PHIL 160.001 – Virtue, Value, and Happiness: An Introduction to Moral Theory

Instructor: Rory Hanlon. This course meets MWF 12:20 – 1:10 p.m. in AL 207.

It seems safe to assume that we want to live good lives. But once we start asking what such a good life looks like, why it is good, and whether it is possible, questions multiply exponentially. In this course, we will begin to grapple systematically with some of these basic questions: What is a good life? Must a good life be happy, virtuous, or meaningful? Is there only one kind of good life or many varieties? How should we treat those around us? To answer these questions, we will explore some of the central ethical theories (e.g., consequentialism, deontology, and virtue theory). We will then turn to particular pressing and challenging ethical questions, such as the ethics of meat-eating, inequality, punishment, and climate change.

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