Dr. Bradley Richards
bradrich@yorku.ca
Office Location:  N822 Ross Building
Office Hours:  By appointment, either in person or remotely (I am usually available Wednesday morning in person, but you can make Zoom appointments for Thursday too!).

TBA

Technical Requirements

• Eclass will be used to deliver most course content.
• Students are required to submit assignments through eClass
• Assignments may be evaluated by Turnitin
• Zoom may also be used to deliver some content
• Students will need a computer or smart device to access the course materials

To attend online Zoom office hours and stream recorded lectures, students should have a device capable of running Zoom. In addition to a stable, higher-speed Internet connection, it is preferred (but not required) that students have a device with a webcam and microphone.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

• Student Guide to eClass
• Zoom@YorkU Best Practices
• Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide
• Computing for Students Website
• Student Guide to eLearning at York University
• To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest

Times and locations: Please note that this is a course that depends on remote teaching and learning.There will be no in-person lectures on campus.

Course Delivery

1. There will be no in person lecture. (only recorded lecture material posted to eClass).
2. The nature of the posted materials (video, or slides, or both, may vary from week to week).
3. Quizzes and discussion boards will become available weekly starting Week 2.
4. Most readings are in the textbook bundle. Additional readings will be posted to eClass.
5. Tutorials will be held at the scheduled time either on Zoom or in person. TBA

The texts for this course are available as a digital bundle

Here are the details of the ebook bundle available through the York bookstore and OUP.

Bundle:

The bundle contains three books:

Other readings (not in these three books) will have links or articles provided in eClass.

Course Schedule

*Indicates a required reading (no ‘*’ means a recommended additional reading)

1. Introduction 7/9
2. The Good Life 12/9 & 14/9
   1. *JS Mill: Hedonism TEL
   2. *Nozick: The Experience Machine TEL
3. Death and Value19/9 & 21/9
   1. *Fischer, Chapter 3: Bads Without Negative Experience (DIML)
   2. *Fisher, Chapter 7: Identity, Boredom, and Immortality Realism (DIML)
4. Realism and Objectivism 26/9 & 28/9
   1. *David Hume: Moral Distinctions Not Derived from Reason TEL
   2. *G.E. Moore: Principia Ethica PMP
5. Relativism 03/10 & 05/10
   1. *Mary Midgley: Trying out One’s New Sword TEL
   2. Harman: A Defense of Moral Relativism TML

*****Reading WEEK NO CLASSSES 10/10 & 12/10*************

1. Egoism: Why be moral? 17/10 & 19/10
   1. *Plato: The Republic PMP
   2. *James Rachels: Egoism and Moral Skepticism PMP
   3. Jesse Kalin: In Defense of Egoism PMP
2. Divine Command Theory 24/10 & 26/10
   1. *Plato, Euthyphro TEL
   2. *Steven M. Cahn: God and Morality PMP
   3. Robert M. Adams: A Modified Divine Command Theory of Ethical Wrongness PMP
3. Consequentialism  31/10 & 02/11
   1. *John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism TEL
   2. *Bernard Williams: A Critique of Utilitarianism PMP
   3. The Singer Solution to World Poverty TEL
4. Kantian Ethics 07/11 & 09/11
   1. *Immanuel Kant: Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals TEL
   2. Judith Jarvis Thomson: The Trolley Problem PMP
5. Emotivism 14/11 & 16/11
   1. *J. Prinz, The Emotional Construction of Morals, Chapter 1: Emotionism
6. Virtue Ethics 21/11 & 23/11
   1. Chapter 6: Virtue Ethics
      1. *Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics (TEL)
      2. Alistar MacIntyre: The Virtues
7. Social Contract Theory 28/11 & 30/11
   1. *Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan TEL
   2. *John Rawls: A Theory of Justice PMP
   3. Robert Nozick: The Entitlement Theory EMP 338
8. Panopticism (I posted this lecture on week 11)
   1. *Gutting, Foucault, Chapter 8, Crime and Punishment
   2. Foucault, Discipline and Punish, Chapter 1

Completing the work for this course will:

• Introduce you to some of the central questions in moral philosophy.

• Teach you the motivations behind the primary positions in the field, along with their benefits and flaws.

• Improve your ability to read difficult texts with comprehension.

• Improve your ability to analyze and evaluate arguments.

• Improve your ability to communicate complicated ideas in concise prose.

Course Policies

RECORDINGS POLICY

Lecture recordings are to be used for educational purposes only and as a means for enhancing accessibility. Students do not have permission to duplicate, copy and/or distribute the recordings outside of the class (these acts can violate not only copyright laws but also FIPPA).

COURSE EMAIL POLICY

I am happy to answer emails on procedural issues addressed neither in class, nor by the syllabus. I may not reply to an email if the answer is on the syllabus; I may post an announcement instead of replying directly to an email if the answer would be helpful to others.

More substantial issues concerning course content should be addressed in class or office hours. There is no guarantee of email response on weekends or holidays. Please include course and section number in the subject line of all email correspondence, also include your full name and student number in the body of the email. This information is necessary so that I can reply and address your concern. If this information is omitted I may not reply. When all the above conditions are met, I will usually reply within 48 hours on weekdays).

LATE ASSIGNMENTS

• No late quizzes will be accepted and no extensions granted. However, you are permitted to miss 2/12 (you must complete 10). Aim to complete all 12 quizzes and your lowest grades will be dropped.
• No late discussion board entries will be accepted and no extensions granted. However, you are permitted to miss 4/12 (you must complete 8). Aim to complete all 12 discussion board entries and your lowest grades will be dropped.
• Late critical argument evaluations will be accepted for two weeks without penalty (extensions must be requested). Again, this is enough time for everyone. After this period there are no extensions and no late assignments will be accepted.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

All forms of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating, will be taken extremely seriously. Potential penalties include, but are not limited to, failure of the assignment and/or failure of the course. In addition, students who plagiarize or cheat on any assignments forfeit their privilege to drop their lowest grades. Students are expected to be familiar with York’s policy regarding academic integrity: http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/policies/. All students are expected to complete the Honour Code Pledge on eClass.

ACCOMMODATIONS

We are committed to fairly accommodating students with disabilities. Please contact us as soon as possible with the relevant documentation from Student Accessibility Services.

RESOURCES

York has a variety of resources to help students succeed. Here are some of them.

• Mental Health
• Writing Centre
• Academic Advising
• Learning Commons
• Peer Mentorship