*Note that attending live Zoom lectures is NOT required. The lectures will be available through Blackboard on the day which they are given.

Professor: Steve Morris
Office: 2N/229
Telephone: 982-2895
Office Hours: Wednesday 3:30-4:30 & by appointment
E-mail: Stephen.morris@csi.cuny.edu
 
Required Text: NONE—All Required Readings Will Be Available on Blackboard
 
Course Description:
This course will begin by exploring key questions in some traditional areas of ethics such as metaethics (Why should one be moral? Are there objective moral truths? Are all intentional human actions at heart selfish?) and theoretical ethics (where we will consider virtue-based, duty-based, and consequence-based ethical theories).  We will also consider some skeptical challenges to ethics as well as attempts that have been made to establish that a connection exists between moral behavior and self-interest.
 
Course Objectives:
* To cultivate one’s ability to understand and critically discuss philosophical arguments both in writing and in class participation.
* To gain an understanding of the predominant ethical theories as well as the difficulties they face.
* To allow students to develop their own ethical views by critically evaluating diverse ethical viewpoints.
 
Grading Scale:
A=100-93; A-=92-90; B+=89-87; B=86-83; B-=82-80; C+=79-77; C=76-70; D+=69-60; F<60
**Note: Each assignment (other than weekly essays) will be graded numerically from 0-100.  Each assignment will also receive a letter grade that will correspond to the numerical value in terms of its percentage out of 100.  For instance, a paper or exam that is given a grade of 87.7 will receive a B+.  Weekly essays will be scored on a 1-10 scale where 10 = A, 9 = A-,
8 = B-, etc.
 
Course Requirements: (Percentages of final grade)
* Weekly Essays                    10%
* Exam 1                                 15%
* Exam 2                                 15%
* Exam 3                                 15%
* Exam 4                                 15%
* Paper                                    30%
* Each student is expected to participate in class discussions, either during the live Zoom lectures or through the Wiki feature on Blackboard. When it comes to figuring out your grades at the end of the semester, a good participation record could boost your grade to the next grade category if it is on the borderline (e.g., a 92.2 average would earn an A).
 
* In regards to written work, each student will be graded according to the following criteria:
            – The ability to express one’s ideas clearly
            – The ability to accurately describe the various philosophical positions being considered
– Relevance of the student’s written work to the question(s) being asked – don’t go off on a  tangent.
– The ability to reason/think critically
 
Weekly Essays:
Beginning the second week, students are required to turn in a typed short essay of roughly 100-200 words.  The essay will address one particular criticism or question that students have concerning one of the readings assigned during the current week.  The weekly essays are to be turned in at the beginning of class on the day the reading written on is assigned except the week of April 15 (Spring Break). Your three lowest written essay grades will be dropped.
– NOTE: If a student is found guilty of violating the academic honesty policy on a weekly essay (e.g., plagiarizing an on-line source), that student will receive a zero for his or her TOTAL weekly essay grade.
 
Exams:
Four exams will be given during the course of the semester. Note that all exams will be administered through Blackboard during the time of the regular Zoom lectures (12:30-2:30pm) on the days when they are given. There will be no live Zoom lectures on those days. Make-up exams will be administered only to students with excused absences.
 
Papers:
One term paper will be assigned during the semester. If you are unable to turn a paper in on time, expect it to be docked three percentage points for each day turned in late­ including weekends—unless: a) I am notified ahead of time about a problem; or b) there is an excused absence.
* Note: The terms for turning in late work are non-negotiable. Each student is expected to read this syllabus and follow it accordingly.
 
* In terms of Extra Credit, there will likely be opportunities to earn two extra credit points during the semester on particular days chosen by the professor. Note that there will be no other opportunities for extra credit UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES (need a certain grade to get into a program, to maintain a scholarship, to graduate, international terrorists have kidnapped your parents and threatened to kill them if you don’t get an A in this class, etc.). If a student approaches me with a request for any additional extra credit beyond what is stated above, he or she will be referred to this section of the syllabus and the conversation will end abruptly.
 
      Important Notes:
      * Since this course is taught entirely online, it is CRUCIAL that you check your CSI email         account regularly (I would recommend once a day).
      * Keeping up with the readings are essential to passing this course.
      * If accommodations are needed for a disability, please notify me during the first week of class.
      * Be aware that policies stated in this syllabus are subject to change.

