on the first page of the paper. (Most programs like Microsoft Word have automatic word counts.)

Possible Paper Topics (Choose ONE of the following topics)
1. Defend a Theory. Out of the seven ethical theories that we’re studying—moral relativism, divine command theory, natural law theory, utilitarianism, Kant’s ethical theory, Aristotle’s virtue ethics, or Gilligan’s ethics of care—which do you think is best? Why? What are two of the best criticisms that someone might make to that theory? How do you reply to those criticisms to defend this theory? Be sure to fully explain & defend your position.

2. Criticize a Theory. Provide a detailed criticism of one of the seven ethical theories we’ve discussed in class. First, briefly explain the theory, and present what you take to be the best criticism(s) of the theory. Then critically evaluate your criticism(s). That is, consider how someone who supports the theory might respond to your criticisms, and explain why you think these responses are unsuccessful.

3. Moral Realism. Moral realists believe (a) moral claims are objectively true or false. Many moral realists also believe (b) there are no authorities whose decrees make things morally right or wrong. Are these two claims consistent with each other? Be sure to fully explain & defend your answer.

4. Facts, Opinions, & the Hitler Intuition. In class, we’re discussing the “Hitler Intuition”: Many people think that Hitler’s moral beliefs were not just different from ours; they were mistaken. Many use this intuition as evidence against moral relativism, and support for moral realism. Examine this intuition.

-If you agree that it is solid evidence for moral realism, explain exactly how this intuition works. What makes it objectively true that Hitler was immoral? What is the basis of your judgment? In other words, what makes moral claims objectively true? Which ethical theory we’ve discussed do you think this supports? Explain and defend all your answers.
-If you do not believe that this intuition is solid evidence for objective morality, you are probably a relativist. Explain why this intuition doesn’t provide enough evidence for the existence of an objective morality. Why is it OK to say that Hitler’s actions weren’t objectively immoral? How is it that Hitler is simply bad to me, but not objectively bad?

5. The Euthyphro Dilemma. The most common criticism of divine command theory is the Euthyphro dilemma: “Is an action good because God commands it, or does God command it because it is good?” Explain and evaluate this criticism. How is it a criticism of divine command theory? Do you think this is a good or bad criticism of divine command theory? Be sure to fully explain & defend your answer.

6. Choose Your Own Adventure! Write on a topic of your choosing related to some or one of the ethical theories we’ve discussed in class. (Sean must approve your topic by Friday, March 9th).

NOTE: This is not a research paper! I expect you to explain and defend these theories based on our discussions in class. You are not expected to do any outside research. (If you do, however, be sure to cite your sources.)

10/29 Classes Canceled

Due to Hurricane Sandy, Camden County College has canceled all classes and activities for Monday, October 29th.

Consensus Groups: 10:00 a.m. Class

Here are the groups for our consensus sessions in the 10:00 class, along with the article you're assigned to present on and the date you're presenting:

Animal Ethics
-Group 1 on November 19 (email due Nov. 12) (Norcross article - YELLOW pgs. 307-322): Dennis, Kate, Ryan

The Death Penalty
-Group 2 on November 26 (email due Nov. 19) (Primoratz article – YELLOW pgs. 388-397): Lou, Mike H., Rich
-Group 3 on November 28 (email due Nov. 21) (Nathanson article – YELLOW pgs. 398-407): Jessenia, Tiffany, Tim

Euthanasia
-Group 4 on December 5 (email due November 28) (Rachels article - YELLOW pgs. 266-271): Alexandra A., Dylan, Kristin

Torture
-Group 5 on December 7 (email due Nov. 30) (Dershowitz article – YELLOW pgs. 293-306): Alex, Elizabeth, Sam

Environmental Ethics
-Group 6 on December 12 (email due Dec. 5) (Hill article – YELLOW pgs. 336-350): Devon, Ian

Charity
-Group 7 on December 14 (email due Dec. 7) (Singer article – YELLOW pgs. 229-236): Amy, Gianna, Mike C.
-Group 8 on December 17 (email due December 10) (Easterly handout: available here): no one

If you haven't been assigned to a group yet, let me know as soon as possible so we can get you assigned to one.

Consensus Groups: 9:00 a.m. Class

Here are the groups for our consensus sessions in the 9:00 class, along with the article you're assigned to present on and the date you're presenting:

Animal Ethics
-Group 1 on November 19 (email due Nov. 12) (Norcross article - YELLOW pgs. 307-322): Destinee, Kelly K, Kellie S.

