IPHI227

Ethics are the moral principles on the basis of which we decide how to act in a given situation. But on what theories or beliefs are our ethics founded? How have ideas about ethics changed over time? Key topics include the role of reason and emotion, gender, local vs. universal ethics, ethics and human rights, individual vs. community well-being, fundamental rights and duties, virtue and character, and the limits of rationality. We also examine specific case studies and consider pressing questions of international scope, such as responsibilities towards foreigners/immigrants, climate change, and foreign military intervention. Students focus on either a particular ethical or meta-ethical question (Should we preserve the wilderness? Are ethics grounded in emotions?) or another approved topic, conduct research, then present their findings in an oral presentation and research paper.