PHIL 160.002 – Introduction to Ethics

Instructor: Chris Melenovsky. This course meets on MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. in CW 103.

In this class, we are concerned with understanding the predominant moral theories that try to explain and justify our moral judgments. Specifically, we will focus on three of the most distinctive and historically developed perspectives: Utilitarianism, Kantian Theory and Virtue Ethics. We will also examine arguments against each of these views to see both their strengths and weaknesses. Through understanding these various positions, we can come to see the difficulties involved in explaining and justifying our moral judgments, even when those judgments are easy to make.