PHIL 440A: READING
ASSIGNMENTS
Week #1 (July
23-24)
Thursday,
July 23: Introduction
NO
Friday -
Monday, July 24-27: Objective
To-Be-Pursuedness?
Friday
(2) J.L. Mackie,
"The Subjectivity of Values", ET, pp. 498-508.
Week #2 (July
27-30)
Monday Reading:
(3) Thomas Nagel, "Value:
The View From Nowhere", ET, pp. 169-178.
Tuesday - Thursday,
July 28-30: Objective-To-Be-Doneness?
Tuesday
(2) Elijah
Millgram, "Was Hume a Humean?", READER pp. 71-80.
Wednesday
(4) Christine
Korsgaard, "Skepticism About Practical Reason", READER pp. 88-98.
Thursday
Friday -
Monday, July 31 – August 3: Evolution and Ethics
Friday
(2) Michael
Ruse, "Evolution and Ethics: The
Sociobiological Approach", ET, pp. 618-633.
(3) Elliott
Sober, "Prospects for an Evolutionary Ethics", ET, pp. 634-645.
Week #3 (August 3-7)
Monday
(5) Nicholas
Sturgeon, "Moral Explanations", ET, pp. 526-537.
Tuesday and Wednesday, August 4-5: Utilitarianism
Tuesday
(2) Bernard
Williams, "Against Utilitarianism", ET, pp. 219-228.
Wednesday
Reading: (3) John Hospers, “Rule-Utilitarianism”, ET,
pp. 229-238.
Thursday,
August 6: Midterm Review
No
Friday,
August 7: Midterm Exam
The midterm will
be given in two parts. The first part
will be given in class on Friday. Bring
an exam booklet to class for this part of the exam. The second part of the midterm exam will be a
take-home essay due in the PHIL 440 Collect It dropbox by midnight (more or
less) on Monday, Aug. 10th.
Week #4
(August 10-14)
Monday - Wednesday,
August 10-12: Kantian Moral Theory
Monday
(2) Immanuel
Kant, "The Foundations of the Metaphysic of Morals", ET, pp.
255-275. [Note that "argue" in
the second column, line 22, on page 274 should be "agree".]
Tuesday
(4) Jonathan Bennett,
"The Conscience of Huckleberry Finn", excerpts, READER pp. 21- 25 and
pp. 31-32.
Wednesday
(6) T.M.
Scanlon, "Contractualism and Utilitarianism", ET, pp. 358-369.
Thursday -
Friday, August 13-14: The Ethics of Care
Thursday
(2) Annette C.
Baier, "Hume, the Women's Moral Theorist?", READER pp. 48-57.
Friday Reading: (3) Marilyn Friedman, "Beyond Caring",
READER pp. 58-70.
Week #5
(August 17-21)
Monday -
Tuesday, August 17-18: Virtue Ethics
Monday
(2) Alasdair
MacIntyre, "The Nature of the Virtues", ET, pp. 416-429.
Tuesday
(4) Walter
Schaller, “Are Virtues No More Than Dispositions to Obey Moral Rules?”, ET,
pp. 409-416.
(2) Ronald
Dworkin, "Objectivity and Truth: You'd Better Believe It". READER pp. 99-120 ONLY. You are not required to read the section
beginning with "Internal Skepticism".
Thursday,
August 20: Final Exam Review and
Take-Home Exam
No
Friday,
August 21: In-Class Final Exam
Bring an exam
book to class with you.