College of Eastern Idaho
Course Information:
Course Title:
Course Description
Credits:
Course Date:
Course Meeting Times:
Course Location:
Instructor:
Course Catalog Description:
Learning Outcomes:
Ways of Knowing Outcomes:
Spring 2019
PHI 103-02
Ethics
The purpose of this course is not for you to learn to regurgitate what you read
onto an exam, or to get you to think the way the instructor does, but rather to
help you better understand how you think and feel about moral matters in your
day-to-day life. Each of the sections we will cover over the course of this
semester will provide you with background information and different examples
to consider. From the readings and our discussions, you will pick out those
elements which help you to best explain your own thoughts. You will emerge
from this semester with a much deeper understanding of yourself and of your
own personal ethos.
3
1/07/2019-5/3/2019
T/Th 1:30 PM – 2:50 PM
Idaho Falls Main Campus, Creek Bldg 541
Dr. Shea K. Robison
office hours and location
shea.robison@cei.edu
Ethics is an examination of moral problems and study of the concepts,
principles, and theories used to clarify them. This course will include readings
in both classical and modern ethical theory, with emphasis on personal and
contemporary applications, especially ethics in the digital age. The course will
delve into the investigation and discussion of personal, social, and
professional moral issues and the principles and thinking skills used for their
resolution. Emphasis is on the development and application of reasoning skills
for decision making in the moral domain. This course provides awareness,
sensitivity, insights, and skills essential to the success and moral integrity of
the person in today's morally complex world.
1. At the end of the semester you will have an increased understanding of
important ethical theories and beliefs.
2. At the end of the semester you will have had experience with applying
different ethical approaches to your own understanding of the world.
3. At the end of the semester you will have enhanced your ability to critically
examine your own thoughts and motivations, and the thoughts and
motivations of others, in regard to ethical matters.
4. At the end of the semester you will have an enhanced appreciation of the
similarities and differences in how individuals and different cultures have
understood their ethical obligations both historically and today.
1. Recognize and describe humanistic, historical, or artistic works within
problems and patterns of the human experience.
 2. Perceive and understand formal, conceptual, and technical elements
specific to ethics.
3. Analyze, evaluate, and interpret texts, objects, events, or ideas in their
cultural, intellectual or historical contexts.
4. Develop critical perspectives or arguments about the subject matter,
grounded in evidence-based analysis.

General Education Outcomes: 1. Demonstrate effective oral and written communication

2. Demonstrate the ability to use critical thinking.
3. Be able to find, understand and critically use information
4. Be able to use technology effectively and appropriately.

Instructional Methods This course will culminate in a final paper detailing your answer to the Master
Question, and a roundtable discussion of the different answers people have
come up with for this question:

Master Question: “Do children have a right to be loved?”

You likely have already had a kneejerk response to this question just from
reading it on this syllabus. Although the answer to this question may seem
unquestionably obvious to you at this point, the material we will cover over the
course of this semester will provide many different perspectives on this issue
that you may not have considered, which may change the way you answer
this question in your final paper.

If you are concerned about this final paper because you are not
philosophically inclined, have not written a paper of this length before, or do
not feel qualified to write an academic paper of this kind, this course is
designed to walk you through the steps you will need to complete such a
project. In particular, the course is built around teaching you how to maintain a
Wiki page which will help you to keep track of all the information you will need
to write this paper. The wiki format will help you to keep track of the immense
array of facts and ideas we will accumulate more material over the course of
the semester, to identify the different ideas that you will need to make your
argument, and to structure your argument into a coherent paper.

In essence, if you read the readings, do the assigned activities, participate in

class, and ask any questions you have, you will be able to successfully
complete this project.

Required Course Materials

Textbook Title: Beginning Ethics: An introduction to moral philosophy
ISBN: 978-0190853013
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company

