PHIL 440A ETHICS

Talbott, 5 credits

Moral claims have normative force. They purport to tell us what we may or may not do. What explains their normative force? One answer appeals to objective normative truths, but objective normativity seems strange. Another answer appeals to subjective factors about us, but subjective normativity seems unable to account for the authority that moral claims are usually thought to have. In this course, we will consider a variety of attempts to explain the normativity of the moral. The first half of the course will focus on Christine Korsgaard's The Sources of Normativity, to prepare the class for her visit to campus on April 25. The second half of the course will consider a variety of the most influential answers to the normative question, including Boyd's realism, Blackburn's projectivism, McDowell's Aristotelianism, Rawls's constructivism, Scanlon's contractualism, and Jabermas's discourse ethics. The course will provide students with an opportunity to develop their ability to explain difficult philosophical readings and issues, to argue for their own views, and to take seriously the views of those with whom they disagree. Students will develop their philosophical writing with regular short answers to end-of-class questions, one long paper, and a final exam.

No prerequisites, but PHIL 240 or at least one other course in philosophy is recommended. Meets I&S Requirement.

Texts: Korsgaard, The Sources of Normativity, and Darwall, Gibbard, and Railton, Moral Discourse and Practice.