The Death Penalty
-Group 2 on November 26 (email due Nov. 19) (Primoratz article – YELLOW pgs. 388-397): Andrew P., Caitlin, Courtney, Nora, Rebecca
-Group 3 on November 28 (email due Nov. 21) (Nathanson article – YELLOW pgs. 398-407): Allen, Andrew M., Ariel, Shauna

Euthanasia
-Group 4 on December 5 (email due November 28) (Rachels article - YELLOW pgs. 266-271): Joy, Katherin, Ryan, Tarra

Torture
-Group 5 on December 7 (email due Nov. 30) (Dershowitz article – YELLOW pgs. 293-306): Justin, Mike J., Mike Li., Sean

Environmental Ethics
-Group 6 on December 12 (email due Dec. 5) (Hill article – YELLOW pgs. 336-350): Brad, Mauricio, Mike Le., Paul

Charity
-Group 7 on December 14 (email due Dec. 7) (Singer article – YELLOW pgs. 229-236): A.C., Anthony, Chris, Joseph
-Group 8 on December 17 (email due December 10) (Easterly handout: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123621201818134757.html): no one

If you haven't been assigned to a group yet, let me know as soon as possible so we can get you assigned to one.

Consensus Session Guidelines

During the 2nd half of the semester we’ll be holding group presentations (9 a.m. class or 10 a.m. class) on specific issues we’ll be discussing in class. Your group’s assignment is to figure out the main argument from a specific article, then present that argument to your classmates in class and lead a discussion about whether the argument is good or bad. More specific directions are below:

Preparing for the Consensus Session
First, your group’s job is to understand and evaluate the argument contained in the readings for your issue.

Understand
1. Figure out the argument in your assigned article, and summarize it in a clear premise/conclusion format.
NOTE: Try to keep the argument concise and easy to understand.

Evaluate
2. Evaluate the argument as a group. Check each premise, and check the argument’s support.
3. When evaluating, play the back & forth game. That is, consider as many responses to the argument and your criticisms of it as you can think of. Is the argument misguided? Mistaken? Can you revise the argument to overcome the criticisms you come up with?
4. Try to reach a group-wide consensus on your evaluation of the argument.
NOTE: It doesn’t matter which side you end up on! The goal isn’t to show there’s something wrong about the argument. Nor do I want you to defend the argument no matter what. The goal is to figure out whether it’s good or bad.

Your group must email me (1) your version of the argument and (2) your group's evaluation of it one week before you’re scheduled to lead a session. I will provide helpful feedback, and make sure you’re on the right track.

Running the Consensus Session
During your consensus session, your group’s job is to present your article’s argument to the rest of the class, and lead a class-wide consensus session on each argument. Each group member should present about the same amount.

Presenting the Argument
1. Explain the main point of the reading.
2. Explain the author’s argument in support of this main point. (Explain it slowly and clearly, like you’re teaching it to the class. Explain what each premise means in easy-to-understand language. Point out exactly where each premise came from in the reading. Explain why the author believes each premise is true.)
3. Hold a small question and answer round with the class to explain and clarify the argument before evaluating it.

Consensus Voting
4. Run a consensus session (a thumbs up/thumbs down vote) with the rest of class where you evaluate the first premise of the argument.
5. Call on students to explain their evaluation (especially those who voted thumbs down or in the middle).
6. Go back & forth with every dissenter with the goal of trying to reach a consensus (complete agreement for the whole class). At this point, you can briefly explain your group’s evaluation of the premise, along with why your group evaluated it the way you did.
7. Based on the class-wide discussion, revise, defend, or clarify the argument as needed. Revote on any revisions.
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 to evaluate each remaining premise and the argument’s support.

This is worth 150 points (15% of your overall grade). Except in unusual circumstances, each group member will receive the same grade.

Homework: Email Subscription

So why does this course have a blog? Well, why is anything anything?

A blog is a website that works like a journal – users write posts that are sorted by date based on when they were written. You can find important course information (like assignments, due dates, reading schedules, etc.) on the blog. I’ll also be updating the blog throughout the semester, posting interesting items related to the stuff we’re currently discussing in class. You don't have to visit the blog if you don't want to. It's just a helpful resource. I've used a blog for this course a lot, and it's seemed helpful. Hopefully it can benefit our course, too.

Since I’ll be updating the blog a lot throughout the semester, you should check it frequently. There are, however, some convenient ways to do this without simply going to the blog each day. The best way to do this is by getting an email subscription, so any new blog post I write automatically gets emailed to you. (You can also subscribe to the rss feed, if you know what that means.) To get an email subscription:

1. Go to http://cccethics2012.blogspot.com.

2. At the main page, enter your email address at the top of the right column (under “EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION: Enter your Email”) and click the "Subscribe me!" button.

3. This will take you to a new page. Follow the directions under #2, where it says “To help stop spam, please type the text here that you see in the image below. Visually impaired or blind users should contact support by email.” Once you type the text, click the "Subscribe me!" button again.