Textbook Title: Writing Philosophy: A Student's Guide to Reading and Writing Philosophy
Essays
ISBN: 978-0190853013
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Master Text (available from Liao, S. M. (2006). The right of children to be loved. Journal of Political
course Blackboard site) Philosophy, 14(4), 420-440.
Additional materials:
Technology:
Final Exam Date and Time
Grading and Assignments
Blackboard Activities (10%)
Due before class
Your Wiki (40%)
Weekly Reading Summaries
(10%)
Due every Sunday night.
Weekly Concept Updates
(10%)
Due every Friday night
Section Summaries (10%)
1,000-1,500 words
Due at the conclusion of each
section
Outline (10%)
(Rubric to be provided)
Final Paper (20%)
5,000-6,500 words
Links to additional readings will be provided on this syllabus or posted on the
course Blackboard site as needed
Many assignments will be submitted through Blackboard. To login the first
time, use your student ID.
mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm-hh:mm
Many readings will be accompanied by a short activity pertaining to the
reading, to be completed and submitted via the course Blackboard site. These
activities must be completed and submitted before the class period in which
the reading has been assigned. These activities will be open until 60 minutes
before class begins, and then will be unavailable. You will have one attempt to
submit these assignments, so be mindful.
A major part of this course will be the creation and maintenance of a Wiki
page, on which you will track the readings and discussions we have in class.
The Wiki format is uniquely suited to updating the material on an ongoing
basis, and for linking different things together so you can see the relations
between the people and the ideas we will discuss.
The main purpose of this Wiki is to help you keep track of the many different
philosophers and philosophical ideas we will cover, and to help you organize,
structure, and support the arguments you will need to make in your final
paper.
You will be provided with instructions and a guide for setting up your Wiki, as
well as instructions for how to update and maintain your Wiki over the course
of the semester. As long as you follow the schedule and keep up with the
assignments, maintaining this Wiki should not be difficult.
At the beginning of each week, you will post individual wiki pages for each
reading scheduled for the upcoming week, with an adequate summary of the
reading, any quotes you find useful from the reading, and update the Primary
Sources page of your Wiki with links to the pages for these readings.
After the last class session for each week, you will update your People,
Concepts, and Theories page with the descriptions of the important people,
concepts, and theories we discussed during that week, linking these
descriptions to the appropriate pages of your Wiki.
At the end of each section, you will submit a summary of the readings and
discussion for that section, detailing how they pertain to your answer to the
Master Question. In this way, these section summaries should contribute
substantially to your final paper.
You will also create individual pages for each summary on your wiki, with links
to the relevant readings and concepts, and post links to these summaries on
your Summaries page.
Over the course of the semester, you will be constructing an annotated outline
for your final paper, which will be posted on the Outline page of your wiki,
linking the entries in this outline with the relevant readings and concepts. The
wiki format will help you to keep track of an immense array of facts and ideas
as we accumulate more material over the course of the semester, to identify
the significant connections between different ideas that you will need to make
your argument, and to structure your argument into a coherent paper.
The final paper will be:
(Detailed rubric to be provided)
Final ‘Exam’ (10%)
Roundtable Discussion
Lightning Talks and Summaries
(10%)
Attendance & Participation (10%)
Grading Scale:
Course Policies:
Class Courtesy
A) Your critical response to the position taken in the master text, and
B) Your answer to the master question that you have developed over
the course of the semester.
If you are concerned about this final paper because you are not
philosophically inclined, you have not written a paper of this length before, or
you do not feel qualified to write a critique of an academic paper, this course is
designed to walk you through the steps you will need to successfully complete
a project of this magnitude. If you read the readings, do the assigned
activities, participate in class, and ask any questions you have, you will be
able to gather all the material you will need to write a quality final paper.
At the end of the semester, the class will engage in a roundtable discussion of
the question “Do Children Have a Right to be Loved?” You will be assessed
for the quality and the content of your participation in the discussion.
As an aid to improve your abilities to read and write at a university level,
students will periodically be assigned to give ‘lightning’ talks about different
sections of the book, Writing Philosophy. In these lightning talks, students will
have 3-5 minutes at the beginning of class to describe the main point of their
assigned section of the book, explain why this point is important, provide bad
and good examples, and answer questions.
After each lightning talk, on your Wiki you will post a ~100-word summary of
the main point, with an example of how or why this point is important for
critical reading or for your writing.
Lightning talk assignments will be made at random, with a week’s notice.
Attendance alone is not sufficient to do well in this class. Engagement with the
material and participation in class are also necessary. Attendance will be
assessed through actual attendance in class as well as completion of short
answer responses, pop quizzes, etc., which are assigned during class.
Participation can also take many forms (in other words it is not just about
raising your hand in class). A good rule of thumb is that by the end of the
semester I know more about you in relation to the class than just your name
and grade. These attendance and participation points are enough to move
your grade up or down by a whole letter grade.
A 95-100 Outstanding performance
A- 90-94 Superior
B+ 87-89 Excellent
B 85-86 Very good
B- 80-84 Good
C+ 77-79 Better than satisfactory
C 75-76 Satisfactory
C- 70-74 Below Satisfactory
D+ 67-69 May not pass requirements
D 66-65 May not pass requirements
D- 64-60 May not pass requirements
F 0-59 Not passing
I Incomplete
W Withdrawal (policy at CEI)
Open and respectful discussion is encouraged. Discourteous behavior is
discouraged. However, disagreement does not of itself equal disrespect. In
fact, occasional even spirited disagreements are to be expected and even
encouraged in a class such as this, as long as mutual respect can be
 maintained. However, malicious ad hominem arguments, personal insults, and
racist, bigoted, or otherwise discriminatory remarks will not be permitted.

