University of St Andrews
DEPARTMENT OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY
PY 1103: MORAL PROBLEMS (2004-5)
Description: The aim of this course is to get clear about some actual moral issues. Should voluntary euthanasia be legalised? Is it acceptable to bomb cities in war? (Is it acceptable to kill enemy soldiers for that matter)? Do we have stringent obligations to those in need? The course will introduce methods of philosophical analysis and assessment of arguments, and will examine the arguments on both sides of these debates.
Course Coordinator: Elizabeth Ashford (Department of Philosophy, Edgecliffe, room 201; email: ea10@st-and.ac.uk).
Lecturers: Elizabeth Ashford, Anna Sherratt, Lisa Jones
Class Hour: 5:00 pm, mondays and thursdays, in Physics Lecture Theatre A, Purdie Building.
Teaching: Lectures every monday and thursday, and fortnightly tutorials.
Assessment: Continuous assessment (in the form of one assessed essay) = 50%
90 minute examination = 50%
(Re-assessment: 2 Hour Examination = 100%.)
Requirements: Adequate reading, regular attendance at tutorials and lectures, and submission of essays are requirements of this module. Those with three or more unauthorised absences from tutorial meetings will, at the discretion of the Chairman of the Departments of Philosophy, forfeit their right to a Certificate of Due Performance, without which a student will not be awarded credits or a grade, and will not be allowed to proceed to re-assessment. (See Sub-Honours Philosophy Handbook 2004-5.) Please note that students are required to pass all the elements of a module (continuous assessment and the examination) in order to pass the module as a whole.
Marking will be in accordance with the University marking system:
17-20 First Class 8-10 Third
14-16 Upper Second 5-7 Pass
11-13 Lower Second 1-4 Fail – no credit awarded
Course Text (recommended purchase):
Hugh LaFollette (ed.), Ethics in Practice: An Anthology, 2nd edn. (Blackwell, 2002)
– available in Short Loan Collection, University Library.
Other Recommended Texts (optional purchases):
Jonathan Glover, Causing Death and Saving Lives (Penguin 1990) – available in Short Loan
Collection, University Library; also in Restricted Access Collection, Philosophy Class Library.
Peter Singer, Practical Ethics, 2nd edition (Cambridge University Press, 1993).
Peter Singer (ed.), Applied Ethics (Oxford University Press, 1986) – available in short Loan
Collection, University Library; also in Restricted Access Collection, Philosophy Class Library.
Peter Singer (ed.), A Companion to Ethics (Blackwell, 1991) – available in Short Loan
Collection, University Library; also in Restricted Access Collection, Philosophy Class Library.
The following is a provisional list of topics and suggested reading for the Moral Problems lectures. Be selective; where several readings are assigned, you are not expected to read everything on the list! Some topics may take more than one lecture.
1. Introduction and Overview
LaFollette, pp. 1-2.
2. Moral Theory
LaFollette, pp. 3-11.
Singer, Practical Ethics, Chs 1 and 12.
Glover, Causing Death and Saving Lives, Ch. 2.
3. Euthanasia
Beauchamp, ŒJustifying Physician-Assisted Deaths¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 3.
Hooker, ŒRule-Utilitarianism and Euthanasia¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 1.
Glover, Causing Death and Saving Lives, Chs 3,14 and 15.
Rachels, ŒActive and Passive Euthanasia¹, in Singer, Applied Ethics, Ch. iii.
4. Abortion
Warren, ŒOn the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 6; also in A Companion
to Ethics, Ch. 26.
Marquis, ŒAn Argument that Abortion is Wrong, in LaFollette, Ch. 7.
Thomson, ŒA Defence of Abortion¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 5; also in Applied Ethics, Ch. iv.
Singer, Practical Ethics, Ch. 6.
Glover, Causing Death and Saving Lives, Chs 9-12.
5. Helping those in need
Singer, ŒFamine, Affluence and Morality¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 56; or Practical Ethics, Ch. 8
(pp. 229 to 246).
Arthur, ŒFamine Relief and the Ideal Moral Code¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 57.
Glover, Causing Death and Saving Lives, Ch. 7.
6. International Justice
Pogge, ŒEradicating Systematic Poverty¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 59.
