Coursework and Grading

The components for the overall grade for this course shall be:

(1) Orientation Assignment 5%

(2) Progress Reports 15%

(3) Quizzes and Assignments 20%

(4) Discussion Board 10%

(5) Exam 20%

(6) Ethical Approach Paper 30%

(1) Orientation Assignment: There will be an orientation assignment, primarily focused on making sure that students have what they need in order to begin and complete the course.

(2) Progress Reports: Students will turn in progress reports every two weeks. In these reports, students will summarize what they have done for the course in the previous two weeks and what their plan for completing assignments will be for the next two weeks.

(3) Quizzes and Assignments: There will be quizzes on various topics of importance. In addition, there will be review and practice assignments on readings and video lectures.

(4) Discussion Board: Students will be participating regularly in discussions through the discussion board in Blackboard. Receiving a B in discussion forum participation requires four responses a week as averaged over the entire term. To count as a response, comments must be relevant and provide reasons for the position taken in the comment. A's as opposed to B's are determined by overall quality of comments, including depth of analysis, thoughtfulness of response, and use of additional concepts and ideas discussed in the course and readings.

(5) Exam: The exam will primarily be a test of familiarity with the basic ethical approaches, and with their vocabulary, as covered in the course. It will be a six-question essay test.

(6) Ethical Approach Paper: Students will pick one of the three major approaches discussed in the course (consequentialism, deontology, or virtue ethics) and explain their preferred version of it by applying it to the topic of world hunger. They will then defend it from objections and argue for why they regard it as superior to the other two approaches. See guidelines for further information.

Acceptable formats for submission of paper and exam are: .doc, .docx, .odt, .pdf, .rtf . Other formats will not be accepted. I will not accept links to Google Docs for assignment submissions.

Course Policies

Attendance/Participation

This course is an asynchronous online course. It does not require attendance in an ordinary class setting. However, it does require regular participation, and students are required to report on their progress on a regular basis.

Late Work

Students who will be late in submitting assignments for any serious medical or financial reason should notify the instructor at the earliest possible time. When approved by the instructor beforehand, late work may be submitted, but in cases where the work is submitted more than a day late, penalties proportionate to lateness may be deducted from the grade. Penalties proportionate to lateness, however, shall not themselves reduce the grade more than twenty percent of the assignment total. Students should expect that in most cases in which there is no documentable medical reason, work turned in more than ten days late will receive the full late penalty. No work will be accepted past the deadline given for final submission of all work in the course, except for a documentable medical reason.

Withdrawals

It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that his or her name is removed from the rolls should they decide to withdraw from the class. The instructor does, however, reserve the right to drop a student should he or she feel it is necessary. If a student decides to withdraw, he or she should also verify that the withdrawal is recorded before the Final Withdrawal Date. The Final Withdrawal Date for this semester is April 25. The student is also strongly encouraged to keep any paperwork in case a problem arises.

Students are responsible for understanding the impact that withdrawal from a course may have on their financial aid, veterans’ benefits, and international student status. Per state law, students enrolling for the first time in Fall 2007 or later at any public Texas college or university may not withdraw (receive a W) from more than six courses during their undergraduate college education. Some exemptions for good cause could allow a student to withdraw from a course without having it count toward this limit. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with an advisor when making decisions about course selection, course loads, and course withdrawals.

Incompletes

Incompletes will not usually be given except in extraordinary cases, like documentable medical excuses, and they will require a one-on-one meeting with the instructor to determine the actions needed to complete the course. Students should also be aware that no Incomplete will be given unless students have been able to complete most of the course. (Students should think of it as an emergency extension on assignments that could not be completed due to unforeseeable events, for those who otherwise have done the work required by the course.) If a grade of I is given, the remaining course work must be completed by a date set by the student and professor in a meeting scheduled for that purpose. This date may not be later than two weeks prior to the end of the following semester. Incompletes not resolved by this date convert to F’s.