Cell phones must be turned off or muted upon entering class. Surfing social
media and texting during class are disrespectful of the significant effort I have
spent in preparing for lecture and discussion, as well as distracting to the
students around you. Students on their phones during lecture and discussion
will be politely asked to put their phones away. Repeated violations will result
in an invitation to leave class.

People listening to music on headphones, reading newspapers, or other

similarly distracting behaviors will be courteously asked to desist or leave.

Attendance Policy Students are expected to attend all meetings or classes in which they are
registered. I reserve the right to take attendance and assign a grade for class
attendance at any time.

If you do not regularly attend class, you will miss key discussions and
assignments that will contribute substantially to your understanding of the
material, which will materially affect your final paper and impact your final
grade.

My priority as instructor is to ensure that lectures and class discussions are

both relevant and useful to you, so that you will actually enjoy attending class.
Even so, sometimes life happens, and you may choose or be forced by
circumstances to miss a class session. Either way, keep in mind that you are
still ultimately responsible for the material covered in class and for any
assignments that were given in your absence.

In the end, your attendance is up to you. If you believe your time would be
better spent somewhere other than class, you should be there instead of in
class. Still, if you do not attend class regularly you should not expect to earn a
good grade.

Late or Missed Assignments Late or missed assignments and tests will not be accepted unless prior
arrangements have been made with me, or you have a legitimate,
documentable reason. Final decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Academic Honesty Students are expected to submit their own original work for course credit,
unless otherwise stipulated. Any cheating, unauthorized copying, or plagiarism
that comes to my attention may result in a loss of credit for the assignment or
the course, and may be subject to further disciplinary action by the College. If
you have concerns about academic honesty regarding your own work or
someone else’s work, please speak with me or consult your Student
Handbook.

CEI Policies: Important Enrollment Deadlines (The following deadlines apply to full term courses)
First week of each term Mandatory attendance: students need to be in attendance to meet financial aid
requirements.
Friday of second week Student who does not attend any of their classes during the first 2 weeks will
be withdrawn from all courses and receive a “W” grade.
5pm Friday mm/dd/yyyy Last day to drop with a W for withdrawal. No failing grade on transcript.

Final Exam Policy:

Please note that rescheduling exams—if available—is only allowed in specific circumstances and requires
advanced planning.

Permanent College Transcript:

The grade you receive in this class will be recorded on your permanent college transcript and will follow you
throughout your college career. This grade can only be overridden by paying full tuition and retaking this same
course.

Students Rights and Responsibilities:

All CEI students should review policies that relate to student rights and responsibilities (link)

Americans with Disabilities Statement:

Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who have any emergency medical
information the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should
make an appointment with Disabilities Services as early as possible. The instructor should be notified of
accommodations no later than the first week of the term. Students may also wish to contact the CEI Disability
Services at 535-5314; (link)

CEI Non-Discrimination Policy:

The goal of the College of Eastern Idaho Community College is to provide an atmosphere that encourages our
faculty, staff and students to realize their full potential. In support of this goal, it is the policy of the CEI that there
will be no discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, disability, sex, marital status, national origin, ethnicity,
color, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, citizenship status, veteran status or
any other classes protected under Federal and State statues in any education program, activities or employment.
Persons having questions about equal opportunity and non-discrimination should refer to the website or catalog
(link)

Title IX Statement:
Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities. This includes
conduct such as: gender discrimination (includes males, females, transgender, gender identity, etc.), sexual
harassment, sexual assault, stalking, intimate partner/relationship violence, bullying and cyberbullying, retaliation,
the failure to provide equal opportunity in athletics and discrimination based on pregnancy. Persons having
questions about Title IX should contact Title IX Coordinator at (info)

Student Code of Conduct:

The student is expected to follow the CEI Student code of conduct found in the catalog and at (link)

General Education Statement

This course may fulfill the requirement for the General Education at the College of Eastern Idaho. It is designed
not only to teach information and skills required by the discipline, but also to develop vital workplace skills and to
teach strategies and skills that can be used for life-long learning. General Education courses teach basic skills as
well as broaden a student’s knowledge of a wide range of subjects. Education is much more than an acquisition of
facts; it is being able to use information in meaningful ways in order to enrich one’s life.

