Ethics

Body modification is a way to control what is most intimately ours—our bodies.  At its best, it empowers us make choices about our own bodies, turning them into tattooed canvases, finely-honed athletic machines, or just safer and more pleasant places to live. At its worst, it is a tool that others can use to coerce us: controlling our ability to reproduce, forcing our bodies into uncomfortable shapes because society deems them “normal”, or pressuring us toward the costly and ultimately futile pursuit of beauty, youth, and thinness. This course explores the ethics of body modification, considering examples from tattooing to plastic surgery to athletic training to psychoactive drugs.

In this course, we will read, write, think, and talk about moral philosophy, focusing on Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and work by John Stuart Mill. We will work through our texts with care. We will conclude with a criticism of utilitarianism. (A) 

In this course, we will engage with one of the fundamental texts of practical philosophy, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. In addition to reading the text closely, we will critically discuss secondary literature, as well as contemporary attempts to revive and enlist Aristotle, with the aim of familiarizing ourselves with the work’s themes, understanding major fault lines in its interpretation, and appreciating its enduring significance. Topics to be considered include happiness and the good life, virtue, and practical reasoning. (A)

This course introduces students to philosophical debates about the foundations and methodology of economics as a field of study. Together we'll examine questions such as the following: What exactly is economics and what are its aims? Is the field defined by its subject matter or its methodology? Should positive economics be regarded as a value-neutral enterprise? Or does it inevitably need to make value-laden assumptions-about, for instance, rationality, well-being, distributive justice, etc.-that stand in need of justification? Should there be limits to what can be bought and sold on markets-and, if so, what should those limits be? Readings will include works by philosophers and economists. (A)

Decisions about medical treatment and medical policy often have profound and complex moral implications. This course will examine such issues as paternalism, autonomy, informed consent, assisted suicide, abortion, organ markets, genetic testing, and the definition of death. The primary teacher is a philosopher, but there will be guest lectures by physicians and medical lawyers. The goal is to have state of the art, interdisciplinary conversations. (A) 

Decisions about medical treatment and medical policy often have profound and complex moral implications. This course will examine such issues as paternalism, autonomy, informed consent, assisted suicide, abortion, organ markets, genetic testing, and the definition of death. The primary teacher is a philosopher, but there will be guest lectures by physicians and medical lawyers. The goal is to have state of the art, interdisciplinary conversations. (A)

An in-depth study of Benedict Spinoza’s major work, the Ethics, supplemented by an investigation of some of his early writings and letters. Focus is on Spinoza’s geometric method, the meaning of and arguments for his substance monism, his doctrine of parallelism, and his account of the good life.

In this course, we will read, write, think, and talk about moral philosophy, focusing on Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and work by John Stuart Mill. We will work through our texts with care. We will conclude with a criticism of utilitarianism. (A)

A study of the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant as presented in his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Critique of Practical Reason, Metaphysics of Morals, and Religion Within the Boundaries of Mere Reason. (A) (IV)

Immigration is quickly becoming one of the defining controversies of our age, and it is increasingly common for states to restrict the movement of people across borders. But should we say that nation states have the right to exclude non-members in the first place? If so, what is the basis of that right? If not, should we say that immigration controls of any kind are at odds with justice? And is there a compelling case for the exclusion of immigrants that depends on a commitment to preserving national culture or managing the demographics of a national population? As we'll see, these questions touch on fundamental issues in political philosophy: the nature of citizenship and its relationship to culture, the source of legitimate authority, the justifiability of state coercion, the content and justification of rights. Readings will be drawn from the contemporary philosophical literature on immigration. (A)