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Instructor: Ed Reber -- MCDON 210;
E-mail: reber@dixie.edu; Phone: 652-
Office Hours: MW 2-3; W 11-12; T 1-
PHILOSOPHY 1120-01 --- ETHICS
TR 9-10:15 A.M. — MCDON 102
Fall 2006–SYLLABUS
OBJECTIVES:
This course fills a requirement for graduation in the humanities area. It is an introduction
to ethical philosophy in the Western tradition. We will review ethical theories that have been
much respected and much debated in the philosophical history of the Western World, examining
the strengths and weakness of each position. The course is also an excellent elective for those
considering careers in political science, law, medicine, business, or education.
"The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts, but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks." (Albert Einstein)
In this course, we will also examine the sources and assumptions for our own ethics, and
we will use a variety of ethical approaches to evaluate social and political issues in our current
society.
The objectives are to have us become aware and appreciative of our own moral traditions, to
develop critical thinking, to help us define and reinforce our own values, and to recognize the
ways in which differing values affect our lives.
Student success in achieving these objectives will be measured through exams, essay writing,
and in class discussions and oral presentations.
These specific objectives fit within the global objectives for all Dixie State College philosophy
and humanities courses, which are as follows:
< Students will study the enduring creative expressions of humans that reflect our experiences,
as well as our feelings and ideas about our selves, other humans, the past, and the
universe.
< By learning how others have asked "Big Questions" in creative ways and through seeing
their answers, students will make progress in answering those same questions for
themselves and in realizing the universality of the human condition.
Text : The Moral Life, 2nd^ ed., by Louis P. Pojman
Additional readings and PowerPoint Presentations may be found at
Note: If you are a student with a physical or mental impairment and would like to request
accommodations, please contact the Disability Resource Center (652-7516) in Room 201 of the
Student Services Center. The Disability Resource Center will determine your eligibility for
services based upon complete professional documentation. If you are deemed eligible, the
Disability Resource Center will further evaluate the effectiveness of your accommodation
requests and will authorize reasonable accommodations that are appropriate for your disability.
GRADES :
The grades will be based on scores attained on exams, a course paper, quizzes on the reading, and
several response papers. Quizzes are intended to reward attendance as well as preparation, so they
must be handed in at the beginning of class and cannot be made up, handed in late, or handed in by
others. The lowest quiz score will be thrown out. In order to be fair to all students, exams must be
taken on the day(s) scheduled; students who must miss an exam for a school-related cause should
arrange to take the exam prior to their absence. Since this is a course that depends largely on
shared insights, participation and attendance will affect one's standing in the course.
Grades on assignments will be weighted as outlined in the chart below:
Category Weight Grade Low High
PAPERS :
In this course, writing will be very important. Three types of writing will determine
approximately half the final grade.
First, each time we watch a video tape, or have a guest speaker, you may be
asked to respond to that in writing. You will be required to analyze the moral
reasoning that you see taking place and evaluate how consistent and moral it is.
You will also explain how and why you disagree or agree with some of the
positions presented.
Second, there will often be short take-home or in-class quizzes on the readings,
and exams will have an essay component.
Finally, there will be one scholarly, research-based paper in the course. The
topics will be assigned early in the course. You and several co-workers will do
coordinated research on a topic during the semester. Near the end of the
semester, each group will present information and guide a discussion on the
assigned topic. During the semester, each of you will gather research from the
text and other sources; then you will individually write a paper on the ethical
issues you find most interesting related to your assigned group topic.
You will be expected to practice the skills of logical reasoning with adequate support for each
conclusion. The scholarly paper should demonstrate that you know the major theoretical
approaches to deciding about values, rights, justice, etc., and how they apply to the issues
addressed in your essay. In addition, you should express and support your own ethical
views on the topic. (5-6 pages )
Structure and length: The scholarly paper should have 3 essential parts:
‚ first, explain the ethical issues related to the topic you have been researching;
‚ second, explain how the ethical theories (by Mill, Kant, Aristotle, Rawls, etc.) we
have been studying might apply as guidelines in knowing how to respond to the
issues;
‚ finally, describe your own perspective on the issues you have described.
The paper should be about 4-6 pages in length. It will be judged by the content, that is,
the evidence that you have researched and thought carefully about the ethical issues and
principles involved with the topic. The paper will also be judged by the organization and
clarity of the essay, by the correctness of the style used, and by the correctness of the
diction, punctuation, grammar, etc. (Due: November 28
th
In the paper, you will also be expected to follow proper research and documentation
techniques. When you use information that you have gotten from research sources, either
by quoting it or by paraphrasing or summarizing the data in your own words, you must
document that source according to the MLA style. That includes putting a parenthetical
reference in the paper and adding a bibliography page at the end. (See attached Guide
sheet.) Failure to cite your research information in the text and in a Works Cited
constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism or cheating will result in an F grade for the course.
There are also some guides to resources at the end of this syllabus.
