PHIL 396 - Seminar in Ethics and Value Theory

FDR: HU
Credits: 3 credits in fall-winter-spring, 4 in spring

Prerequisites: Usually one course in philosophy other than PHIL 170. Varies by topic. An intensive and critical study of selected issues or major figures in philosophy. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Fall 2018, PHIL 396-01: Great Moral Debates: Consequentialism and Its Critics (3). Prerequisite: One course in philosophy other than PHIL 170. If we could wish for anything in the world, would it be enough to wish for everybody to be merely happy, instead of really happy? Is it morally better for me to take the high-paying-but-kinda-morally-icky corporate job rather than join the Peace Corps, just so I will have more money to donate to charity? We explore these questions and others as we examine in-depth various forms of modern consequentialist moral theory and the criticisms raised against them. Topics include a mix of normative ethics and applied ethics, meaning we debate the merits of different types of utilitarianism and other forms of consequentialism in both theory and practice. (HU) Valentine.