Intro to Ethics
PH 150
M/W/F: 10:10-11:00
Download Full Syllabus
I: TECHNOLOGY AND GLOBALIZATION
1. PROGRESS AND TECHNOLOGY
Sept. 4
Introduction to the course
Sept. 6
No reading
2. SOCIAL MEDIA
Sept. 9
Jia Tolentino - "What It Takes to Put Your Phone Away"
Sept. 11
Jia Tolentino - "The I in Internet"
Sept. 13
Jia Tolentino continued
3. BIOMEDICAL ENHANCEMENT
Sept. 16
Documentary "Fixed" (watch before class)
Sept. 18
Allen Buchanan - "Will the Rich Get Biologically Richer?"
Sept. 20
Allen Buchanan continued
4. LIFE EXTENSION
Sept. 23
Regina Rini - "The Last Mortals"
Sept. 25
Nick Bostrom - "The Fable of the Dragon Tyrant" & "The Ethics of Life Extension"
Sept. 27
Nick Bostrom continued
5. EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM
Sept. 30
William MacKaskill - "Worms and Water Pumps" & "You are the 1 Percent"
Oct. 2
Amia Srinivasan - "Stop the Robot Apocalypse"
Oct. 4
Amia Srinivasan continued
6. ANIMAL SUFFERING
Oct. 7
David Foster Wallace - "Consider the Lobster"
Oct. 9
Lori Gruen - "Eating Animals"
Oct. 11
Lori Gruen continued
7. ESSAY HELP
Oct. 15
NO CLASS (Tues section meets)
Oct. 16
No reading
Oct. 18
No reading
II: SEXISM AND TRIBALISM
8. Gender, Identity and Sex I
Oct. 21
NO CLASS
Oct. 23
The Gay Rights Revolution (no reading)
Oct. 25
The Gay Rights Revolution (no reading)
9. Gender, Identity and Sex II
Oct. 28
Ruth Padawer - "When Women Become Men at Wellesley"
Oct. 30
Amia Srinivasan - "What is a Woman?" (Philosophy Bites Podcast)
Nov. 1
Amia Srinivasan continued
10. Gender, Identity and Sex III
Nov. 4
Rachel Syme - "Selfie"
Nov. 6
Amia Srinivasan - "Does Anyone Have the Right to Sex?"
Nov. 8
Amia Srinivasan continued
11. Backlash
Nov. 11
Freddie deBoer - "When Good Political Arguments Go Bad"
Nov. 13
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt - "The Coddling of the American Mind"
Nov. 15
Lukianoff and Haidt continued
12. Political Tribalism
Nov. 18
David Roberts - "Donald Trump and the Rise of Tribalist Epistemology"
Nov. 20
Andrew Sullivan - "America Wasn't Built for Humans"
Nov. 22
Andrew Sullivan continued
13. Online Classes
Nov. 25
TBA
Nov. 27
TBA
14. Emotional Labor
Dec. 2
Jess Zimmerman - "Where's My Cut? On Unpaid Emotional Labor"
Metafilter thread on emotional labor
Dec. 4
Metafilter thread continued
Dec. 6
Metafilter thread continued
15. TBA
Dec. 9
TBA
Dec. 11
TBA
Photo by Daniel Star
PH 150
M/W/F: 10:10-11:00
Download Full Syllabus
I: TECHNOLOGY AND GLOBALIZATION
1. PROGRESS AND TECHNOLOGY
Sept. 4
Introduction to the course
Sept. 6
No reading
2. SOCIAL MEDIA
Sept. 9
Jia Tolentino - "What It Takes to Put Your Phone Away"
Sept. 11
Jia Tolentino - "The I in Internet"
Sept. 13
Jia Tolentino continued
3. BIOMEDICAL ENHANCEMENT
Sept. 16
Documentary "Fixed" (watch before class)
Sept. 18
Allen Buchanan - "Will the Rich Get Biologically Richer?"
Sept. 20
Allen Buchanan continued
4. LIFE EXTENSION
Sept. 23
Regina Rini - "The Last Mortals"
Sept. 25
Nick Bostrom - "The Fable of the Dragon Tyrant" & "The Ethics of Life Extension"
Sept. 27
Nick Bostrom continued
5. EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM
Sept. 30
William MacKaskill - "Worms and Water Pumps" & "You are the 1 Percent"
Oct. 2
Amia Srinivasan - "Stop the Robot Apocalypse"
Oct. 4
Amia Srinivasan continued
6. ANIMAL SUFFERING
Oct. 7
David Foster Wallace - "Consider the Lobster"
Oct. 9
Lori Gruen - "Eating Animals"
Oct. 11
Lori Gruen continued
7. ESSAY HELP
Oct. 15
NO CLASS (Tues section meets)
Oct. 16
No reading
Oct. 18
No reading
II: SEXISM AND TRIBALISM
8. Gender, Identity and Sex I
Oct. 21
NO CLASS
Oct. 23
The Gay Rights Revolution (no reading)
Oct. 25
The Gay Rights Revolution (no reading)
9. Gender, Identity and Sex II
Oct. 28
Ruth Padawer - "When Women Become Men at Wellesley"
Oct. 30
Amia Srinivasan - "What is a Woman?" (Philosophy Bites Podcast)
Nov. 1
Amia Srinivasan continued
10. Gender, Identity and Sex III
Nov. 4
Rachel Syme - "Selfie"
Nov. 6
Amia Srinivasan - "Does Anyone Have the Right to Sex?"
Nov. 8
Amia Srinivasan continued
11. Backlash
Nov. 11
Freddie deBoer - "When Good Political Arguments Go Bad"
Nov. 13
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt - "The Coddling of the American Mind"
Nov. 15
Lukianoff and Haidt continued
12. Political Tribalism
Nov. 18
David Roberts - "Donald Trump and the Rise of Tribalist Epistemology"
Nov. 20
Andrew Sullivan - "America Wasn't Built for Humans"
Nov. 22
Andrew Sullivan continued
13. Online Classes
Nov. 25
TBA
Nov. 27
TBA
14. Emotional Labor
Dec. 2
Jess Zimmerman - "Where's My Cut? On Unpaid Emotional Labor"
Metafilter thread on emotional labor
Dec. 4
Metafilter thread continued
Dec. 6
Metafilter thread continued
15. TBA
Dec. 9
TBA
Dec. 11
TBA
Photo by Daniel Star