PHIL 460.001 – History of Moral Philosophy

Instructor: Thomas E. Hill, Jr. This course meets T 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. in CW 213.

In this course we will examine some classic works in moral philosophy from the modern period. We will focus on works of Thomas Hobbes, Joseph Butler, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill. The topics include: aspects of human nature that underlie moral practices, ideas of justice and injustice, reason vs. sentiment as the source of moral requirements, and the extent to which consequences determine what is right. The aim is to understand, compare, and discuss critically the central ideas in these texts at a higher level than is possible in more introductory courses. The course is open to both advanced undergraduates and graduate students.