Blue Ridge Community College

Course Syllabus For

APPLIED ETHICS

Instructor Information
Nathaniel Goldberg
njg251@email.vccs.edu

Class Information
PHI 225-V04
Fall 2015

Course Description
Analyzes and discusses significant contemporary ethical issues and problems.

Student Performance Objectives

1. Students will learn to recognize, critically assess, and develop their own
arguments, premises, and conclusions.
2. Students will learn to communicate ideas clearly with adequate definition and illustration.
3. Students will learn and critically assess competing views in theoretical and applied ethics.

Evaluation and Requirements

1. Grades. Course grades will be determined as follows:
Percentage of Course Grade

Component
Questions & Answers about Readings & Lectures
Short Exam
Paper Topic
Paper Outline
Paper
Long Exam

10
20
5
5
25
35

There is no extra credit available.

2. Questions & Answers about Readings & Lectures. You are to post at least one
question about at least one of each weeks readings or lecture under the forum on
Blackboard for that week. You are to ask only questions whose answers you
actually want to know, which will help you prepare for the exams. Then you are to

post at least one answer each week to one of these questions. Likewise you are to give only
those answers that you actually think are correct, which will help others prepare for the
exams. You will be graded on effort not correctness, and I will correct answers (and answer
unanswered questions) as needed.
3. Short Exam. You are to take the short exam on Blackboard as scheduled below. I
will provide more information about this as the term progresses.
4. Paper, etc. You are to write a paper on any topic discussed in class that I approve.
You are to submit a Paper Topic and Paper Outline to me before submitting the
Paper itself. I will provide more information about this as the term progresses also.
5. Long Exam. This is the same as ]the short exam except that it is cumulative.

1 of 5

6. Grading Scale.
Letter Grade

Minimum Percentage for that Grade

A
B
C
D
F

90
80
70
60
0

Academic Honesty (Honor Code).

The functioning of an academic community depends on the integrity of all of its
members. Blue Ridge Community College values truthfulness, respect for the property
of others, and honesty in academic work. The Honor Code can be found
here: http://www.brcc.edu/Student/Catalog/academic/code.htm.
As a member of this community, you are responsible for understanding and adhering
to the Honor Code. Violations include (but are not limited to) cheating on tests and
quizzes, unauthorized collaboration on assignments, and plagiarism. Your instructor
is the ultimate source of policy on individual assignments; please consult him or her if
you have any questions or concerns about what is permitted.
Violations of the Honor Code may result in a grade penalty and/or disciplinary action.
For further information on your rights and responsibilities as a student, and the
disciplinary guidelines and procedures, please consult the Student Handbook
here: http://www.brcc.edu/Student/Handbook/policy/rights.htm. For information on
the
grade
appeal
procedure,
please
consult
the
Catalog
here: http://www.brcc.edu/Student/Catalog/academic/grades.htm.

Email Correspondence
To protect your privacy, please use your Blue Ridge Community College email account
to contact your instructors, or when you are conducting other business with BRCC.
Your instructors will use this address to contact you as well.

Disability Services
If you have a disability for which you wish to be considered for an accommodation,
please make an appointment with the Office of Disability Services located in the Houff
Student Center.
The purpose of providing accommodations is to ensure that students with disabilities
are granted the opportunity to access programs and services offered by the college.
Requested accommodations are considered on a case by case basis by the Coordinator
of Disability Services, who works with faculty to ensure both access and academic
standards are maintained. Students requesting services must meet with the Disability
Services Coordinator and provide sufficient documentation of the disability prior to
receiving accommodations. Accommodations are not retroactive and do not result in
modification of the essential academic elements of the course.

Course Text
LaFollette, Hugh. 2014. Ethics in Practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 4th edition.

2 of 5

Tentative Schedule
Each assignment is due at or before 11:59 pm on the date listed.
INTRODUCTION
Sun 30 Aug
Read:

Wed 2 Sep
& throughout

Theorizing about Ethics

Reading Philosophy
Listen: Lecture 1
Write: Any questions about the course (this is optional)

ETHICAL THEORY
Sun 6 Sep
Read:

Wed 9 Sep

Shaw, Consequentialism (essay 1)

McNaughton and Rawling, Deontology (essay 2)
Listen: Lecture 2
Write: At least one question about the readings or lecture
Write: At least one answer to someone elses question

Wed 16 Sep

Read:
Listen:
Write:
Write:

Hursthouse, Virtue Theory (essay 3)

Lecture 3
At least one question about the readings or lecture
At least one answer to someone elses question

** Sun 20 Sep

Due:

Short Exam **

EUTHANASIA
Wed 23 Sep

Read:

Sun 13 Sep

Sun 27 Sep
ANIMALS
Wed 30 Sep

Hooker, Rule Utilitarianism and Euthanasia (essay 4)

Beauchamp, Justifying Physician-Assisted Deaths (essay 5)
Listen: Lecture 4
Write: At least one question about the readings or lecture
Write: At least one answer to someone elses question

Singer, All Animals are Equal (essay 15)

Frey, Moral Standing, the Value of Lives, and Speciesism
(essay 16)
Listen: Lecture 5
Write: At least one question about the readings or lecture
Read:

3 of 5

(Fall Break)
Sun 11 Oct

Write:

At least one answer to someone elses question

FREE SPEECH
Wed 14 Oct
Read:

Sun 18 Oct

Mill, Freedom of Thought and Discussion (essay 35)

Brison, The Price We Pay? (essay 36)
Listen: Lecture 6
Write: At least one question about the readings or lecture
Write: At least one answer to someone elses question

WORLD HUNGER
Wed 21 Oct
Read:

Sun 25 Oct

Singer, Famine, Affluence, and Morality (essay 57)

Arthur, Famine Relief and the Ideal Moral Code (essay 58)
Listen: Lecture 7
Write: At least one question about the readings or lecture
Write: At least one answer to someone elses question

ENVIRONMENT
Wed 28 Oct
Read:

Sun 1 Nov

Sandler, The Value of Nature (essay 61)

Schmidtz, A Place for Cost Benefit Analysis (essay 62)
Listen: Lecture 8
Write: At least one question about the readings or lecture
Write: At least one answer to someone elses question

WAR AND TERRORISM

Wed 4 Nov
Read: Boyle, Just War Doctrine and Terrorism (essay 66)
Lackey, Nipping Evil in the Bud (essay 67)
Listen: Lecture 9
Write: At least one question about the readings or lecture
Sun 8 Nov
Write: At least one answer to someone elses question
FAMILY
Wed 11 Nov

Sun 15 Nov

English, What Do Children Owe Their Parents? (essay 20)

Rachels, Morality, Parents and Children (essay 21)
Listen: Lecture 10
Write: At least one question about the readings or lecture
Write: At least one answer to someone elses question

Read:

4 of 5

PUNISHMENT
Wed 18 Nov

Rachels, Punishment and Desert (essay 48)

(no second reading)
Listen: Lecture 11
Write: At least one question about the readings or lecture
Read:

(Thanksgiving Break)
Sun 29 Nov

Write:

At least one answer to someone elses question

** Wed 2 Dec

Take:

Long Exam **

PAPER
** Sun 6 Dec
** Wed 9 Dec
** Sat 19 Dec

Due:
Due:
Due:

Paper Topic **
Paper Outline **
Paper **

5 of 5