PHIL 726
Ethics 1
Please note: this is archived course information from 2020 for PHIL 726.
Description
This module will cover some central topics in recent moral theory, especially within the utilitarian tradition. The first part of the course will focus on Derek Parfit’s Reasons and Persons Oxford, 1986), while the second part will address debates between consequentialism and contractualism.
Topics will include: individual and collective responsibility, the rationality of self-interest and temporal partiality, the moral significance of personal identity, the aggregation of moral reasons and the imposition of risk.
We will be asking questions such as the following: Are individuals responsible for the actions of groups they belong to? Is it rational to care more about your own near future than your distant future? What matters in personal survival? How should I balance my obligations to my future self against my obligations to others? How should we aggregate the competing moral complaints of different people? When it is morally acceptable to impose risks on others?
Assessment
Coursework only
Availability 2020
Semester 1
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator(s) Professor Timothy Mulgan
Points
PHIL 726: 15 points