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 Ethics 

(Part of a Tandem with Mankind in Global Society)

Philosophy 106.…TR 9:30-10:45….3 Credits….No Prerequisite….Spring, 2004

Dr. Hollace Graff

 

Catalog Description

This course is an introduction to some of the main problems of ethics, including such topics as the nature of morality, criteria for evaluating choices and actions, ancient and modern theories of the moral life, and social responsibility.

 

Learning Objectives

The learning objectives of this course include:

  1. Understanding the source and types of ethical theories;
  2. Identifying and solving the problems of ethics in a consistent manner;
  3. Relating ethics to one’s personal life;
  4. Adopting a position on issues that involve the future of humankind such as population control and hunger, war and violence, environmental ethics, genetic engineering, and     many others.
  5. Developing the capacity to present and argue for one’s own positions.

 

Academic Integrity

The very nature of higher education requires that students adhere to accepted standards of academic integrity. Therefore, Oakton Community College has adopted a Code of Academic Conduct and a statement of Student Academic Integrity. These may be found in the Student Handbook. You may also find a summary of the Code of Academic Conduct in the College Catalog. Among the violations of academic integrity listed and defined are: cheating, plagiarism, falsification and fabrication, abuse of academic materials, complicity in academic dishonesty, falsification of records and official documents, personal misrepresentation and proxy, and bribes, favors, and threats.

It is the student's responsibility to be aware of behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty.

Pursuant to the due process guarantees contained in the Policy and Procedures on Student Academic Integrity, the minimum punishment for the first offense for a student found in violation of the standards of academic integrity is failure in the assignment. In addition, a disciplinary record will be established and kept on file in the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs for a period of three years.

 

Instructional Materials

Social and Political Philosophy edited by James Sterba

The Wretched of the Earth by Franz Fanon

Terrorism and International Justice edited by James Sterba

After Capitalism by David Schweickart

Other materials for the course are available on the Internet.

Optional Books

Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 by Karl Marx (also available on the web)

Donald Palmer's Does the Center Hold? offers simple summaries of many of the philosophers we will study and contains many cartoons.  

 

Outline of Topics and Tentative Schedule

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
 
 January 20

Look over the Epistemlinks.com site for information about all the philosophers we will study.

 January 21
 January 22

Discussion of Hobbes selections, pp. 141-167

View the complete text of Hobbes' Leviathan


Thomas Hobbes

January 26

Journal assignment:  When, if ever, is revolution morally justified?  Can disparity in wealth be a justification for revolution?

 January 27

Discussion of Locke, pp. 186-206.

Discussion of Bartolome de las Casas, pp. 180-183, and Ward Churchill, pp. 270-284

Complete text of Locke's Second Treatise


John Locke

 January 29

 

Films on Kantianism and utilitarianism

 January 30

February 2

Journal Assignment:

How can land be justly claimed?  Was the European colonization described by Isbister just?  Does the United States have a just claim on the land it currently occupies?

February 3

Assignment: Read the internet selection from Kant or Palmer's summary of Kant's ethics ("Duty-Oriented Morality," pp. 265-275.)

Discussion of Kant selections, pp. 289-299

 Perpetual Peace

February 4

Immanuel Kant

 February 5

Read: Selections from Mill

Complete text of Mill's Utilitarianism

 

Read: Selections from Mill's On Liberty and The Subjection of Women

February 6

Participation Credit: Join the Honors Student Organization to view The Fog of War and to discuss the film with Bill Taylor.  Meet at the Century Cinema in Evanston tomorrow (Saturday) at 4:20.
February 9

 

 February 10

Study Guide for the 1st Quiz


John Stuart Mill		 February 12

 First Quiz 		February 13

Participation Credit: See The Vagina Monologues at Oakton's PAC.  Alison is in it.

 
February 16

Journal Assignment: Is it just for a former colony to nationalize the private property held by citizens of the former colonial power? Why or why not?  Discuss specific examples.  Be sure to address what philosophical understanding of justice you are adopting.

 February 17

Begin Marx

"Estranged Labor"

Summary of the theory of alienation

 

 

 February 18                   February 19

Frantz Fanon

Frantz Fanon

February 20

 
February 23

 

 February 24

The Battle of Algiers will be shown in class.

Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth

 

 


 Karl Marx

 February 26

Study Guide for the Second Quiz

February 27
March 1

Journal Assignment: Looking at the contemporary domestic situation, are you a libertarian conservative, a liberal, or something else?  Is the global economic order established after WWII compatible with Rawls' theory of justice?  Should it be? Present your arguments.

 March 2

Liberal theories of distributive justice

Read the Rawls selection, pp. 412-426 in SPP.