Date (^) Assignments/Discussions
26 r 388-407; Hugo: The Bishop and the Candlesticks; film clip (?); Introduction to Virtue Ethics
Week 11; 31 t 407-23; Aristotle: Virtue Ethics; 423-29; Mayo: Virtue and the Moral Life; Review for Exam; Handout Essay Questions for Exam # 2; Exam # 2 will be taken in the testing center Nov. 2 r 464-78; Bible; Tolstoy: How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Week 12; 7 t 486-90; Gansberg: Moral Cowardice; Review of Writing the Scholarly Paper; Assign quiz on Stockdale; Group Research and Preparation 9 r 521-35; Stockdale: Courage and Endurance; Due: After reading Stockdale, write a one to two page essay in which you identify what you would draw upon for the most strength if you were in such a terrible condition. Week 13; 14 t Career Day: No daytime classes
16 r 616-23; Camus: Life is Absurd; 630-38; Frankl: The Human Search for Meaning; Discuss Absurd and Tragic Existentialism; Discuss life as Jubilation; Review for Exam; Handout Essay Questions for Exam # 3; Exam 3 will be ??? (Ask the teacher) Week 14; 21 t Group Preparation
23 r Thanksgiving Break: No Classes
Week 15; 28 t Group Presentation; (In addition to making the presentation, each group should give to each member of the class and the instructor 4 multiple choice questions–and the answers–on the material covered.); Scholarly Paper Due 30 r Group Presentation
Week 16; Dec. 5 t
Group Presentation
7 r Last class day; Group Presentation
Final Exam
Group Presentation(?); Dec. 14th^ (Thursday) 8:00-10:00 A.M.; FINAL EXAM ON PRESENTATIONS
HOW TO DOCUMENT SOURCE MATERIAL
Question: If I find some statistics, information that I can summarize, or a few good quotes that support the thesis I am developing, how can I use them without plagiarizing?
Answer: First, copy down all the publishing data from the source. That will go in a bibliography, called a Works Cited, at the end of the paper. Each book citation should have the author, title, city, publisher, and year. Here are some examples:
(Book) Twain, Mark. On the Damned Human Race. New York: Noonday, 1988. Note the Date format: Day Month Year
(Periodical --Magazine, newspaper, etc.) Hafen, Lyman. "Here Comes the Sun." Utah Holiday 16 Mar. 1990:
11-15.
(Online Periodical) Acocella, Joan. “Russian Rush.” The New Yorker 2 Aug. 2004: 49+. Academic Search Premier.
EBSCO. Dixie State College Lib. 26 July 2005 http://ehostvgw5.epnet.com/.
Okay, I've got that. This goes at the end of the paper, in a Works Cited. But what about in the paper? When I quote or paraphrase from Mark Twain, for example, don't I need a footnote, endnote, or something?
Answer: Good question. There is a very simple way to show your reader where borrowed information is used. It is simpler than footnotes or endnotes, which you might have used before. First, you quote, summarize, or paraphrase the words you want to use. Then, in parentheses ( ), you write the author's last name and the page of the source where the data came from. EXAMPLE: (Twain 122). This is called parenthetical documentation. I'll show you some more examples.
A) As a quote from Twain's book above: An American writer remarked, "Patriotism is merely a religion--love of country, worship of country, devotion to the country's flag and honor and welfare" (Twain 39).
B) As a paraphrase (yes, even though you summarize an author's ideas in your own words, you still must tell us the source): A nineteenth century writer described patriotism as a religion or form of devotion (Twain 39).
C) Putting the author's name directly in the text (this is a convenient way to introduce the source of your data): Mark Twain described patriotism as "merely a religion.. ."(39).
D) Summarizing a work as a whole, which does not require you to list specific pages.: Mark Twain's On the Damned Human Race contains a number of essays that show Twain's growing cynicism
towards humankind and religion.
LIBRARY RESOURCES
The following sources are intended to help a student begin research on issues such as those often studied in Ethics. The list is not complete. A student wishing a better understanding of the library should take a library tape tour, sign up for a workbook study of library sources, or take an introductory class in the use of the library.
Printed Sources: ONLINE COMPUTER CATALOG: Books, periodicals and audio-visual materials a) INDEXES: i) Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature ii) New York Times Index iii) Science Index iv) Biography Index v) Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature b) OTHER RESOURCES i) Facts on File ii) Library of Congress Subject Headings iii) Opposing viewpoints series iv) General and subject encyclopedias
Computer and CD-ROM Sources a) New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia b) Numerous atlases and other reference materials
Online Sources a) Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News Online -- full text newspaper articles since 1991 b) CQResearcher c) EBSCOhost d) SIRS Knowledge Source e) Proquest Newspapers f) Lexis-Nexis Academic g) JSTOR h) ABI Inform i) Internet resources i) Yahoo ii) Google
Human Sources -- While our library has a fair selection of books, periodicals, CD-ROM, and online resources, the strength of our library is the group of professional, user-friendly reference librarians who can tell you (or remind you) how to make your searches effective and can suggest a variety of potential resources. Ask them for help; they will be happy to give it.
Off-Campus Access: NAME: _______________ PASSWORD: _________________________