Goodin, ŒFree Movement: If People Were Money¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 59.
Wolff, ŒEconomic Competition: Should we Care About the Losers?¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 54.
Rawls, ŒA Theory of Justice¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 51.
7. War
Glover, Causing Death and Saving Lives, Ch. 19.
McMahan, ŒWar and Peace¹, in A Companion to Ethics, Ch. 34.
8. Punishment
Rachels, ŒPunishment and Desert¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 46.
Pasquerella, ŒMaking Hard Time Even Harder¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 48.
Murphy, ŒRepentance and Criminal Punishment¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 47.
Glover, Causing Death and Saving Lives, Ch. 18 sections 1-3.
9. Drugs
Mill, ŒFreedom of Action¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 28.
Wilson, ŒAgainst the Legalisation of Drugs¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 29.
Goodin, ŒPermissible Paternalism¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 31.
10. Pornography and Censorship
Mill, ŒFreedom of Thought and Discussion¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 34.
Garry, ŒSex, Lies, and Pornography¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 35.
Dworkin, ŒMacKinnon¹s Words¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 36.
Altman, ŒSpeech Codes and Expressive Harm¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 38.
11. Sexuality
Punzo, ŒMorality and Human Sexuality¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 20.
Goldman, ŒPlain Sex¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 21.
Levin, ŒWhy Homosexuality is Abnormal¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 22.
Corvino, ŒHomosexuality and the Moral Relevance of Experience¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 23.
12. Family and Reproductive Technology
Bartky, ŒEmotional Exploitation¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 14.
Rachels, ŒMorality, Parents and Children¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 15.
Macklin, ŒArtificial Means of Reproduction and Our Understanding of the Family¹, in LaFollette,
Ch. 16.
Harris, Œ²Goodbye Dolly²?: the Ethics of Human Cloning¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 18.
13. Sexual and Racial Discrimination
Appiah, ŒRacisms¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 39.
Superson, ŒSexual Harassment¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 40.
Pineau, ŒDate Rape¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 41.
May and Strikwerda, ŒMen in Groups: Collective Responsibility for Rape¹, in LaFollette, ch. 42.
14. Animals
Singer, ŒAll Animals are Equal¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 9; also in Applied Ethics.
Frey, ŒMoral Standing, the Value of Lives, and Speciesism¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 11.
Fox, ŒThe Moral Community¹, in LaFollette, Ch 10.
Regan, ŒThe Case for Animal Rights¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 12.
15. Suicide
Hardwig, ŒDying at the Right Time: Reflections on (Un)Assisted Suicide¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 4.
Glover, Causing Death and Saving Lives, Ch. 13.
Hume, ŒOf Suicide¹, in Applied Ethics, Ch. ii.
16. Environment
Singer, Practical Ethics, Ch. 10.
Rolston, ŒFeeding People versus Saving Nature¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 60.
Leopold, ŒThe Land Ethic¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 61.
Hill, ŒIdeals of Human Excellence and Preserving Natural Environments¹, in LaFollette, Ch. 63.
17. Review
The continuous assessment component for PY1103 comprises one essay, which contributes 50% of the overall mark for the course. Please consult the regulations concerning assessed essays in the Sub-Honours Philosophy Handbook.
Essays (two copies) should be submitted by putting them in the essay box in Edgecliffe¹s basement. Please write the following details on a cover page: your name, the course number, your tutor¹s name and your tutorial time.
Essays should be no more than 1200 words, and should be typed or legibly hand-written. Essays will be returned with marks and comments normally within two weeks of submission.
Plagiarism – the unacknowledged use of one or more sources other than your own – is a serious academic failing and is punished severely (consult the Sub-Honours Philosophy Handbook).
Topics: choose one of the following:
1. If we assume the truth of Peter Singer¹s empirical assumptions, how plausible is his argument concerning the stringency and the extent of our obligations towards those in need?
2. Critically assess the doctrine of the principle of the sanctity of life.
Due date: Thursday November 18th (week 8).
The remaining 50% of the mark for this course is determined by an exam at the end of the semester. You will be required to answer two questions in 90 minutes. The exam paper will be designed not to overlap with the essay questions.