Academic Honesty Policy and Due Process:
Academic honesty is required in all academic endeavors. Violations of academic honesty include any instance of plagiarism, cheating, seeking credit for another’s work, falsifying documents or academic records, or any other fraudulent activity. Violations of academic honesty may result in a failing grade on the assignment, failure in the course, or expulsion from the College. 

Policy on Talking and Other Disruptive Classroom Behavior:
Since there will be no classes on the CSI campus, opportunities to exhibit improper class behavior should be minimal. That said, I expect students to be respectful of both myself and other students in this course. Displaying inappropriate conduct during either live Zoom meetings   or in the Blackboard discussions—including, but not limited to, the use of abusive, insulting, or disrespectful language, or causing a disturbance during Zoom meetings—is prohibited. Should a student exhibit such behavior in a course setting, they can expect to get points subtracted from their participation score.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism refers to the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and/or thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work.[1]  As mentioned in this syllabus, plagiarism is a violation of the University’s Academic Honor Code and will not be tolerated.  In what follows, I offer a few examples of what would be construed as plagiarism:

            – Attempting to pass off another student’s work as one’s own

– Including the statements of another author in one’s work without properly citing him or her (as by quotes, etc.)

– This includes using any uncited passages from Internet sources.

* One easy way to avoid plagiarizing is to properly cite an author whenever one is making some reference to his or her ideas.  It should be said that this course is constructed so that a student can excel without having to use sources other than the course text/lectures.  This being said, if you choose to use outside sources, be sure to cite them appropriately.  Citations should be made not only for direct quotes, but also where one has paraphrased (reworded) what another has said.  This can be accomplished in several ways.  For example, you might precede a sentence paraphrasing Plato with “According to Plato…” and then citing the text and page number.

* A good rule of thumb is that if you are ever in doubt as to whether or not you are plagiarizing, make a citation.  If you have any particular questions about plagiarism during the course of the semester, please come talk to me.  Additional information on plagiarism is available in the Student Handbook.

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[1] Taken from Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary

COURSE SCHEDULE
 
Week 1
1/31: Introduction to course
* BEGIN METAETHICS
2/2: Plato: **Read article on Blackboard AND Pojman: **Read article on Blackboard
 
Week 2
2/7: Harman: **Read article on Blackboard
* BEGIN VIRTUE THEORY
2/9: Aristotle: **Read article on Blackboard

Week 3
2/14: Louden: **Read article on Blackboard
* BEGIN DEONTOLOGY
2/16: Kant: **Read article on Blackboard /Review

Week 4
2/21: NO CLASS
2/23: Exam 1

Week 5
2/28: Ross: **Read article on Blackboard
3/2: Ross, cont.
 
Week 6
3/7: Nagel: **Read article on Blackboard
* BEGIN CONSEQUENTIALISM
3/9: Bentham/Nozick: **Read article on Blackboard
 
Week 7
3/14: Mill: **Read article on Blackboard
3/16: Williams: **Read article on Blackboard/Review
 
Week 8
3/21: Exam 2
* BEGIN SKEPTICAL CHALLENGES TO ETHICS
3/23: Ayer: **Read article on Blackboard
 
Week 9
3/28: Strawson: **Read article on Blackboard
3/30: Ruse: **Read article on Blackboard
 
 
 
Week 10
* BEGIN MORAL PSYCHOLOGY
4/4: Haidt (Righteous Minds, Chapter 2): **Read article on Blackboard
4/6: Haidt (Righteous Minds, Chapter 7): **Read article on Blackboard

Week 11
* BEGIN CONTRACTARIANISM
4/11: Hobbes: **Read article on Blackboard AND Allhoff: **Read article on Blackboard
4/13: TBA
 
SPRING BREAK (4/15-4/22)-Have Fun!!
Week 12
4/25: Review
4/27: Exam 3

Week 13      
* BEGIN SELF-INTEREST AND ETHICS
5/2: Gauthier: **Read article on Blackboard AND Sayre-McCord: **Read article on Blackboard
5/4: Kavka: **Read article on Blackboard
 
Week 14
5/9: Morris I: **Read article on Blackboard
5/11: Morris II: **Read article on Blackboard
 
Week 15
5/16: Review
 
FINAL EXAM: Wednesday, May the 18^th from 12:30-2:15