 

 March 3

 

 March 4

Conservative Theories of Distributive Justice

Read Hospers selection, pp. 427-437, and the summary of Nozick in Palmer.

 March 5

 
March 8

Cultures Week Begins - Extra Credit Opportunities 

 March 9

Quiz # 2 and
Journal Collection

 March 10
 
Globalization, Fair Trade Coffee, and Cultural Identity...11:00-12:15 in 1610

Special Emergency Forum on Haiti...12:30-1:45....Bring your lunch!

March 11

Cultures Week Forum on Iraq 11:00 in 1610

 

 March 12

 
March 15

Spring Break!

Have fun, but....

 

 March 16

Don't forget to VOTE!

 March 17

Don't forget to read Weapons of Mass Deception for SSC 201.

 March 18

Don't forget to finish the research for your project.

 

March 19

Don't forget to keep up with the news.

March 22


 March 23


Prepare for beginning the  discussion of war and justice.....Read Gandhi's "On Satyagraha" in SPP and  "Just War Theory and the Recent U.S. Strikes Against Iraq" by Mark DeForest  through Part IIB. 

 

View The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm in class

 March 24


March 25

                            
March 29

Journal Assignment: In what circumstances, if any, is war just?  (In answering this, you may also need to consider what counts as terrorism and what counts as just revolutionary activity.)

Applying your philosophical criteria for just war, was the U.S. war on Iraq and is the current occupation of Iraq just? Give your arguments?  

What would a just response to 9/11 be?

 March 30

Anti-War Perspectives

Catholic Bishops' Letter to George Bush (use of traditional just war theory)

The Case Against the War" by Jonathan Schell

"The Case Against War " by Stephen Zunes


April 1

Pro-War Perspectives

George Bush's Speech at the American Enterprise Institute

Colin Powell's U.N. Speech

"Asymmetrical Warfare and Just War" by Michael Novak

"How and Why To Conquer the Savages" by Mark Pisaturo 
 

 April 2

 
April 5

Addition to journal assignment: Explain two important arguments against your position on the U.S. war with Iraq and then answer these arguments.

In explaining your position, it is good to make reference to Weapons of Mass Deception and to the assigned articles.

 April 6

Study Guide for the 3rd Quiz

 

 

 April 7

 

 April 8

April 9

 
April 12 April 13

Third Quiz and Journal Collection

Attend Jan Schakowsky's talk at 11:00.


 April 14

 

 

 

 April 15

In Sterba's Terrorism and International Justice, read articles 1 (French), 3 (Chomsky), 8 (Archibugi and Young), and 10 (Miller).

April 16

9:00 Environment group meets with Richard and Holly for a rehearsal

11:00 AIDS group meets with Richard and Holly for a rehearsal

 
April 19

Journal Assignments:  Is there an American empire?  Defend your view?

Should there be an American empire?  Defend your view?

What is the moral obligation of the citizen whose country is engaged in unjust actions?

 April 20

Also read 12 (Nussbaum),  5 (Philips), and 6 (Kassam) from Terrorism and International Justice.

 

 April 21

Participation Credit:

Forum on Anti-Semitism and Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, 12:30 PM, Room 1608

 

 April 22

Participation Credit:  Forum on the Candidates' Positions on Domestic Policy, 12:30 PM

4:00 Candidates Foreign Policy group meets with Richard and Holly for rehearsal

 April 23

 

 

 
April 26

3:00 Candidates Foreign Policy group meets with Richard and Holly

 April 27

After Capitalism by David Schweickart (Read Chapters 1 and 2)

 

Karl Marx

 April 29

Read Chapter 3 of After Capitalism

 

12:30  Forum on Candidates' Foreign Policy

April 30 

 

Don't forget to listen to the environment group on the radio on Sunday, May 2, 1-3 PM, 1590 AM and to call in to 847-475-1555.


Journal Assignment: React to After Capitalism.  If you don't agree, explain why.  If you do agree, discuss why and discuss what strategy and tactics could lead to the changes he advocates.  Is the current movement for global justice on this course?

 May 4

Read Chapters 4 and 5 of After Capitalism

AIDS Forum at 11:00

Study Guide for the 4th Quiz

 May 5 May 6

Read Chapter 6 of After Capitalism

 May 7

 
Journal Assignment: How have your views developed over the semester?  Where do you stand now?  What ethical theory do you endorse?  Why?  What are your views in terms of overall global justice? May 11

Quiz # 4

 

 May 12

Honors Banquet

6:00 P.M.
Graziano's
5960 W. Touhy, Niles
Be There!

