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Philosophy 220: Individual Conduct and Society
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MW 3:30
GN 118
Jean-Paul Vessel jvessel@nmsu.edu
Fall 2006
J-P's Office: Breland 324
J-P's Office Hours: Tu 2:30-4:00pm, and by appt.
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Joseph's Office Hour: W 1:30-2:30 pm, 1st Floor
of Corbett near Food Court
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This is the official PHIL 220 web site. Here you will find the syllabus, handouts,
study guides, reading assignments, written homework assignments, news, and other
relevant information. I'll try to keep this thing up to date, but no guarantees!
Suggestions and comments are most welcome, whether you are a PHIL 220 student
or a visitor. Please email jvessel@nmsu.edu
News and Assignments (The
"Living" Course Schedule):
- Wed., Dec. 6: The final set of presentations will take
place. Then we'll devote a tiny amount of time to the structure of the final
exam, which is scheduled to take place at 3:30 pm on Friday, December
15. Be sure to give this Studyguide for
the Final Exam a close study. You might also want to check out this little
handout on Cloning.
- Final Reading Assignment: Pence's
"Will Cloning Harm People?" (114-125)
- Mon., Dec. 4: Student presentations on various topics will
take place: Nietzsche, cloning, The Matrix, art and pornography, Godel's incompleteness
theorem.... Miles--who will be presenting on Godel and moral theories has
suggested to me that all interested parties take a look at these links: http://www.miskatonic.org/godel.html;
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~jrlucas/Godel/implic.html.
- The Philosophy Department cordially invites you to attend
Peter Celello's talk entitled "Some Thoughts about What Desert Is and
What Desert Is Not." Peter's presentation is scheduled to take place
at 4 pm on Wednesday, November 29 in Hardman 206.
- Wed., Nov. 29: A micro-class will take place. One or two
student presentations should transpire, then all interested parties should
dash to a philosophy colloquium dedicated to the concept of moral desert.
For those of you interested in drug legalization or de-criminalization, perhaps
you'll enjoy this
episode of Philosophy Talk.
- Mon., Nov. 27: A couple of student presentations should
take place. We'll discuss Plato's Crito, perhaps even portions of
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous letter as well. What is the nature of your
civic obligations (assuming that you have any at all)? When--if ever--is it
morally permissible to violate the laws of one's own state? What are acts
of civil disobedience? In which cases are acts of civil disobedience morally
justified?
- Reading Assignments: Plato's Crito
(also available elsewhere on the internet and in libraries everywhere) and
Martin Luther King's "Letter from the Birmingham City Jail" (291-298)
- Please be sure to print copies of both this Gay-Williams
handout as well as this one on Rachels on Euthanasia.
- Wed., Nov. 15: Probably our final foray into euthanasia.
Hopefully, a student presentation or two will transpire. It's possible that
I will introduce you to puzzles related to our (alleged) duties to the state
and the possibility of morally justified acts of civil disobedience. Perhaps
we'll study Plato's Crito and/or a letter written by Martin Luther King, Jr.,
so stayed tuned for a new reading assignment.
- Please note that the Inaugural Meeting of the PHILOSOPHY CLUB is
scheduled to take place at 3:00 pm on Wednesday,
November 8 in Hardman 106. If you love philosophy and are interested
in a forum dedicated to philosophical presentations, discussions, movies,
and debates--then please come. Furthermore, please pass this information along
to any interested party.
- Wed., Nov. 8: Your TERM PAPERS are due.
Please drop a hard copy off at the Philosophy Department or deliver it to
me by hand. I will not be accepting any late papers. Furthermore, it's unlikely
that I will be able to provide pre-grading commentary to those who deserve
it anytime soon. If I owe you pre-grading commentary, then please ignore the
November 8 deadline for the final draft. I will give you ample time to respond
to my comments. Please note that we will not be meeting as a class
on Wednesday, November 8; instead you are required to attend John
Gluck's lecture "Should We Care about the Ethics of Animal Research?"
It is scheduled to take place at 4:00 pm on Wednesday, November 8
in Hardman 206. Here's the Abstract for Dr. Gluck's talk:
While much has been written by philosophers about the moral status of
animals which would seem to justify some level of ethical protection,
there is still much disagreement about whether or how this analysis should
impact those actually working in agricultural, biomedical and behavioral
research. In fact, some scientists see the application of ethics to the
animal research issue as ludicrous and anti-science, while some members
of the public appear to be willing to harass researchers in order to extract
promises of protection. The presentation will examine some of the divergent
arguments and the obstacles to deepened understanding and resolution.