Basic Needs Security Statement

Any student who has difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe
and stable place to live, and believes this may affect their performance in the course, is urged to contact the
Center for New Directions for support. Furthermore, please notify the professor if you are comfortable in doing so.
This will enable him to recommend or provide any resources that he may have available.
 SCHEDULE OF TOPICS, READINGS, AND ASSIGNMENTS

The readings listed below are a tentative schedule. As the purpose of this class is not to merely cover a specific
quantity of material, but rather to engage thoroughly with the material, we will proceed at the pace of the class
according to my discretion. This means we may spend longer on certain readings, rearrange the sequence, or
even skip some readings, depending on the progress of the class.

This course is divided into major sections, each covering a different fundamental aspect of ethics. The readings for
each section will be from primary sources in Western ethical philosophy, as well as critiques of these theories and
other alternative perspectives. In this way, we will be able to look at these fundamental problems from a number of
different angles. Some of the readings will be brief excerpts which we will cover within a class period, while others
will be much more extensive, the discussion of which could stretch across multiple class periods.

Lectures and assignments for class Wiki assignments are listed on this
are listed on this side, in the expected order side in order relative to the in-class work

INTRODUCTION
The End from the Beginning
What we are going to be doing this semester
How to Wiki
Tu
Master Question: Do children have a right to be loved?
Master Text: Liao, S. M. (2006). The right of
children to be loved. Journal of Political
Philosophy, 14(4), 420-440.
Week
Ethics and the Moral Life
1
Chapter 4 “Moral Theories” pp. 78-88
Th BBA: Which of the major moral theories
makes the most sense to you? Why?
Discussion: How you are already a meta-
ethicist (but probably don’t know it)
Demonstration of how to create your:
Home wiki page
Primary Sources wiki page
People, Concepts, and Theories wiki page
Summaries wiki page
Outline wiki page
Create links on Home page to each page
Create the wiki page for this reading
Upload paper to the wiki page for this reading
Add entry for this reading to Primary Sources
Link this page to entry on Primary Sources
Create the wiki page for this reading
Add summary
Add any relevant quotes
Add entry to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to source
Create wiki pages for readings for week 2
Add summaries of readings
Add any relevant quotes
Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources

Reading: The metaethics of Spinoza

Week BBA: Does the absence of independent moral facts necessarily eliminate the utility of moral
Tu
2 language?
Discussion: Moral realism vs. anti-realism
Th Good and Bad Moral Arguments
 Reading: Chapter 3 “Moral Arguments” pp. 46-65
BBA: Why are nonmoral premises Create wiki pages for readings for week 3
necessary in moral arguments? Add summaries of readings
Add any relevant quotes
Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources
Reading: Chapter 3 “Moral Arguments” pp. 66-72
BBA: Describe a bad moral argument you have recently encountered? What kind of bad
Tu
argument was it?
Week
Discussion
3
Reading: The “Open Question” argument (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Th BBA: Give an example from your own life experience of an open question argument
Discussion
Create Wiki page for this summary
Section Summary: Given what we have discussed so far,
Add entry to Summaries, with abstract
do children have a right to be loved? Using material from the
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
readings and discussion, explain why or why not.
and Theories, with links back to your summary

Section Summary Discussion

Create Outline page on your Wiki
Tu
Workshop: Making your outline Make initial outline for final paper
Link entries in outline to relevant pages
Week Create wiki pages for readings for week 5
4 Add summaries of readings
Workshop: Reading Philosophy and Writing Add any relevant quotes
Th
Philosophy Papers Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources

WHAT IS RIGHT? HOW DO WE KNOW?

