Intro to Ethics
PH 150
Tues/Thurs
I. INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETIES
0. INTRODUCTION
Sept. 2
Introduction to the course
1. VACCINE MANDATES
Sept. 7
Peter Singer - "Why Vaccination Should be Compulsory" [PDF]
Ross Douthat - "How to Reach the Unvaccinated" [PDF]
Sept. 9
NO CLASS (Monday section meets)
2. BIOMEDICAL ENHANCEMENT
Sept. 14
Documentary "Fixed" (watch before class)
Sept. 16
Michael Sandel - "The Case Against Perfection" [PDF]
3. LIFE EXTENSION
Sept. 21
Regina Rini - "The Last Mortals" [PDF]
Sept. 23
Nick Bostrom - "The Fable of the Dragon Tyrant" & "The Ethics of Life Extension"
4. EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM
Sept. 28
William MacKaskill - "Worms and Water Pumps" & "You are the 1 Percent"
Sept. 30
Amia Srinivasan - "Stop the Robot Apocalypse" [PDF]
5. ANIMAL SUFFERING
Oct. 5
David Foster Wallace - "Consider the Lobster"
Lori Gruen - "Eating Animals," pp. 1-9
Oct. 7
Lori Gruen - "Eating Animals," pp. 9-15
6. ESSAY 1
Oct. 12
NO CLASS (Columbus Day)
Oct. 14
Zoom Speaker
Essay 1 - Friday, Oct. 15: 5:00pm
II. CULTURE WARS
7. IN-CLASS FILM
Oct. 19
TBA
Oct. 21
TBA
8. POLITICAL TRIBALISM
Oct. 26
Thi Nguyen - "Escape the Echo Chamber" [PDF]
Oct. 28
Andrew Sullivan - "America Wasn't Built for Humans" [PDF]
9. POLITICAL BACKLASH
Nov. 2
Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt - "The Coddling of the American Mind" [PDF]
Nov. 4
Freddie deBoer - "When Good Political Arguments Go Bad"
Freddie deBoer - "A Materialist Alternative to Antiracism" [PDF]
10. TBA
Nov. 9
TBA
Nov. 11
TBA
11. TRANS EXCLUSION
Nov. 16
Ruth Padawer - "When Women Become Men at Wellesley" [PDF]
Amia Srinivasan - "What is a Woman?" (Philosophy Bites Podcast)
Nov. 18
Amia Srinivasan - "Does Anyone Have the Right to Sex?" [PDF]
12. BREAK
Nov. 23
Zoom Speaker
Nov. 25
NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)
13. EMOTIONAL LABOR
Nov. 30
Jess Zimmerman - "Where's My Cut? On Unpaid Emotional Labor" [PDF]
Metafilter thread on emotional labor
Dec. 2
Metafilter thread continued
14. ESSAY 2
Dec. 7
Zoom Speaker
Dec. 9
TBA
Essay 2 - Friday, Dec. 10: 5:00pm
Photo by Daniel Star
PH 150
Tues/Thurs
I. INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETIES
0. INTRODUCTION
Sept. 2
Introduction to the course
1. VACCINE MANDATES
Sept. 7
Peter Singer - "Why Vaccination Should be Compulsory" [PDF]
Ross Douthat - "How to Reach the Unvaccinated" [PDF]
Sept. 9
NO CLASS (Monday section meets)
2. BIOMEDICAL ENHANCEMENT
Sept. 14
Documentary "Fixed" (watch before class)
Sept. 16
Michael Sandel - "The Case Against Perfection" [PDF]
3. LIFE EXTENSION
Sept. 21
Regina Rini - "The Last Mortals" [PDF]
Sept. 23
Nick Bostrom - "The Fable of the Dragon Tyrant" & "The Ethics of Life Extension"
4. EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM
Sept. 28
William MacKaskill - "Worms and Water Pumps" & "You are the 1 Percent"
Sept. 30
Amia Srinivasan - "Stop the Robot Apocalypse" [PDF]
5. ANIMAL SUFFERING
Oct. 5
David Foster Wallace - "Consider the Lobster"
Lori Gruen - "Eating Animals," pp. 1-9
Oct. 7
Lori Gruen - "Eating Animals," pp. 9-15
6. ESSAY 1
Oct. 12
NO CLASS (Columbus Day)
Oct. 14
Zoom Speaker
Essay 1 - Friday, Oct. 15: 5:00pm
II. CULTURE WARS
7. IN-CLASS FILM
Oct. 19
TBA
Oct. 21
TBA
8. POLITICAL TRIBALISM
Oct. 26
Thi Nguyen - "Escape the Echo Chamber" [PDF]
Oct. 28
Andrew Sullivan - "America Wasn't Built for Humans" [PDF]
9. POLITICAL BACKLASH
Nov. 2
Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt - "The Coddling of the American Mind" [PDF]
Nov. 4
Freddie deBoer - "When Good Political Arguments Go Bad"
Freddie deBoer - "A Materialist Alternative to Antiracism" [PDF]
10. TBA
Nov. 9
TBA
Nov. 11
TBA
11. TRANS EXCLUSION
Nov. 16
Ruth Padawer - "When Women Become Men at Wellesley" [PDF]
Amia Srinivasan - "What is a Woman?" (Philosophy Bites Podcast)
Nov. 18
Amia Srinivasan - "Does Anyone Have the Right to Sex?" [PDF]
12. BREAK
Nov. 23
Zoom Speaker
Nov. 25
NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)
13. EMOTIONAL LABOR
Nov. 30
Jess Zimmerman - "Where's My Cut? On Unpaid Emotional Labor" [PDF]
Metafilter thread on emotional labor
Dec. 2
Metafilter thread continued
14. ESSAY 2
Dec. 7
Zoom Speaker
Dec. 9
TBA
Essay 2 - Friday, Dec. 10: 5:00pm
Photo by Daniel Star