- Reading Assignments: James Rachels'
"Active
and Passive Euthanasia", James Rachels' "The Morality of Euthanasia"
(151-155), and Peter Singer's "All Animals Are Equal" (166-176).
- Wed., Nov. 1: Euthanasia. Read the readings. Do your term
papers. Note that your term papers are due on Wednesday, November 8. If
you (i) are worried about your arguments or stylistic features of your writing
and (ii) wish to receive some pre-grading commentary on your paper, you must
send me a draft of your paper by Friday, November 3. Otherwise, it will be
too late. Note also that I will not read term papers that contain over three
or four stylistic problems, including--but not limited to--usage, spelling,
grammar, and punctuation errors. Be sure to construct a proper bibliography
for your paper.
- Reading Assignments: Dolly,
Non-harmful biopsy, and Gay-William's
"The Wrongfulness of Euthanasia".
- Mon., Oct. 30: Stem cells and euthanasia. There may or
may not be an in-class quiz on some feature of the new readings. Please work
on your term papers and do your presentations.
- Wed., Oct. 25: Exam 1
is scheduled to take place.
- Mon., Oct. 23: Your Take-Home
Term Paper Quiz is due by the beginning of class. We will go over the
structure of Exam 1. If there are any questions regarding Exam 1, I will be
happy to discuss them.
- Exam 1 is officially scheduled for
Wednesday, October 25. Please master this Study
Guide for Exam 1 in efforts to prepare for the upcoming exam. You might
also want to give this Thomson handout a very close
study.
- Please note that we will not be meeting as a class on Wednesday,
October 18. Instead you are required to attend Lori Keleher's lecture
"Does Sen's Capability Approach Imply a Form of Deliberative Democracy
that is Bad for Women." It is scheduled to take place at 4:00
pm on Wednesday, October 18 in Hardman 206. Here's the Abstract for
Lori's talk:
Amartya Sen’s capability approach to human development does a better
job of identifying and evaluating the systematic unequal treatment of women
than traditional economic growth approaches to development. The capability
approach goes beyond economic growth to recognize development as a process
of expanding capabilities, or substantive freedoms, people have reason to
value. According to Sen, which freedoms a community is to value is to be decided
through deliberative democracy within that community. Sen also leaves the
task of defining the democratic process entirely up to the community.
I argue that such an
open form of deliberative democracy does not do enough to protect against
institutionalized anti-female bias. Indeed, there are good reasons to hold
that in some communities the sort of injustices against women that Sen seeks
to eliminate will be amplified as a result of such democratic deliberation.
I recommend institutional mechanisms that can limit such injustices while
remaining faithful to the spirit of Sen’s approach. The implications
are significant both for Sen’s theory of international economic development
and for various practical implementations of his theory.
- Mon., Oct. 16: We'll finish up our discussion of the Thomson
article before--perhaps--chatting briefly about the structure of Exam 1.
- Wed., Oct. 11: Famous Violinists--I can almost guarantee
it.
- Mon., Oct. 9: Your Take Home
Quiz on Warren's Argument for Abortion is due by the beginning of
class. Mr. Hedden will give a presentation related in various ways to Classical
Act Utilitarianism and abortion laws. If time permits, we'll move
onto famous violinists.
- I know that you all are salivating at the prospect of writing a wonderful
term paper for me. In order to submit a term paper, you must receive a satisfactory
grade on your Take-Home Term Paper Quiz.
Otherwise, I simply won't accept your work. And this little document should
prove to be quite handy: Official Term Paper Document.
Your Take-Home Term Paper Quiz is due by 3:30 pm on Monday, October 23. The
term paper itself is due by 3:30 pm on Wednesday, November 8. Per usual, no
late assignments will be accepted.
- Wed., Oct. 4: Utilitarianism and J.J. Thomson. Be prepared
for an in-class quiz on some feature of the Roe v. Wade reading assignment.
And please: Get to work on this Take Home Quiz on
Warren's Argument for Abortion. It's due by the beginning of class on
Monday, October 9. No late paper will be accepted. Perhaps this Warren
handout will prove useful to you.
- Mon., Oct. 2: Warren and Classical Utilitarianism. Please
print out a hard copy of this new Noonan handout.
I dare you to go over the arguments and alleged distinctions in preparation
for the first exam.