 May 13

Last Class

Final Journal Collection

May 14

 

 

 

Course Practices Required and Methods of Evaluation

  1. There will be four quizzes. I will distribute a brief study guide before each quiz. The quizzes will consist of questions that will require brief answers of one to three sentences. If you miss a quiz, you may take a make-up by coming to my office before the next class. If you cannot make up the quiz at this point, you will need to make special arrangements with me to take an alternative quiz later in the semester. This alternative quiz will be an essay exam. The ethics quizzes you take will be entirely separate from the social science quizzes you take. 
  2. You will keep a philosophical journal. In this journal you will record your reactions to the assigned readings and your responses to questions that we pose in class. The journal should not consist of notes or summaries of the readings. Rather, you should take positions and offer arguments for those positions. You may also consider ways in which the material we read in class relates to your own experiences. You should also use your journal to explore the connection between the two classes that make up this tandem. Your journal will be collected four times during the semester on the days of the quizzes.  You will receive a philosophy grade for each section and a fifth grade for responses and intellectual growth and coherence.  Your final journal grade will be based on the average of these five grades.  If you are late in submitting a section of your journal, there will be no grade reduction for that section.  However, late work may impact the grade that you receive for responses and intellectual growth.  Each section of your journal should be at least 8 pages.     Your final journal should be at least 30 typewritten pages.  In the interest of preserving trees, your journal should not be more than double-spaced, should not use larger than 12-point type, and should not have extra-large margins or large blank spaces between sections.  You will hand in one journal for both classes, but you will receive separate philosophy and social science grades for each section.
  3. Class attendance and participation are essential in this class. You may earn participation points by attending class and by volunteering to give brief summaries of the assigned readings.  You will receive one participation point for every class you attend.  (If you are late or must leave early, you will receive half credit for the day.)  You will be expected to attend public forums put on by members of the class, and you will also be required to attend at least three outside events.  Lastly, you will also receive one participation point for every brief summary of reasonable quality that you give. There will also be some extra credit opportunities to make up for absences. These opportunities will involve attendance at events relevant to the class such as Cultures Week. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. However, if you need to be absent because of something such as religious holidays or family emergency, I will make every effort to insure that you have ways to earn extra credit that will compensate for your absence. A...34+, B....31-33, C....28-30, D....25-27.
  4. All students will work on a group project.  You will have time in class to work on this project, but you may also need to meet outside class.  You will begin working on the social science aspects of your presentation early in the semester while the philosophical work will probably come at the end of the semester.  You will work on one project for both social science and philosophy. You will research a contemporary global problem, and you will use an ethical theory in advocating your solution, and you will need to present this project in public in some way.   You will receive separate philosophy and social science grades for the same project.
  5. Students who face unusual situation such as prolonged hospitalization, military service , or family emergencies may work out special plans with me for completing course requirements.

 

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Journal....25%

  2. Class Participation.....25%

  3. Group Project.....25%

  4. Quizzes........25%

 

Disabilities

If you have a documented learning, psychological, or physical disability, you may be entitled to reasonable academic accommodations or services. To request accommodation or services, contact the ASSIST office in Instructional Support Services. All students are expected to fulfill essential course requirements. The College will not waive any essential skill or requirement of a course or degree program.

 

Discrimination

The Oakton Community College Catalog states:

Oakton Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, or marital status in admission to and participation in its educational programs, activities and services, or employment practices. The College does not tolerate sexual harassment or sexual assault by or of its students or employees.

In keeping with this policy of tolerance and non-discrimination, in this class all of us (myself included) should strive to listen and give careful consideration to all ideas expressed in class, especially those that are different from our own, without attacking or demeaning the people who have those views. We should also strive to avoid using insulting terms or telling offensive jokes when talking to or about individuals or groups.

 

Office Hours

Des Plaines Office……3614

Des Plaines Telephone……847-376-7033

E-Mail……hgraff@oakton.edu

Web Site…..servercc.oakton.edu/~hgraff/philweb/

Spring 2003

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
7:30
8:00
8:30 Office Hours,
Room 3619
9:00
9:30 Ethics/ Global Society Tandem, Room 3619 Ethics/ Global 
Society Tandem, 
Room 3619
10:00 Office Hours,
Room 3614 		Office Hours,
Room 3614
10:30
11:00
11:30
12:00
12:30
1:00 Faculty Meetings
1:30 Office Hours,
Room 3614 		Faculty Meetings
2:00 Faculty Seminar on Ethics in Higher Education

Room, 2735

 Office Hours,
Room 3614
2:30
3:00
3:30
4:00


Author: Hollace Graff,
Oakton Community College
Last Updated: April 12, 2004