Moral Reasoning 22. Justice
Catalog Number: 3753
Michael J. Sandel
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
A critical analysis of selected classical and contemporary theories of justice, with discussion of present-day practical applications. Topics include affirmative action, income distribution, surrogate motherhood, free speech vs. hate speech, debates about rights (human rights and property rights), arguments for and against equality, debates about political obligation and the claims of community. Readings include Aristotle, Locke, Kant, Mill, and Rawls.
Moral Reasoning 28. Ethics and International Relations
Catalog Number: 0642
Stanley Hoffmann and J. Bryan Hehir (Divinity School)
Half course (spring term). M., W., 2–3:30 and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Is ethical action in international affairs possible—or does the absence of global moral consensus and a central world government doom states and citizens to the amoral pursuit of clashing national interests? The course considers contrasting arguments by philosophers and social thinkers (e.g., Thucydides, Machiavelli, Kant, and Weber) as well as specific issues in contemporary international politics: intervention and the use of force, the morality of nuclear deterrence, human rights, distributive justice, and the moral responsibilities of leaders and citizens.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2003–04.
Moral Reasoning 32. Reason and Evaluation
Catalog Number: 5909
Thomas M. Scanlon, Jr.
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 10 and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12
Can moral judgments and other forms of evaluation be defended on rational and objective grounds? Do they need to be? Considers various positive and negative answers to these questions and examines the ways in which these answers are supported by differing views of the nature of persons and of the will. Readings include works by Plato, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, and some contemporary writers.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2003–04.
[Moral Reasoning 33. Issues in Ethics]
Catalog Number: 2255
Thomas M. Scanlon, Jr.
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 9, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 11
Is pleasure the only ultimate good? Are individuals’ preferences the only basis for assessing the quality of their lives? What makes acts wrong? Is moral blame applicable only to agents who have free will? Should we accept moral relativism? Readings mainly from contemporary philosophers.
Note: Expected to be given in 2004–05.
[Moral Reasoning 40. Confucian Humanism: Self-Cultivation and Moral Community]
Catalog Number: 0466
Wei-Ming Tu
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Explores a style of moral reasoning informed by Confucian humanism, which takes self-cultivation as the basis for the development of a moral community. Focuses on the perception of the self as a center of relationships and the conviction that society ought to be a community of trust. Although our main concern is to understand Confucian ethics as a form of “virtue-centered” morality, attention is also given to a critical analysis of the limits of Confucian ethics in light of contemporary discussions of such issues as human rights and political authority.
Note: Expected to be given in 2003–04.
Moral Reasoning 50. The Public and the Private in Politics, Morality, and Law
Catalog Number: 1262
Glyn Morgan
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 12 and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 5
The line between what is considered “private” and what belongs to the “public” varies culturally, historically, and socially. The aim of the class is to introduce students to central issues in Western moral, legal, and political thought by examining the ways that this distinction has been drawn and justified by major thinkers. The class also discusses a number of contemporary controversies concerning the public/private divide, including abortion, contraception, private schools, racial and genetic profiling, and cyberspace. Readings will include Plato, Augustine, Hobbes, Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, Robert Nozick, John Rawls, and Michel Foucault.
Moral Reasoning 54. “If There is No God, All is Permitted”: Theism and Moral Reasoning
Catalog Number: 1321
Jay M. Harris
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 12; W., at 1; W., at 1; W., at 4, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 5
For centuries various Jewish and Christian thinkers have asserted that moral judgment is impossible without some concept of the deity. So convincing were they that one important Russian author of the 19th century was led to exclaim, “if there is no God, all is permitted.” In more recent times some thinkers have challenged this assumption, and insisted that removing (or reducing) the role of God is indispensable to proper moral discourse. This course will examine the ways in which a concept of God has informed Western moral discourse, trying to help students engage the literature as they confront the basic question, why might one think “if there is no God, all is permitted”? and why one might think if there is a God, human moral achievement is impossible.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2003–04.