Problem Resolution

Most problems you might face in this course can be solved by initiative and communication! If you are having a problem related to this course or related to me as your instructor, your first step generally should be to speak with your instructor. If the instructor cannot resolve the problem or satisfy your concern, or, if for some reason you would prefer not to address the issue with your instructor, you may contact the Chair of the Department, Grant Potts for help. Email: gpotts@austincc.edu. Office: HLC 4.2310.36, Phone 512-223-7153.

Use of Assignments for Department Evaluation

The Department engages in a regular evaluation process of all faculty; this sometimes involves the inclusion of samples of actual graded work (with all identifying information removed). This will not be done without student permission, but unless the student specifically requests otherwise, assignments turned in by email will be assumed to carry implicit permission to use, with all identifying information removed, in the evaluation process. Assignments turned in through Blackboard will not be assumed to carry any such implicit permission. Students may revoke implicit permission simply by sending an email requesting that their assignments not be used in this way.

College Policies

Students should also consult ACC's college-wide policies; they are available as a separate document in Blackboard.

Course Materials

Pojman, Louis P., ed. Moral Philosophy: A Reader. Fourth edition. Hackett (Indianapolis: 2003).

There will also be additional supplementary readings, which will be available in Blackboard or online. It is important for students to keep up with the readings.

Course Calendar

Any video lectures on the material will be made available in the Weekly Assignments folder. This schedule is tentative and subject to change, and does not include some short supplementary readings and small assignments (usually concerned with the readings) that will be available online in the Weekly Assignments folder. For the most up-to-date and complete schedule, go to Blackboard. Page numbers marked by P refer to the required Pojman text.

WEEK I (February 14)

Topics: Introduction to the Course
Consequentialism, Deontology, and Virtue Ethics in Overview

Readings: Nozick, The Experience Machine (P 141-142)
Thomson, The Trolley Problem (P 397-411)

Major Assignments: Orientation Assignment due byFriday at midnight

Experience Machines and Trolleyology Survey (and Discussion Board discussion) due by Friday at midnight

WEEK II (February 21)

Topic: Classical Utilitarianism

Readings: Bentham, Classical Hedonism (P 120-122)
Bentham, Not Paul But Jesus, Vol. I, Chapter 1, Section 1 (available in Blackboard)

Mill, Utilitarianism (P 158-163)

Major Assignment: Progress Report due by Friday at midnight

WEEK III (February 28)

Topic: Utilitarianism, continued

Readings: Mill on the Art of Life, from The System of Logic (available in Blackboard)

Mill, On Liberty, Chapter 1, and The Subjection of Women, Chapter 1 (available in Blackboard)

Leguin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (available in Blackboard)

Major Assignment: Utilitarianism Quiz due by Friday at midnight

WEEK IV (March 7)

Topic: Essentials of Kantianism

Readings: Kant, The Foundations of Ethics (P 218-237)

O'Neill, A Simplified Account of Kant's Ethics (available in Blackboard)

Major Assignment: Progress Report due by Friday at midnight

SPRING BREAK (March 14-20) --- NO COURSEWORK

WEEK V (March 21)

Topic: Kantianism, Continued

Readings: Kant, The Foundations of Ethics (P 218-237) – yes, re-read the whole thing!

Supplementary Readings on Kant on Various Aids to Moral Life (available in Blackboard)

Major Assignments: By Friday at midnight, email the instructor one-paragraph summaries of the arguments of the three articles that will be used in the Ethical Approach Paper.

Kantianism Quiz due by Friday at midnight.

WEEK VI (March 28)

Topic: Aristotelian Virtue Ethics

Readings: Aristotle, Virtue Ethics (P 301-311)

MacIntyre, The Nature of Virtue (P 322-328)

Major Assignment: Progress Report due by Friday at midnight

WEEK VII (April 4)

Topics: Additional Topics in Virtue Ethics (Cardinal Virtues)

Readings: Aquinas on Cardinal Virtues (available in Blackboard)

IV Maccabees (available in Blackboard)

Major Assignment: By Friday at midnight, email the instructor a brief paragraph summarizing what ethical approach you think you will be using in your Ethical Approach Paper.

