Phil 160 Schedule


Note: Assigned reading must be completed before lecture on the day listed.

Day
Date
Topic
Assigned Reading
Notes
Tu
Sep 8
Introduction/Logic
Rachels, Ch 1
HW1 Assigned

THEORETICAL ETHICS

Th
Sep 10
Utilitarianism Rachels, Ch 7

Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, (excerpt).

Tu
Sep 15
Utilitarianism Rachels, Ch 8

Mill, Utilitarianism, (excerpt).
HW1 Due
Th
Sep 17
Utilitarianism/Kant(?) Begin reading Rachels, Ch 9
HW2 Assigned
Tu
Sep 22
Kant
Rachels, Ch 9
HW2 Due
Th
Sep 24
Kant
Rachels, Ch 10

Tu
Sep 29
Social Contract
Rachels, Ch 6

Hobbes, The Leviathan Chapters XIII and XVII)
HW3 Assigned

Why not try a prisoner's dilemma online?
Th
Oct 1
Social Contract/Rawls
Feldman, Introductory Ethics (pp. 136-147).

Tu
Oct 6
Catch-Up/Review

HW3 Due
Th
Oct 8
THEORETICAL EXAM
THEORETICAL EXAM
THEORETICAL EXAM

ETHICAL ISSUES IN SCIENCE

Tu
Oct 13
NO CLASS

Movie Day [optional]
MONDAY SCHEDULE

Optional screening of:
"In the Shadow of the Reich."
"Deadly Deception."
MONDAY SCHEDULE

The Miligram Experiment can be seen here.
Th
Oct 15
Human Experimentation
Katz, The Regulation of Human Experimentation in the United States.

The Nuremberg Code

The Declaration of Helsinki [optional]
HW4 Assigned

An interesting article in The Guardian about human experimentation.
Tu
Oct 20
Human Experimentation NYT, Head of EPA Bars Nazi Data in Study on Gas.

Moe, Should the Nazi Research Data be Cited?

Post, The Echo of Nuremberg.
 
Bogod, The Nazi Hypothermia Experiments: Forbidden Data? [optional]

Th
Oct 22
Animal Experimentation
Singer, All Animals Are Equal.

Cohen, The case for the use of animals in biomedical research.

Dewey, The Ethics of Animal Experimentation.

Rachels, Ch 7.4
HW4 Due
Tu
Oct 27
Animal Experimentation [same as above] HW5 Assigned

Peter Singer on the Colbert Report in 2006 and in 2009. (The 2006 interview focuses more on animals.)


Th
Oct 29
Animal Experimentation [same as above]




Tu
Nov 3
Free Inquiry Kitcher, Chapter 8 of Science, Truth, and Democracy

Kitcher, An Argument About Free Inquiry. [optional]
HW5 Due
HW6 Assigned

Th
Nov 5
Free Inquiry Case Study: Race and IQ Rose, Should Scientists Study Race and IQ? No.

Ceci & Williams, Should Scientists Study Race and IQ? Yes.

Tu
Nov 10
Rationing
Singer, Why We Must Ration Health Care.

Harris, Maximizing the Health of the Whole Community.
HW6 Due
HW7 Assigned
Th
Nov 12
Rationing
Daniels, Justice, Health, and Healthcare. [optional]

Evans, Rationing Health Care by Age: The Case Against. [optional]

Williams, Rationing Health Care by Age: The Case For. [optional]


Tu
Nov 17
Scientific Fraud/Mistakes The Economist, Liar Liar.

Pool, More Squabbling Over Unbelievable Result.

Browne (NY Times), Physicists Debunk Claim of a New Kind of Fusion.

Resnik, Social Epistemology And The Ethics of Research. (pp. 572-8 only)

Leibel, When Scientists Are Wrong. [optional]

Langmuir, Pathological Science. [optional]


Th
Nov 19
Scientific Fraud/Mistakes
Grant (The Scientist), Merck Published Fake Journal. [optional]

Goldacre (The Guardian), The Danger of Drugs...And Data. [optional]

Singer (NY Times), Medical Papers By Ghostwriters Pushed Therapy. [optional]
HW7 Due



SCIENTIFIC ISSUES IN ETHICS

Tu
Nov 24
Intro to Metaethics: Euthyphro
Rachels, Chapter 4


Th
Nov 26
NO CLASS
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Tu
Dec 1
Ethics and Intuition
Jackson & Pettit, Moral Functionalism and Moral Motivation.(pp. 22-27)

Daniels, Reflective Equilibrium. (Section 1)


HW9 Assigned
Th
Dec 3
Ethics and Intuition
Sunstein, Moral Heuristics. (pp. 5-12)

Greene, From Neural ‘Is to Moral ‘Ought’. (excluding last section)

Trolley Problem

Tversky & Khaneman, The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice. [optional]

Wheatley & Haidt, Hypnotic Disgust Makes Moral Judgments More Severe. [optional] 

Tu
Dec 8
Ethics and Intuition
Stich & Doris, Moral Psychology: Empirical Approaches. (section 2)

Singer, Ethics and Intuition.

Th
Dec 10
Virtue Ethics and Pscyhology
Rachels, Ch 12

Stich & Doris, Moral Psychology: Empirical Approaches. (section 4)
HW9 Due


Th
Dec 17
FINAL EXAM
FINAL EXAM:
10:30 AM
109 Bartlett Hall