[Moral Reasoning 56. Self, Freedom, and Existence]
Catalog Number: 6507
Richard Moran
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 2, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 7
How is human freedom possible? Does acting freely mean acting in accordance with reasons or acting arbitrarily, or neither? Are values chosen, discovered, or invented? How is self-knowledge possible and how is it different from the knowledge of others? Specific issues to be discussed include: self-deception and bad faith; the nature of freedom and autonomy; subjectivity and our relation to others; rationality and irrationality. Readings, which will provide an introduction to a few of the major texts of Existentialism, will be drawn from Kant, Sartre, Dostoevsky, and various contemporary writers.
Note: Expected to be given in 2003–04.
[Moral Reasoning 58. Slavery in Western Political Thought]
Catalog Number: 8892
Richard Tuck
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
The ownership of one man by another is an obvious and profound affront to many of our fundamental ideas about morality, and yet for much of human history it was defended—and often by the greatest moral and political philosophers. How was this possible? The course will trace the theme of slavery through the arguments of political theorists from the ancient world to the present and will study the way in which the rejection of slavery became intellectually possible. These theoretical arguments will be considered in the context of the changing history of slavery as an institution.
Note: Expected to be given in 2003–04.
Moral Reasoning 60. Reason and Morality
Catalog Number: 9557
Melissa Barry
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 1, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 15
Can our moral views be defended by rational argument? Or must we resort to mere assertion and counterassertion when trying to defend moral positions? If we can reason about morality, what might such reasoning look like? We shall consider several influential accounts of the nature of moral reasoning, and Nietzsche’s powerful challenge to the very idea of reasoning about morality. Readings include works by Hobbes, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche, and some contemporary authors.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2003–04.
[Moral Reasoning 64. Ethics and Everyday Life: Work and Family]
Catalog Number: 7803
Russell Muirhead
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 1, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 6
Analyzes the relation of moral considerations to two central arenas of everyday life, work and family. Also assesses how these in turn relate to politics. Topics include the work ethic, rival conceptions of the family, marriage and its public recognition, the public-private distinction, the division of labor and gender, independence, and obligation. Readings drawn from classic and contemporary thinkers in moral and political thought, including Aristotle, Augustine, Milton, Locke, Marx, and Weber.
Note: Expected to be given in 2003–04.
[Moral Reasoning 66. Moral Reasoning About Social Protest]
Catalog Number: 7778
Susanna Siegel
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 12
An examination of moral questions that arise in the context of social protest in the United States during the 20th century, including the central question of political philosophy: How can political authority be justified? After studying the Attica prison revolt of 1971, we will consider the following questions: Is there an obligation to obey the law? What, if any, are the moral limits to this obligation? Can civil disobedience be justified, and does it always need to be? Texts include classic excerpts from Plato, Hobbes, Rawls, and Marx.
Note: Expected to be given in 2003–04.
Moral Reasoning 68. Legalism: Ruly and Unruly Thought and Practices
Catalog Number: 1631
Nancy Lipton Rosenblum
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 11 and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 13
“Legalism” refers to rule-making, rule-following, and legal reasoning. This course considers the omnipresence of legalism in every aspect of our lives—from criminal due process to Harvard course requirements to the rules made and enforced by voluntary associations like the Boy Scouts. We will explore: the distinctive characteristics of legalistic modes of thought; moral justifications offered for legalism; moral objections to legalism and the power of romantic resistance to rule-making and rule-following; and what happens when the various systems of law under which we live conflict. Readings from literature, court cases, and moral and political theory.
[Moral Reasoning 70. Rights]
Catalog Number: 6413
Sharon R. Krause
Half course (spring term). M., W., at 11, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 4
This course investigates the meaning and moral significance of rights in contemporary liberal societies and considers how a rights-based ethic affects our broader understanding of morality and political life. We shall compare different philosophical justifications for rights within the tradition of classical liberalism; examine several classical and contemporary critiques of rights; and engage in current debates in ethics and politics as to the scope, content, and application of rights in the United States and in the international context. Readings are drawn from classical and contemporary thinkers in moral and political philosophy.
Note: Expected to be given in 2003–04.