PHIL 2042 - Moral Problems

We are surrounded by ethical debates on issues of intense controversy. Under what circumstances should abortion or euthanasia be permitted? What ethical principles should govern the extension of reproductive medical technology? What should we think about the morality of sex, war, drugs, and the relations between rich and poor? This course uses the techniques of moral philosophy to examine and defend answers to these questions, looking at the underlying questions of principle and moral theory on which those answers depend.

Students completing this course should be able to:identify the main ethical issues surrounding the nine areas of ethical controversy covered by the course; state the most important arguments on both sides of those controversies; evaluate the plausibility of those arguments, offering clearly articulated reasons for their evaluation; identify the underlying questions of principle and moral theory on which the resolution of these ethical controversies depends;

develop detailed and well-structured arguments for conclusions concerning two of the topics covered by the course.