Philosophy 102, Contemporary Moral Problems Shoreline Community College Meets Daily: 11:30-12:20, Room 1805
Instructor: Dr. Linda Warren Office Hours: 12:30 – 1:20 Daily, or by appointment. Office: 5368 Foss Telephone: (206) 546-6987 Email: lwarren@shore.ctc.ed
Course Description: Students will use basic ethical theoretical methods of diverse cultures to investigate and critically examine such contemporary moral issues as capital punishment, war and violence, hunger and poverty, animal rights, environmental degradation, abortion, racial and ethnic discrimination, and injustices related to gender.
Course Objectives: Critically examine different philosophical positions related to contemporary moral issues. Develop the ability to reason ethically when presented with difficult moral issues. Specific course outcomes may be summarized as follows: (1) Articulate different ethical values, frameworks, and theories. (2) Analyze and evaluate ethical arguments. (3) Construct arguments using techniques drawn from ethical theory. (4) Apply ethical theory and argumentation to specific ethical dilemmas and issues. (5) Identify the ethical assumptions, values, and theories expressed by others. (6) Critically respond to the different ethical theories and values that are encountered in the course. Students will demonstrate these outcomes both verbally (in class and small-group discussions), and in writing (in short essays, in essay quizzes/examinations, and in short papers).
Required Text: Applied Ethics: A Multicultural Approach, ed., Larry May, Shari Collins-Chobanian, Kai Wong, 3rd ed., Prentice-Hall, 2002. Available at Shoreline Community College bookstore. Your text may not be available until Thursday or Friday of the first week.
Course Outline: Schedule is tentative and subject to change due to student’s needs and interests.) After the first week, please do the assigned readings for the week prior to the class on Monday; additional handouts may be made available.)
Week One, September 24: War and Violence: Read Lackey, p. 275; Khatchadourian, p. 291; Wilkins, p. 301. Handouts. Video.
Week Two, October 1: Hunger and Poverty: Read “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” p. 224 and “On the Obligation to Keep Informed about Distant Atrocities,” p. 244, and “Making Peace with the Earth: Indigenous Agriculture and the Green Revolution,” p. 256.
Quiz #1.
Week Three, October 8: Environmental Degradation and Environmental Racism: Read “Environmental Racism, American Indians, and Monitored Retrievable Storage Sites for Radioactive Waste,” pp. 167-176. Read Shiva, pp. 177-188. Read Leopold, pp. 129-141.
Week Four, October 15: Human Rights and Justice: Read “United Nations Declaration of Human Rights,” p. 42 and “Women’s Rights as Human Rights,” p. 72. Video.
Week Five, October 22: Handouts, Continue human rights. Abortion: Read, “On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion,” pp. 505-513. Also read pp. 539-555. Quiz #2. Reading response paper due.
Week Six, October 29: GMOs, handout. Discussion on Euthanasia. Read James Rachel, pp. 561-565, Stephen Potts, pp. 574-578, “Buddhist Views of Suicide and Euthanasia,” pp. 609-619, and “Who Shall Be Saved? An African Answer, pp. 626-636.
Week Seven, November 5: Capital Punishment; Police Brutality and the Prison-Industrial Complex: Read handouts. Reading response paper.
Week Eight, November 12: Animal Rights: Read handouts. Watch “Animal Liberation Video Collection,” in class, or if you miss that day, please check it out from the instructor. Quiz, #3. November 12 is Veterans Day Holiday.
Week Nine, November 19: Read “Stories of Access and Luck: chicana/os, Higher Education, and the Politics of Incorporation,” pp. 458-469. Handouts on ethnic discrimination, detention of immigrants. (Patriot Act). Reading response paper #3 due.
November 22 & 23 are Thanksgiving Holiday.
Week Ten, November 26: Selected topics. Group Project Presentations.
Week Eleven, December 3: Review. December 5 is the last day of class. A final quiz will be held on this day, unless otherwise announced. On the regularly scheduled finals day, student conferences will be held as needed.
Course Requirements: Group Project. Three 2-page papers. Philosophy journal based on class discussions and readings. Group and individual reading quizzes. Final examination/quiz.
Grading: 15% group project. 20% philosophy journal. 25% on 2-page papers. 20% on reading quizzes. 20% on final quiz.
Reading quizzes: Reading quizzes will be based on all readings and class discussions, guest speakers, videotapes, etc., prior to the day the quiz is taken. There will be both individual and group quizzes. Use the questions for discussion in our text as a guide for your reading quizzes. Also, additional questions will be devised by the instructor and given in class a few days prior to the reading quizzes.
Group Projects: Each group will choose one of the topics listed on the weeks above (or additional topics per students’ suggestions may be possible) and present additional information to the class during the week that topic is under discussion. Visuals and multi-media are recommended for the class presentations.
Cheating and Plagiarism: The following two concepts should convey to you a precise definition of what is meant by cheating and plagiarism. Cheat: To practice fraud or act dishonestly. Plagiarize: To appropriate and pass off, as one’s own, the writings, ideas, etc. of another. Consequences: Anyone caught cheating will be asked to leave the classroom and will receive a “0” on that quiz.
Weather: Students will be informed of any adjustments or changes in the outline/schedule necessitated by inclement weather and/or other extreme circumstances.
Note: If you need course adaptation or accommodation in the classroom because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with your instructor, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform your instructor.
