PHIL 163.002 – Practical Ethics

Instructor: Jeff Sebo. This course meets TR 3:30 – 4:45 p.m. in SC 209.

Practical Ethics: Population Ethics

This course is an introduction to practical ethics with special focus on procreative ethics, population ethics, and duties to future generations. We will start with a survey of moral philosophy. Is morality more a matter of promoting happiness, respecting rights, or cultivating virtue? We will then consider some of the moral questions involved with procreation, such as whether existence is a harm or benefit and whether or not we should avoid contributing to overpopulation. Finally, we will consider some of the moral questions involved with duties to future generations more generally, such as what kind of population would be ideal and how responsible we are for bringing that population about and leaving these individuals a good world.