- Marquis Contest: I found Noonan's pro-life argumentation
to be atrocious. Maybe you agree; maybe you don't. But others have presented
more sophisticated arguments for pro-lifish stances. Marquis believes that
the reason most acts of killing are morally wrong is because of the fact that
those acts deprive their victims of their futures. Applying this reasoning
to the abortion dispute, Marquis argues that most acts of abortion are morally
wrong. But is his argument capable of being undermined? Go ahead: Take a shot
at the Marquis Contest in efforts to garner
big quiz points and a greater understanding of these abortion disputes.
- Presentations: Everyone must do one.
Here are the Presentation Guidelines.
I'm eager to see what transpires during these things.
- Reading Assignments: J.J. Thomson's
"A Defense of Abortion" (97-113) and Parts VII-XI of Justice Blackmun's
contribution to the US Supreme
Court Decision: Roe v. Wade (the opinion of the court).
- Wed., Sept. 27: Though we barely started our Noonan discussion
last time, we'll end it today. Then we'll move onto Warren's positions regarding
abortion. It's possible that you'll be introduced to Classical Utilitarianism
as well. It's also possible that a short in-class quiz on some feature of
the Warren reading will take place.
- Reading Assignment:
Mary
Anne Warren's "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion"
- Mon., Sept. 25: We'll tussle with the Golden Rule before
turning to abortion controversies. I'll give a quick abortion introduction.
Then we'll turn our attention to Noonan's arguments utilized in efforts to
condemn (almost?) every act of abortion. Be sure to wrap your mind around
my PEEing procedure.
- Many of you seem to enjoy talking like cultural relativists. Perhaps you
might be interested in reading James
Rachels' "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism." Perhaps you
might even want to write a paper or give a presentation on culturally relativistic
theories of morality.
- Wed., Sept. 20: More on the fundamental concepts of the
normative ethics of behavior. Since we toyed with Hippocrates last time, 10C
and GR are still on tap. A quiz on logic, the background on NEB, the Hippocratic
Oath, and the Noonan reading will take place near the end of class.
- Reading Assignment:
John
T. Noonan, Jr.'s "An Almost Absolute Value in History"
- Mon., Sept. 18: We'll investigate the Ten Commandments
and the Golden Rule. Is either capable of articulating the requirements of
morality? Your Hippocratic Oath assignment is due by the beginning of class.
It's likely that a new reading assignment will either be available on this
website or distributed in Wednesday's class.
- Mon., Sept. 11: We'll wrap up our discussion of the nature
of philosophy before jumping into the specific subfield of moral philosophy.
It's likely that we'll get into the fundamental concepts of the normative
ethics of behavior and the structure of ethical theories, so please bring
a hard copy of the Background on NEB handout.
Furthermore, you might want to get to work on your Take-Home
Quiz on the Hippocratic Oath. It's due by the beginning of class
on Monday, September 18. No late quizzes will be accepted.
- Wed., Sept. 6: More logic. What is Philosophy? If I were
you, I'd memorize the definition of 'valid' on the Baby
Logic handout. Your take home quizzes are due by the beginning of
class. (Again: this class is optional for veterans of my ethics courses.)
- Here's your Take Home Quiz
on an ethics reading and The Philosopher's Index. Quizzes
should be typed. No quizzes will be accepted after 3:30 pm on Wednesday, September
6.
- Wed., Aug. 30: Logic. What is Philosophy? What is Ethics?
(Note that attendance for veterans is optional for this class--as well as
the next, though everyone will be quizzed on the logic in the near future.)
- Please print out and then take a close look at the handout on the Background
on NEB. After we do some logic, we'll move onto a discussion of the fundamental
concepts of the normative ethics of behavior.
- First Reading Assignment: Chapter
One of The Right Thing to Do: "A Short Introduction to Moral
Philosophy"
- Welcome Students! Please get down to the NMSU Bookstore (second floor) and
pick up a copy of The Right Thing to Do by J. Rachels.
- Please take a look at the Baby Logic handout
below; in fact, please print out the handout and bring it to class on Friday.
Try to get a grasp of the concepts of validity and soundness. Become familiar
with the basic forms of valid inference.
- Please read through Bruce
Aune's "Punctuation and Syntax". (You should probably print
out a copy of it.) Contained within the document are style constraints that
must be adhered to if you hope to write in an acceptable, professional manner.
It's long, dry, and not all that philosophical--but I know you can get through
it.
Handouts:
J-P's Philosophy Pages
NMSU Philosophy Department
Homepage
Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy
NASA's
Astronomy Picture of the Day
