PHIL 110 - Contemporary Moral Issues

5.0 Credits
A philosophical consideration of contemporary moral issues such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, discrimination, war, and world hunger. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or placement in ENGL& 101 (was ENGL 105) or above.

Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Define key terms concerning ethics or morality. [REASON]
Define the consequentialist and non-consequentialist views of morality. [REASON]
Describe and critically analyze the two main consequentialist theories: ethical egoism and utilitarianism. [REASON]
Describe and critically analyze act and rule non-consequentialism, Divine Command Theory, and Kant’s Duty Ethics. [REASON]
Define such important terms and concepts as universalizability, categorical imperative, human beings as ends rather than means, and prima facie duties. [REASON]
Describe and critically analyze contemporary social issues such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment and reverse discrimination. [REASON]
Identify the key ethical problems within each social issue, to apply the traditional ethical theories to the solution of these problems and to clarify and communicate a personal judgment about each issue. [COMMUNICATE]
Differentiate psychological egoism from ethical egoism and explain both theories. [EXPLORE]
Distinguish between the two types of utilitarianism. [EXPLORE]
Describe non-consequentialist theories of morality, showing how they differ from consequentialist theories. [EXPLORE]
Describe absolutism and relativism and distinguish between cultural and ethical relativism. [EXPLORE]