philosophy103wintroductiontoethicsdr.evelyn.docVIP

PHILOSOPHY 103W INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS Dr. Evelyn Pluhar-Adams OFFICE: Room 115 Williams. Office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30-2:45 and Wednesdays from 11:05-12:00. Other times can be arranged by appointment. Campus telephone: (724) 430-4258. If I am not in the office, please leave me a message! Email address: exp5@. For general information about our campus and links to special topics, see the Fayette website at /. To call the campus for information about campus closings, student life, specific telephone numbers for faculty and staff, etc., call (724) 430-4100. To access my home page with links to the syllabus and philosophical sites, go to /exp5 (click on “teaching”). COURSE OVERVIEW: In this course, we will be exploring the meaning and justification of moral value judgments, how to rationally back up one’s moral beliefs, and the major arguments on opposing sides of controversial ethical issues. We will consider the justification, or lack of justification, of, for example, suicide, mercy killing, abortion, capital punishment, and the use of animals to serve human purposes. We will read articles by historical and contemporary thinkers who have very different views on these issues. What counts is not what position you decide to take on these issues, but how well you can back up your views with clear, careful reasoning. Independent thinking and discussion is greatly encouraged. Taught concurrently with Philosophy 103, Philosophy 103W is a writing-intensive course. For Philosophy 103W students, exams are emphasized less and writing emphasized more than for Philosophy 103 students. According to the Penn State University Faculty Senate, “sound criteria for assessing writing quality include, but are not limited to, the writer’s ability to direct the material to an intended audience, the employment of organizational strategies, the development of both content and reasoning, adherence to conventions of a particular discipline, accuracy o