Department of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies

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PHL100ZA(哲学 / Philosophy 100)
Introduction to Ethics

Joel Van Fossen

Class code etc
Faculty/Graduate school Department of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies
Attached documents
Year 2024
Class code A6101
Previous Class code
Previous Class title
Term 秋学期授業/Fall
Day/Period 月4/Mon.4
Class Type
Campus 市ヶ谷 / Ichigaya
Classroom name 市外濠‐S204
Grade 1~4
Credit(s) 2
Notes
Open Program
Open Program (Notes)
Global Open Program
Interdepartmental class taking system for Academic Achievers
Interdepartmental class taking system for Academic Achievers (Notes)
Class taught by instructors with practical experience
SDGs CP
Urban Design CP
Diversity CP
Learning for the Future CP
Carbon Neutral CP
Chiyoda Campus Consortium
Duplicate Subjects Taken Under Previous Class Title
Category (commenced 2024 onwards) 100-level Introductory Courses(入門)
Education-Philosophy-Psychology
Category (commenced 2020-2023) 100-level Introductory Courses(入門)
Humanities
Category (commenced 2016-2019) 100-level Introductory Courses
Arts and Literature

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Outline and objectives

We make decisions every day, but some decisions are better than others. This raises some important questions: Which decisions should we make? And more generally, what kind of life is worth living? Ethics is the rational inquiry into these questions. In this course, we will explore two central dimensions of ethics. First, we will consider the nature of well-being or what it means for one’s life to go well. However, we not only care about our own well-being. We should also consider other people’s interests. Therefore, the second main topic we will explore in this class will be morality. Morality is concerned with making the right decisions regarding the interests and lives of others.

Goal

This course has four primary learning goals. First, students will learn about various and diverging views on the philosophy of well-being and moral philosophy. Second, students will improve critical thinking skills when engaging with abstract reasoning in ethically challenging scenarios. Third, students will improve their reading skills when confronting nuanced and challenging text. Finally, students will improve their writing skills to communicate complex ideas clearly and confidently.

Which item of the diploma policy will be obtained by taking this class?

Will be able to gain “DP 1”, “DP 2”, “DP 3”, and “DP 4”.

Default language used in class

英語 / English

Method(s)(学期の途中で変更になる場合には、別途提示します。 /If the Method(s) is changed, we will announce the details of any changes. )

Classes will sometimes begin with a short quiz to assess comprehension of weekly readings. Then roughly one hour of each meeting will consist of an interactive lecture with slides. Students will then participate in a small group or class discussion. Submissions and feedback for the papers will be provided via Hoppii. Quiz feedback will be provided at the beginning of class.

Active learning in class (Group discussion, Debate.etc.)

あり / Yes

Fieldwork in class

なし / No

Schedule

授業形態/methods of teaching:対面/face to face

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

1[オンライン/online]:Introduction

What is ethics?

2[対面/face to face]:Well-being 1

Hedonism

3[対面/face to face]:Well-being 2

Desire fulfillment theory

4[対面/face to face]:Well-being 3

Objective list theory

5[対面/face to face]:Well-being 4

Death and happiness

6[対面/face to face]:Well-being 5

Happiness and immortality

7[対面/face to face]:Morality 1

Happiness and morality

8[対面/face to face]:Morality 2

Utilitarianism 1

9[対面/face to face]:Morality 3

Utilitarianism 2

10[対面/face to face]:Morality 4

Deontology 1

11[対面/face to face]:Morality 5

Deontology 2

12[対面/face to face]:Morality 6

Virtue Ethics

13[対面/face to face]:Morality 7

Rational Egoism

14[対面/face to face]:Paper Workshop

Workshop final paper

Work to be done outside of class (preparation, etc.)

Students should complete weekly readings before coming to class. Students should also review their own notes and course slides after every class. Preparatory study and review time for this class are 2 hours each.

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks for this course. All readings will be provided by the instructor either in print or online.

References

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a great resource for delving further into any topics discussed in class: https://plato.stanford.edu

Grading criteria

Class Participation (15%), Quizzes (20%), Reaction Papers (30%), Final Paper (35%)

Changes following student comments

This course now includes short reaction papers. These were implemented to help students improve their writing for the final paper.

Equipment student needs to prepare

Please bring a computer for in-class surveys.

Prerequisite

None