PHIL 440A:  READING ASSIGNMENTS

 

            Readings should be done BEFORE the first class in the week for which they are assigned.  The readings will be found in the following sources: 

            1.  Texts.  The following texts are available for purchase at the University Book Store:  Christine M. Korsgaard, The Sources of Normativity (SN), and Darwall, Gibbard, and Railton, Moral Discourse & Practice (MDP). 

            2.  Electronic Reserve.  There are two readings on Electronic Reserve (E-Reserve).  There is a link to the E-Reserve Web site on the PHIL 440 Web site.

 

WEEK #1 (Mar. 31 – April 4):  The Normative Question Formulated

READINGS:  1.  J.L. Mackie, from Ethics:  Inventing Right and Wrong (MDP 89-100).

            2.  Thomas Nagel, Chapter VIII, Value, from The View from Nowhere (E-RESERVE).

            3.  Korsgaard, Prologue and begin Lecture 1 (SN 1-27).

 

WEEK #2 (Apr. 7-11):  Some Prelimary Answers to the Question

READINGS:  1. Korsgaard, finish Lecture 1, Lecture 2 (SN 28-89).

 

WEEK #3 (Apr. 14-18):  Korsgaard's Neo-Kantian Answer

READINGS:  1. Korsgaard, Lecture 3 (SN 90-130).

 

WEEK #4 (Apr. 21-25):  Private Reasons and Public Reasons with Special Attention to Pain

CHRISTINE KORSGAARD WILL JOIN US IN CLASS ON FRIDAY, APRIL 25.  SHE WILL ALSO BE LEADING A COLLOQUIUM AT 3:30 PM ON THAT DAY.

READINGS:  1.  Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, Sections 243-265 (E-RESERVE).

2.  Korsgaard, Lecture 4 (SN 131-166).

 

WEEK #5 (Apr. 28 – May 2):  Objections and Replies

            BY MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY, APR. 28:  Draft of part (a) of Paper #1 should be uploaded to the PHIL 440 Peer Review site as Paper #1.  For more information, see the Web posting for Paper #1.

            BY MIDNIGHT ON WEDNESDAY, APR. 30:  Comment on two drafts in Peer Review.  For more information, see the Web posting for Paper #1.

READINGS:  1. Cohen, Lecture 5 (SN 167-188)

2.  Geuss, Lecture 6 (SN 189-199).

3.  Nagel, Lecture 7 (SN 200-209).

4.  Korsgaard's replies (SN 219-258).  Note that we do not read Williams's criticism (Lecture 8), so you may ignore Korsgaard's replies to Williams.

 

WEEK #6 (May 5-9):  Naturalism and Non-Naturalism

            BY MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY, MAY 5:  Final version of Paper #1 submitted to PHIL 440 Electronic Dropbox. 

READINGS:  1. G.E. Moore from Principia Ethica (MDP 51-58, paras. 5-13 only). 

2.  Richard Boyd, "How to Be a Moral Realist", Section 4 (MDP 119-134).

 

WEEK #7 (May 12-16):  Naturalism and Anti-Realism

READINGS:  1. Simon Blackburn, "How to be an Ethical Antirealist" (MDP 167-178).

2. John McDowell, "Projection and Truth in Ethics" (MDP 215-225).

3. Gilbert Harman, "Ethics and Observation" (MDP 83-88). 

 

 

WEEK #8 (May 18-22):  Internal and External Reasons

1.  Bernard Williams, "Internal and External Reasons" (MDP 363-371).

2.  Christine Korsgaard, "Skepticism About Practical Reason" (MDP 373-388).

3.  Peter Railton, "Moral Realism" (MDP 137-163).

 

WEEK #9 (May 28-30):  Contractualism

NO CLASS ON MONDAY, MAY 26. 

FINAL EXAM REVIEW QUESTIONS DISTRIBUTED IN CLASS ON FRIDAY, MAY 30.

READINGS:  1. John Rawls, "Kantian Constructivism in Moral Theory" (MDP 247-266).

2. T.M. Scanlon, "Contractualism and Utilitarianism" (MDP 267-286).

 

WEEK #10 (June 2-6):  Discourse Ethics and Conclusion

COURSE EVALUATION AND FINAL EXAM REVIEW ON FRIDAY, JUNE 6.

READINGS:  1.  Jürgen Habermas, "Discourse Ethics" (MDP 287-302).