WEEK VIII (April 11)

Topics: Additional Topics in Virtue Ethics (Capital Vices)

Readings: Aquinas on Capital Vices (available in Blackboard)

Dante, Inferno, Canto V (available in Blackboard)

Major Assignment: Progress Report due by Friday at midnight

Virtue Ethics Quiz due by Friday at midnight

WEEK IX (April 18)

Topics: Confucian Virtue Ethics

Ethics of Care

Readings: Selection from the Analects (available in Blackboard)

Nel Noddings, Caring in Education (available in Blackboard)

Major Assignment: Ethical Approach Paper is due by Friday at midnight

WEEK X (April 25)

Topic: Ethics, Law and Civil Disobedience

Readings: Aquinas on Natural Law (available in Blackboard)

Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail (available in Blackboard)

Major Assignment: Progress Report due by Friday at midnight

WEEK XI (May 2)

Topic: Ethics, Medicine, and Conscientious Objection

Readings: Readings will be provided in Blackboard

Major Assignment: General Ethics Quiz due by Friday at midnight

WEEK XII (May 9)

Topics: Animal Ethics

Overall Review

Major Assignment: Ethics Exam due by THURSDAY at NOON

FINAL DEADLINE: Discussion Board and all assignments due Thursday, May 12, by midnight.

Course Description

Credit hours: 3

Classroom contact hours per week: 3

Students will be introduced to the principles of morality through a critical examination of various ethical theories and their application to contemporary moral problems. There are no course prerequisites for this class. A passing score or the equivalent on the reading and writing portions of the TSI is required.

Course Rationale: One of the most distinctive things about human beings is that we are not simply determined by natural forces; we have the capacity to decide how to act. One of the greatest challenges for human beings is that along with the capacity to decide how to act comes the responsibility to do so rightly. Through the study of ethics one can gain greater insight into how to meet this responsibility successfully.

Departmental Course Student Learning Outcomes

Identify, demonstrate understanding of, and describe various major figures, divisions, theories, and concepts in ethics

• Analyze written texts from moral philosophy

• Apply concepts from philosophy to moral issues of both individual and universal significance

• Develop and defend a moral argument in a written essay

General Education Competencies

• Communication Skills: Develop, interpret, and express ideas and information through written, oral and visual communication that is adapted to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.

• Critical Thinking Skills: Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking.

• Personal Responsibility: Identify and apply ethical principles and practices to decision-making by connecting choices, actions and consequences.

• Social Responsibility (Civic and Cultural Awareness): Analyze differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.

Instructional Methodology: This course is an asynchronous online course. Instruction will occur through videos and documents that will be provided in Blackboard, and assignments will be found in and submitted through Blackboard.

Online learning requires a different kind of initiative from students than classroom learning. It is most rewarding when combined with good time management and students will need to take care to schedule sufficient time for the course and to review their progress on a regular basis, consulting the instructor if they are facing any difficulties or problems. Students should also review the ACC Distance Education General Information available at https://online.austincc.edu/faq/ for further information in ACC's expectations for online learning.

Student Technology Support: Austin Community College provides free, secure drive-up WiFi to students and employees in the parking lots of all campus locations. WiFi can be accessed seven days

a week, 7 am to 11 pm. Additional details are available at https://www.austincc.edu/sts.

Students who do not have the necessary technology to complete their ACC courses can request to borrow devices from Student Technology Services. Available devices include iPads, webcams, headsets, calculators, etc. Students must be registered for a credit course, Adult Education, or Continuing Education course to be eligible. For more information, including how to request a device, visit http://www.austincc.edu/sts.

Student Technology Services offers phone, live-chat, and email-based technical support for students and can provide support on topics such as password resets, accessing or using Blackboard, access to technology, etc. To view hours of operation and ways to request support, visit

http://www.austincc.edu/sts.