4. You'll then get an email regarding the blog subscription. (Check your spam folder if you haven’t received an email after a day.) You have to confirm your registration. Do so by clicking on the "Click here to activate your account" link in the email you receive.

5. This will bring you to a page that says "Your subscription is confirmed!" Now you're subscribed.

If you are unsure whether you've subscribed, ask me (609-980-8367; slandis@camdencc.edu). I can check who's subscribed and who hasn't.

Course Expectations

Read the Textbooks. The textbooks are, in my opinion, well written and quite helpful. While I do not assign a lot of reading, what I do assign is often dense and full of many insights. This means that you may not fully understand what you read the first time you read it. Do not despair; this is common. Ethics is a branch of philosophy, and philosophical writings in general are best understood upon multiple readings. You should develop the habit of reading the assigned pages a few times, including both before and after our class discussion of the relevant material.

Attend Class. While the books are informative, sometimes the assigned reading is only a launching point, and the key skills or concepts we’re learning during a given section go beyond the books. If you cannot attend class on a certain day, that’s fine (and outside excused absences, you need not tell me why—frankly, I don’t care why you’re not there). But you should not make a habit of missing classes.

Participate in Class. I like to describe our classroom as a judgment-free zone. I’m not concerned with students looking perfect or seeming smart in class. In fact, effective learning involves discussing precisely the things we don’t fully understand yet. Learning is a process that involves a lot of failing: getting things wrong, figuring out where we went wrong, and trying again. A lot of class time will involve this type of (helpful) failing. This may go against how many of your classes are run. Good. I think many of the assumptions underlying our current education institution aren’t conducive to effective learning.

Class is one of the most important times to engage in helpful discussions. If something confuses you, let me know! Chances are, it confuses a lot of students. Sometimes, I think I’ve understood something I read, only to discover upon discussing it that I haven’t really understood it. Getting feedback from a group of smart people who’ve read the same thing as you is invaluable to learning. I understand that some students are shy (I was quite shy myself in college), but try not to be timid simply out of fear of looking silly or stupid.

Practice. In addition to guided discussions, class time will involve a lot of informal group work. There will also be lots of optional extra credit assignments. These are chances to practice. We are mostly developing skills in this class, skills that cannot be picked up in five minutes. Skills take prolonged training and effort, like learning to play the piano or hitting a 90-mph fastball. Again, be OK with failing! Just try to fail better each time you practice.

Because of this, I try to measure students based on the progress they make throughout the course. A student who struggles early in the semester is not doomed to a low grade. Early struggles are merely a warning sign that more or a different kind of effort is required. On the other end of the spectrum, for a small percentage of students, getting a good grade in this class will be relatively easy. For such students, I encourage you to challenge yourself. Don’t settle for merely learning the most basic skills and coneptswe’re studying. Try to develop the more advanced skills touched on throughout the course. Read the articles linked to on the course blog! Talk to me outside class! Commit yourself to taking full advantage of this class.

Care About Learning. This should be your primary goal of taking this class—not getting a good grade, or socializing, or impressing me, or whatever. While I understand that these other things are important (I care a lot about the social value of college, for instance), these should not supersede your devotion to learning.

Course Details

Camden County College, Blackwood Campus
Philosophy 131
Spring 2012
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
Section 03: 9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. in Madison Hall, Room 311
Section 01: 10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. in Madison Hall, Room 311

Instructor: Sean Landis
Email: slandis@camdencc.edu
Phone: 609-980-8367
Course Website: http://cccethics2012.blogspot.com
Office Hourse: by appointment

Required Texts
The Fundamentals of Ethics, Russ Shafer-Landau (BLUE)
The Ethical Life, Russ Shafer-Landau (YELLOW)

About the Course
This course is split into two halves: theory and practice. During the first half, we will study several ethical theories that attempt to answer broad questions about the nature of morality. In the second half of the course, we will apply these theories to particular ethical problems. Topics include abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, torture, aid to those in need, environmental ethics, and our treatment of animals.

We will also be developing various philosophical skills, including:

• Understanding: the ability to identify and explain an author’s main point in your own words, along with the ability to identify and explain an author’s argument in support of this main point.
• Evaluating: the ability to critically and charitably determine whether these arguments provide accurate, logical reasons in support of their main points, along with the ability to engage in critical and charitable dialogue with people who hold different views from your own.
• Defending: the ability to develop your own arguments in support of your opinions on the ethical issues we study, along with the ability to honestly assess your opinions and critically evaluate the quality of your arguments in support of them.

