An Introduction to Philosophy and Ethics

An introduction class with an emphasis in ethical thought.
Develops skills in reading comprehension and in writing essays.

To register for a class  you will need to contact me at either finchja@fidmail.com or finch.jonathan@gmail.com to make sure I have room or more specifically the time for another student.  Given my other work demands I have restrcited the number of students at any given time to twenty.  If I do not have room I will put you on a wait list and add students in the order of their requests, first come, first served.

Estimated Price of Books on Feburay 22nd, 2008, $73.00, does not include shipping as this can vary, texts must be ordered seperately from registering, the correct texts are linked in the Required Book section for an Introdcution to Philosophy on the right hand side of the web page.

The class will still begin with the rise of philosophy and science and a lesson on Socrates before looking at Aristotle’s ethical system. From there the class will continue moving through history to the skeptical Hume and then on to Mill and his theory of ethics before concluding with some contemporary philosophy. Half of the assignments will be on philosophical questions in general and half will cover three different ethical systems. The class is thus a heavier in focus on ethical theories than the straight introduction to philosophy. By the end of the class the student will learn to read and follow philosophical arguments from six different thinkers, have a good general knowledge of flow of philosophical thought, a significant exposure to some of the more important ethical theories and a greater appreciation of philosophy. This is probably the toughest class of three in terms of the reading required and makes a very good complement with the class on Plato’s Republic though the class on Plato should probably be taken first.

Detailed Course of Study

Many colleges and universities are now requiring at least a class or two in ethics as part of the general education requirements. This class provides a greater focus on ethics than a typical introduction to philosophy but still treats the broader subject of philosophy in addition to the enhanced ethical study. Five of the nine reading and study packets will provide a short historical approach to ethics; the remaining four will deal with issues in metaphysics and questions in epistemology making for a blended course of ethics and some basic philosophy.

Course Structure and Assignments

Final Grades and the Assessment Option

If the student likes the ideas of being given a mock college grade the traditional, 90% or higher is an A, 80% or higher is a B, 70% or higher is a C, 60% or higher is a D and less than 60% is a F, can easily be applied. Mock grades do not have to be assigned; it is up to the student. In weeks one through nine you will have two assignments each week, a set of multiple choice questions and an essay. If a mock grade is desired the multiple-choice questions will be worth 20% of the final grade, the weekly essays worth 60% of the final grade and the final exam will be worth the remaining 20%. In terms of a 500 point semester the final exam would be worth 100 points, the essay questions worth 300 points and the multiple choice questions worth 100 points.

The weekly essays and the final exam will be graded in terms of completeness, errors and omissions. When I grade essays I start off by assuming that everyone has a 100% and then take off points for failing to completely answer each part of the question, mistakes and omitting any part of the question.

Required Texts

Before and After Socrates, by F.M. Cornford, Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 0-521-09113-6.

Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle, translated by Terence Irwin, Hackett Publishing, 1999 ISBN: 0872204642.

Utilitarianism, by John Stuart Mill, Hackett Publishing, 2nd 2001 edition ISBN: 0-87220-605-X.

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, by David Hume, edited by Eric Steinberg, Hackett Publishing, 2nd edition, 1993, ISBN: 0-872-20229-1.

Some Thoughts on Thinking, by Jonathan Finch, University Press of America, 2002, ISBN: 0-7618-2315-8.