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        Moral
      Problems

     20402-01


     
 
Day     
Topic 
Handouts
Readings
Assignments
1/14 (W)
Introduction Syllabus

Participation Rubric

Opening Survey
No Readings
1/16 (F)
Is euthanasia wrong?
Interview on Life and Death Decision Making with Peter Singer

Listening Questions

1/19 (M)


"Active and Passive Euthanasia." by James Rachels

Reading Questions

1/21 (W)

Class Notes "Is Killing No Worse Than Letting Die?" by Winston Nesbitt

Reading Questions
Mini-Paper 1

Sample 1
Sample 2

1/23 (F)


"Why Killing Is Not Always Worse -- and Is Sometimes Better -- Than Letting Die" by Helga Kuhse

Reading Questions

1/26 (M)
Is abortion wrong? Class notes "A Defense of Abortion" by Judith Jarvis Thomson

Reading Questions

1/28 (W)


"On The Moral And Legal Status of Abortion" by Mary Anne Warren

"Consequentialism" by Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl

Reading Questions
Mini-Paper 2

Sample 1
Sample 2
1/30 (F)


"Deontological Ethics" by Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl

"An Argument that Abortion is Wrong" by Don Marquis

Reading Questions

2/2 (M)


"Virtue Ethics" by Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl

Reading Questions

2/4 (W)
Is universal healthcare a human right? Class Notes
"Legal/Moral.'' by Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl

"Rights to Health Care, Social Justice, and Fairness in Health Care Allocations: Frustrations in the Face of Finitude.'' by  H. Tristam Engelhardt, Jr.

Reading Questions
Mini-Paper 3

Sample 1
Sample 2

2/6 (F)


Reading Questions Note: Quiz 1 was today
2/9 (M)


"Divine Command" by Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl

"Rights and Basic health Care" by D. Robert MacDougall and Griffin Trotter

Reading Questions

2/11 (W)


Reading Questions Mini-Paper 4

Sample 1
Sample 2
2/13 (F)
Should medical marijuana be legalized everywhere?
"In Favor of Drug Decriminalization" by Douglas Husak

Reading Questions

2/16 (M)


"Against the Legalization of Drugs" by Peter de Marneffe

Reading Questions

2/18 (W)


"The Ethics of Medical Marijuana: Government Restrictions vs. Medical Necessity" by Peter A. Clark

"Medical Marijuana: A Primer on Ethics, Evidence, and Politics" by Nayna Philipsen, Robin D. Butler, Christie Simon-Waterman, and Jylla Artis

Reading Questions
Mini-Paper 5

Sample 1
Sample 2

Note: Quiz 2 was today
2/20 (F)


"How the Brain Gets Addicted to Gambling" by Ferris Jabr

Reading Questions

2/23 (M)
Is killing in war wrong? Class Notes
"War and Innocence" by Robert K Fullinwider

Reading Questions

2/25 (W)

Class Notes "Self-Defense and the Killing of Noncombatants: A Reply to Fullinwider" by Lawrence A. Alexander

Reading Questions
Mini-Paper 6

Sample 1
Sample 2

Note: Quiz 3 was today
2/27 (F)

Group 1
Group 2

Group 3
Question
3/2 (M)
Is redistributive taxation wrong?
Excerpts from A Theory of Justice by John Rawls

Reading Questions
Note: Quiz 4 was today
3/4 (W)


Class Canceled
3/6 (F)


"The Entitlement Theory of Justice" by Robert Nozick

Reading Questions
Reflection Paper 1
3/16 (M)
Is racial profiling wrong?
Excerpts from Should Race Matter by David Boonin

Reading Questions

3/18 (W)


Reading Questions Mini-Paper 7

Sample 1
Sample 2

3/20 (F)


"Racial Profiling: Definition" by the ACLU

"The Ferguson Police Department: The Justice Department Report, Annotated" by Richard Pérez-Peña

(Optional) "Racial Profiling and Implicit Bias" by Ken Taylor, Jenann Ismael,  Linda Martin Alcoff, and others

Reading Questions
Note: Quiz 5 was today
3/23 (M)
Is affirmative action wrong?
"A Defense of Affirmative Action" by Albert Mosley

Reading Questions

3/25 (W)

"Preferential Policies Have Become Toxic" by Celia Wolf-Devine

Reading Questions
Prospectus

Note: Quiz 6 was today
3/27 (F)

Discussion Questions
3/30 (M)
Prospectus discussion

Link to Prospectuses

Reading Questions

4/1 (W) Is homosexuality wrong?
"Why Homosexuality is Abnormal" by Michael Levin

"Homosexuality" from catholic.com

"Is Homosexuality Unnatural" by Eddy Nahmias

"Is Homosexuality Unnatural" by John Corvino

Reading Questions
Mini-Paper 8

Sample 1
Sample 2

Note: Quiz 7 was today

4/8 (W) Is same-sex marriage wrong?
Excerpts from Debating Same-Sex Marriage by John Corvino and Maggie Gallagher

Reading Questions

4/10 (F)

Continued
4/13 (M)

Continued Rough Draft

Note: Quiz 8 was today
4/15 (W)

Continued
4/17 (F) Rough Draft Discussion
Link to Rough Drafts

Reading Questions

4/20 (M)

Continued
4/22 (W) Is prostitution wrong?
"Is Prostitution Harmful?" By Ole Martin Moen

Reading Questions

4/24 (F)

Reading Questions
4/27 (M)

"Comment on 'Is Prostitution Harmful' " by Scott A Anderson

"Intrinsic Versus Contingent Claims About the Harmfulness of Prostitution" by Rosalind J McDougall

"Prostitution and Harm: A Reply to Anderson and McDougall" by Ole Martin Moen

Reading Questions

4/29 (W) Concluding Discussion (Last Class Day)
Optional Readings (To Help With Reflection Paper)

"Particularism" by Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl

"Relativism" by Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl

"Skepticism" by Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl
Reflection Paper 2
5/5 (T)
Salon
Description of Salon Final Paper