HISTORY OF ETHICAL THEORY

Section 8; MWF 2:30-3:20; Administration 317

Nick Gier, Instructor; Morrill 403; Office Hours: MW 3:30-4:30
Phone: 885-6284; 883-3360 or 882-6534 (home); ngier@uidaho.edu
Recitation Hour: Fridays 4-5 in the philosophy seminar room Morrill 402

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COURSE CONTENT. Ethics is a systemized statement of the principles and practices of conduct for which a rational justification can be given. It considers the arguments moralists have used to justify standards of right and wrong, as well as the goal (the good) toward which acts are ultimately directed. The course thus considers the chief conceptions of the right and the good through the medium of the major writers on ethics. In the first half of the course, students are asked to consider the nature of the good life as presented by ancient moral philosophers Aristotle, Confucius, the Buddha, and Thomas Aquinas. In the second half of the course, the views of some of the main modern and contemporary writers (Hume, Kant, Mill, and Gilligan) are examined.

TEACHING METHODS. Lecture, general class discussion, and in-class writings.