A broader goal of this course is to gain an appreciation for philosophical reflection. Hopefully, we will learn that careful, deliberate examination of the ethical assumptions we often take for granted can improve our own approach to morality, and make us better in our anticipated roles in the medical community.


Assignments
Each assignment is created carefully, and designed to both measure and improve upon specific skills that students are expected to develop throughout the semester. I try to explicitly point out the educational importance of each assignment (both below and when I assign it), but if an assignment’s value is ever unclear, let me know! I value student feedback. Sometimes complacency makes me continue using an assignment that isn’t very helpful, or sometimes I haven’t explained an assignment clearly enough.

Midterm and Final Exams: Exams are a chance to demonstrate your understanding of a wide variety of topics and skills that we’ll study throughout the semester. To this end, there will be a variety of question types on the exams. The midterm tests everything covered during the first half of the course, and will last the full period (50 minutes) on the scheduled day. The final exam is cumulative—that is, it tests everything covered throughout the whole course. The final will also last 50 minutes, and be held during finals week.

Quizzes: Unlike the exams, quizzes will not be cumulative. Quiz #1 will test you on everything covered during the first 4 weeks of class, and quiz #2 will test you on everything we cover after the midterm. Quizzes will last 25 minutes, and be held at the beginning of the period on the scheduled day.

Consensus Session: These are in-class, group presentations during the 2nd half of the course. Each group of 3-6 students will be assigned to a specific article from the textbook that we’re discussing that week, present a short lesson on it to the rest of class, and run a voting session on the issue being debated. Groups should focus on teaching their article effectively. To this end, the main criteria groups shall be graded on are their understanding of the article and their ability to effectively communicate their understanding to the rest of class.

Papers: Paper #1 will be on ethical theories. Due toward the middle of the semester, this assignment provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate whether you have developed two of the most primary skills we’re learning this semester: the ability to understand an ethical theories, and the ability to evaluate a theory’s philosophical quality. Paper #2 will be longer and on some of the applied topics. Due at the end of the semester, this paper will focus partly on your ability to understand what we’ve discussed in class, but mostly be judged on your ability to explain and defend your own opinion on some ethical topics.

Homework: Although I assign a lot of optional extra credit assignments throughout class, there will only be a few graded homework assignments. These homework assignments will be similar to the various extra credit and in-class group work assignments we do. The graded homeworks, however, will usually come at the end of a particular section, after you have had a chance to try a variety of similar assignments in and out of class.

Fun Fridays: There will be 3 in-class graded assignments scheduled on some Fridays during the semester. These will be a chance to more casually discuss some issues more loosely related to the class, yet more closely connected to important practical concerns of our everyday lives.

Attendance/Participation: Most of this will be based on your attendance. If you’re there every class, you’ll get full credit for your attendance grade. In addition, informal group work can impact your grade. I value your attendance, and I expect you to show up each day. I also realize, though, that we sometimes need added motivation to attend each day, and I use this grade as a small carrot to motivate you.

Extra Credit: I like giving extra credit! I’ll be giving both official extra credit assignments to do outside class and offering extra credit points more informally during class time throughout the semester. Remind me about this if I slack off on dishing out extra credit points.

Grades
900-1000 points = A
800-899 points = B
700-799 points = C
600-699 points = D
below 600 points = F.

Midterm 150 points
Final 250 points
Quizzes (2) 75 points each (150 total)
Homework 50 points total
First Paper 50 points
Second Paper 100 points
Consensus Session 150 points
Fun Fridays 50 points total
Attendance/Participation 50 points

Important Dates
August 31st: Last day to drop & receive a full refund.
September 17th: Last day to drop & receive a 50% refund.
September 24th: Last day to sign up to audit the class.
December 5th: Last day to withdraw from the class.

Classroom Policies
Academic Integrity: Cheating and plagiarism (using someone else’s words or ideas in a paper or assignment without giving credit to the source) will not be tolerated in the class. Students found guilty of either will definitely fail the exam or assignment on which they plagiarize—and possibly the entire class. FYI: I’m pretty good at catching plagiarists. I recommend not trying it!

Attendance: I take attendance each class. My policy is that you cannot pass this class if you have been absent for more than 2 weeks (6 classes)—regardless of whether your absences are excused or unexcused. I value your attendance, and I expect you to show up each day. Missing more than two weeks of the course, for whatever reason, shows a lack of commitment to this class.

Excused Absences: Any assignment will only be rescheduled for an excused absence. Excused absences include religious observance, official college business, and illness or injury (with a doctor’s note). An unexcused absence on the day of any assignment or test will result in a zero on that assignment or test. Make-up quizzes and exams will be arranged through the Test Center (2nd floor of the Library).

Disability Accommodations: If you have special requirements let me know as soon as possible so we can make all necessary arrangements.