Ethics Spring '09

The Pennsylvania State University at Altoona
Philosophy 103W: Introduction to Ethics
Wednesday-4:00PM-6:40 PM
Devorris Downtown Center

Instructor: Peter Wolf, Ph.D.
Email: pmw117@psu.edu
Office hours: Before Class 3:30-4:00(or by appt).

Required Texts
De Botton, Alain. Status Anxiety Vintage Books International, 2005.
Jarozsynski and Anderson. Ethics: The Drama of Moral Life, St. Paul’s Publishing, 2003.

Course Overview
“Ethics is the philosophically relevant study of valued human behavior.” This statement from Professor Maertens expresses a workable definition of ‘ethics’.

This course provides the student with an opportunity to grasp the most fundamental concepts in ethics such as: freedom, the good, agency, conscience, responsibility, intention, action, consequence, norm, law, virtue, value, ethical theory. A brief and concise overview of ethical theory is presented in our class text by Jarozsynski. The student is expected to carefully read all course materials and to express their insights concerning ethics verbally and in writing with concision, clarity and correctness.

The ‘W’ after Phil 103 indicates that this course includes a writing across the curriculum component, hence writing skills and the correct use of written language will be a significant part of the evaluation. Each student may select to write a book report, or write in a journal, or make in an class presentation, or participate in team work, or write a term paper.

Roughly speaking the course consist of three parts: 1)ethical theory based upon reading Jaroszynski’s text, and Dr. Wolf’s lectures, 2)writing skills and 3)the application of ethical concepts and theories to real life situations and case studies, which the students will develop in three drafts leading up to a final draft (see grading rubric below).

Course Schedule
1/14: First class. Meet class, set forth course goals. Introductory lecture on ethics.
1/21: First lecture notes due. Read in Jarozsynski text, preface to English edition, introduction, and chapter one. Study and reflection questions. Answer three out of four questions on p. 8, in one paragraph (at least five formally correct sentences) typed, double space.
Dr. Wolf to discuss the term paper this evening. Select and declare the theme of your paper, one page typed, include at least five research sources (Google is OK).
1/28: Second lecture notes due.
2/4: Read Jarozsynski chapter two and answer four out five of the reflection questions on p.27. Rough Draft of ethics paper due. (2-4pp. typed) w/proposed bibliography (at least four books).
2/11: J: Be prepared for a quiz on J (through p. 27) and lecture notes. Review your reflection questions.
Film. “Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Take notes.
2/18: J (J=Jarozsynski) ch. 3 (answer 4/6 reflection questions). Two page ethical reflection on the film. Lecture: Overview of ethics thus far… Take notes.
2/25: Typed lecture notes #3 to be collected. Second draft of paper due. 4-6pp typed w/developed thesis statement. J: pp.43-52 (4/5 reflection questions).
3/04: Quiz. J: pp.53-64 (3/5 reflection questions)
3/11: Spring Break
3/18: Third draft of paper due. 8pp. typed.
J:pp.65-73 (4/4 reflection questions)
3/25: Lecture: Areteology Take notes.
J:75-83 (4/6 reflection questions)
4/01: Typed notes (#4) due from last week’s lecture .
J: pp.84-92 (reflection questions 2/2 on p.87; ¾ on p.92)
4/08: Quiz. Film. Fourth draft of ethical paper due. 12 pp. typed.
4/15: J: pp.92-102 (reflection questions ¾ on p.98; 2/3 on p.102). Typed reflection on film due.
4/22: Lecture notes typed. Final paper due. 14 pp typed.
J: pp.103-108 (reflection questions 2/2 on p.204; 1/1 on p.108)
4/29: J: pp.109-119 (reflection questions 6/8 on p.118);
5/06: Final exam


10 Study and Reflection Questions (Jaroszynski text) 10 x 45 pts =450pts
2 Film Studies: 100pts
3 Quizzes: 200
5 Typed lecture notes: 200pts
4 Drafts 4 200pts
Term Project: 200pts
Final Exam:150pts
Participation 500 pts
Total 2000 pts. [the ‘92’ grade (A-)---.92 x 2000=1840pts and so on…]

Assignments are due on the teacher’s desk at the beginning of each class session. Late work is due no later than one week following its due date, and will lose 25%.
Possible Topics for Term Paper

1) Applied Fields of Ethics
a) Medical; Nursing
i) euthanasia
ii) abortion
iii) extraordinary life support
iv) universal healthcare
v) Pharmaceutics
b) Environmental
i) animal rights
ii) corporate responsibility for pollution
iii) Global Warming
c) Business
i) Globalization
ii) Truth in Advertising
iii) Consumer Rights
iv) Just and Fair Wages
d) Sports
i)Use of Steroids in Athletes
e) Education
i)Academic freedom
ii) Corporate Influence on Research
f) Technology
g) Marital ethics, or ethics in almost every field of life.

There are as many applied fields of ethics as there are fields of valued human behavior---hunting, entertainment, food, alcohol, drugs, etc… What is unique is the aspect in which we consider the topic. We are concerned about business behavior, for example, not in the typical concern for ‘bottomline’ or ‘profit’ or whether a product is shiny and new, but whether business behaves ethically---that is to say in line with the overarching goal of the human good.

The outline above does not provide specific theses but rather broad headings---for example, the ethical use of pharmaceuticals. Here we do not have a theme for an ethics paper. We must discover a specific instance of this topic I in a case study which answers the questions who, what where, when and why---since ethics is for the most part situational.

An example of a case study that comes to mind is the Vick case (or Senator Blagojevich or Mr. Madoff) being discussed in the media which concerns animal rights, gambling and several other ethical issues.

Draft Schedule; 1/21 declare topic and initial sources; 2/4 rough draft due; 2/25 second draft due; 3/18 third draft (8pp typed w/bibliography), 4/08 fourth draft due (12 pp typed w/biblio.); 4/22 final paper due (16 pp. typed w/biblio and title page).

Academic Integrity
Students who cheat, plagiarize, commit fraud, etc…will suffer harshly. Consequences in light cases may include failing grade on an exam, essay or course. In serious cases, academic dishonesty may result in permanent expulsion from the university. For details see The Student Guide to University Policies and Rules.

Class Cancellation
In the event of snow or other inclement weather forcing a delay or closing on campus, class may be cancelled. If this happens, contact me at my e-mail address above and I will inform you about the cancellation.

Attendance Policy
Excused absence includes serious illness of student, death in the immediate family, or some extracurricular activity or sport (I need to be notified up front with the schedule).
You will be allowed a total of one unexcused absence during the semester. Any absences beyond this will result in the loss of 75 points.

Disclaimer
Please be advised that we will encounter material in this course that may seem offensive to some students in terms of strong language or subject matter.

Letter Grades
94-100 A
90-93 A-
87-89 B+
84-86 B
80-83 B-
77-79 C+
70-76 C
60-69 D
0-59 F

Papers
All papers must be typed, double-spaced and follow MLA guidelines as outlined in the 6th ed. of the MLA Handbook. Late papers are severely discouraged and will result in a loss of 20 points deduction from grade for each day the paper is late. You are responsible for completing all assignments in this course in order to receive a passing grade.