PHIL 160.002 – Virtue, Value, and Happiness: An Introduction to Moral Theory

Instructor: Fabian Wendt. This course meets MW 3:35 – 4:50 p.m. in CW 105.

In this introduction to ethical theory, we will discuss classical and contemporary texts on the most fundamental topics in ethics: We will cover the nature of the good life, the criteria for right action, and the relation between religion and morality. We will also address skeptical challenges to morality and the question why one should be moral at all. Prominent sources from the history of ethics will include Aristotle (virtue ethics), Hobbes (contractarianism), Kant (deontology), and Mill (utilitarianism).