Professor: Allen Stairs
Skinner 1121A
301-405-5695
stairs@glue.umd.edu
Please Read Carefully. You are responsible for knowing the contents of the syllabus and acting accordingly.
As the title of the class suggests, we will be considering contemporary moral issues, as well as some broader questions about the nature and sources of morality. Our texts are: Morality in Practice, edited by James P. Sterba, a collection of stories by Raymond Carver, entitled Short Cuts, and some other materials that will be made available, perhaps at a very modest cost of about $1.50.
Since many of you will never have taken a philosophy course before, you need to have some idea what to expect. Philosophers analyze; they spend a lot of time asking what terms mean, what the unstated premises of arguments are and what relevance one thing has to another. Philosophers argue; they question assumptions and they give what sometimes seem to be very elaborate reasons for believing or not believing things. Philosophers are fussy; they like precise language and precise reasoning. And philosophers are dogged; they worry a point long after most people would have quit.
You can expect to have your opinions challenged in a philosophy class. If you don't like that, you won't like philosophy; there's no way around that. At the same time, you should feel entitled to challenge other people's opinions. The rules are: (1) don't get personal, and (2) be respectful.
You can also expect to be pressed to write well. Word choice matters; so does grammar. If you've picked the wrong word, or if you haven't said it grammatically, then you haven't said what you mean. Writing well and clearly is part of doing philosophy .
There are a few other basic rules that go with this course. I expect you to attend; philosophy is a skill acquired by doing it and seeing it done. If you need to leave early, let me know before. Getting up in the middle of class and simply leaving is rude . More generally, common courtesy is the rule.
Occasionally I have students come to me saying that they need a certain grade in order to graduate, or keep a scholarship or make their employer happy, or for any number of other reasons. Please understand: none of this is my problem. I will grade you fairly, based on what you accomplish -- on the quality of the work you give me. If the result is less than you need, that is not a reason for me to change it.
Occasionally I have students come to me, unhappy with a grade, who say that they worked very hard, and therefore deserve a higher grade. This is sloppy thinking. I am not grading you on your effort; I am grading you on your output. If you worked hard in a chemistry course and got a poor grade, you would hardly expect the instructor to see this as a reason for raising your grade. The same is true here. But there are things you can do to avoid such situations. You can follow instructions in assignments carefully. You can make sure that you write well. And you can let me know when you are having difficulty.
Internet. You MUST have internet access in this class. That includes email and space for a web page. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE. Each of you is entitled to a wam account. Go to any wam lab to register, then go to the computer library on the third floor of the computer and space sciences building to have your account activated. Announcements of various sorts and class notes will be posted on the list. And the most reliable way to reach me after hours is by email.
Each member of the class will be required to sign onto a computer list (an electronic discussion group) and should take advantage of the list to post notes offering your thoughts on various relevant topics from time to time. To join the list, send a message to
Leave the subject line blank. The message should read
(where you write your own name in the obvious place.).
To post notes to the list, send them to
or else use REPLY to answer a note already posted.
Assignments Each of you will be required to submit two short essays of 500 - 650 words. Because these pieces are short, I will be expecting a high degree of polish in the writing. For some or possibly all of them, I may require email or web submission.
We will be considering recent controversies having to do with abortion, the death penalty and gay rights. This means we will need actual information. Consequently, you will be called upon once or twice during the term -- with plenty of notice -- to report to the class on various aspects of the background to the issues we are discussing. This will prove useful because...
Each of you will construct a web page, meant to serve as a resource on one of the topics we discuss in class. Constructing web pages -- as some of you no doubt know already -- is not rocket science. Even if you write all of the code by hand, it is not difficult . The web page should provide information, organized clearly and attractively, a point of view, and appropriate links to other resources on the web. And it should take account of the fact that a good web resource is not an essay.
There will be a test in the middle of the course and a final exam. There will also be a term paper, written on a topic to be decided early in the course.
Each of you will also be expected to post to the class list at least once during the first three weeks of the course and at least once during the second three. Here "post" means write a note on some issue that is of relevance to the class. The topic need not be one that we are covering in class itself, and the note may be in response to something someone else has written. But the notes you post should be a serious attempt to contribute to the discussion.
The assignments will be weighted as follows:
Short essays: 20% (10% each)
Web page: 10%
Midterm: 20%
Term paper: 20% each
Final 20%
Participation: 10% (includes class presentations)
"Participation" here includes the above requirement about posting to the class list. It also includes such things as attending and coming to class reasonably well-prepared.
Readings
This list may be updated. but for the time being this should allow you to get a good head start on the material. Readings are from Sterba unless marked with a star or indicated as coming from Carver's collection of short stories. Starred readings will be provided either on the web or in photocopied form.
Note: I have not said exactly what day we will cover which reading. However, I have listed readings in the order in which I intend to cover them.
"Utilitarianism," John Stuart Mill*
"The Debate Over Utilitarianism," James Rachels*
"The Categorical Imperative," Immanuel Kant*
"A Simplified Account of Kant's Ethics," Onora O'Neill*
"A Defense of Abortion," Judith Jarvis Thomson
"On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion," Mary Ann Warren
"Abortion and the Concept of a Person," Jane English*
"Why Abortion is Immoral," Don Marquis
"A Feminist Defense of Abortion," Sally Markowitz
"A Utilitarian Theory of Punishment," Richard B. Brandt
"A Critique of the Humanitarian Theory of Punishment," C. S. Lewis
"The Retributive Theory of Punishment," Immanuel Kant*
"The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense," Ernest van den Haag*
"Classical Retributivism," Edmund Pincoffs
"Capital Punishment," Anthony G. Amsterdam*
"Homosexual Conduct is Wrong," John Finnis
"Homosexual Conduct is not Wrong, Martha Nussbaum
"A Case Against Homosexuality," Paul Cameron*
"Prejudice and Homosexuality," Richard Mohr
"Homosexuality's Legal Revolution," Carl F. Horowitz
"Gays in the Military: Between Fear and Fantasy
Stories from Carver:
"Vitamins"
"Cathedral"
"The Bath"
"A Small, Good Thing"
Check back often to see if there are any changes.
-Allen Stairs
stairs@glue.umd.edu