Custom and Emotion as Ethics
Readings: Chapter 2 “Relativism and
Emotivism” pp. 29-43; Emotivism and non-
cognitivism (Stanford Encyclopedia of
Tu Philosophy)
BBA: What is a moral fact that is objectively
true for you. How do you know this is true?
Discussion
Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil 197-203;
Week
Nietzsche's Critique of Religion and Morality
5
(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
BBA
Discussion Create wiki pages for readings for week 6
Th
Add summaries of readings
Add any relevant quotes
Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources
Reason and Virtue
Reading: “The Philosophical Importance of Update your Outline with information from
Week
Tu Moral Reasoning” 1.1-1.5 (Stanford previous week, making links to relevant entries
6
Encyclopedia of Philosophy) on other pages
 BBA:
Discussion
Reading: Chapter 11 “Virtue Ethics” pp. 155-
162
BBA:
Discussion Create wiki pages for readings for week 7
Th Add summaries of readings
Add any relevant quotes
Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources
Utility and Duty as Ethics
Chapter 6 “Utilitarianism” pp. 103-117 Update your Outline with information from
previous week, making links to relevant entries
on other pages
Tu
BBA: How could a utilitarian calculus be
applied to the Master Question?
Discussion
Chapter 7 “Kantian Ethics” pp. 120-129
Week
BBA: What role does (or should) duty play
7
as an answer to the Master Question?
Discussion Create wiki pages for readings for week 8
Th Add summaries of readings
Add any relevant quotes
Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources
Power as Morality?
Hobbes, Leviathan Chapter 13 Update your Outline with information from
previous week, making links to relevant entries
on other pages
Tu BBA: According to Hobbes, what is the
natural condition of mankind? How might
Hobbes answer the Master Question?
Discussion
Week
Chapter 5 “Ethical Egoism” pp. 92-102
8
BBA: What are the consequences of ethical Create wiki pages for readings for week 9
egoism for the Master Question? Add summaries of readings
Add any relevant quotes
Th
Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources
Discussion
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals I.10-13; Update your Outline with information from
Power and Value Creation (Stanford previous week, making links to relevant entries
Encyclopedia of Philosophy) on other pages
Tu BBA: What does Nietzsche get correct or
Week incorrect about the relation between power
9 and values?
Discussion
Spinoza, Ethics 3p1-3, 4D1-4D2, 4D8, 4p18-22;
Th Benedict De Spinoza: Moral Philosophy, 2.b-
2.b.i (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
 BBA: According to Spinoza, where does
power come from, and how can people get
more? How might this factor into an answer
for the Master Question?
Discussion Create wiki pages for readings for week 10
Add summaries of readings
Add any relevant quotes
Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources
Other Voices, Other Rooms
Chapter 10 “The Feminist Challenge” Update your Outline with information from
previous week, making links to relevant entries
on other pages
Tu
BBA: Is feminism in philosophy only about
women’s rights? Why or why not?
Week
Discussion
10
Carole Pateman, “Women and consent” (pp.
149-168)
Th BBA: What could a feminist perspective add
to your answer to the Master Question?
Discussion
Create Wiki page for this summary
Section Summary: Given what we have discussed so far, do Add entry to Summaries, with abstract
children have a right to be loved? Using material from the Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
readings and discussion, explain why or why not. and Theories, with links back to your
summary

Create wiki pages for readings for week 12

Add summaries of readings
Week Add any relevant quotes
Spring Break
11 Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources

Master Text
S. Matthew Liao “The right of children to be Update your Outline with information from
loved” (pp. 420-430) previous week, making links to relevant entries
Tu on other pages
BBA:
Discussion
S. Matthew Liao “The right of children to be
Week loved” (pp. 430-440)
12 BBA
Discussion Create wiki pages for readings for week 13
Th Add summaries of readings
Add any relevant quotes
Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources

ETHICS AND NATURE

In Theory
 Chapter 8 “Natural Law Theory” Update your Outline with information from
previous week, making links to relevant entries
Tu on other pages
BBA
Discussion
Samir Chopra, “Nietzsche’s Inversion of Natural
Law in The Genealogy of Morals” (See also the
Week primary text, On the Genealogy of Morals,
13 Second Essay)
BBA
Th Discussion Create wiki pages for readings for week 14
Add summaries of readings
Add any relevant quotes
Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources
Chapter 9 “Social Contract Theory”
Tu BBA
Discussion
Daniel Engster, “Care in the State of Nature”
(pp. 21-30)
Week BBA
14 Discussion Create wiki pages for readings for week 15
Th Add summaries of readings
Add any relevant quotes
Add entries to Primary Sources page
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources
Ethics and Biology
Douglas Allchin, “The evolution of morality” Update your Outline with information from
previous week, making links to relevant entries
on other pages
Tu
BBA: What are problems biologists face in
identifying certain behaviors as moral?
Week Discussion
15 Patricia Churchland, “The neurobiological
platform for moral values”
BBA: Is a neurobiological basis for ethics a
Th
cognitivist or non-cognitivist moral
perspective? Why?
Discussion
Create Wiki page for this summary
Add entry to Summaries, with abstract
Section Summary: What role does (or should) our
Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
understanding of biology play in our morals and ethics?
and Theories, with links back to your
summary

What are rights?

Readings: Anthony Langlois, “The Elusive Create wiki pages for readings for this week
Week Ontology of Human Rights”; Spinoza, Add summaries of readings
Tu
16 Theological-Political Treatise 16:1-5; Political Add any relevant quotes
Treatise 2:1-13 Add entries to Primary Sources page
 Add appropriate entries to People, Concepts,
and Theories page, with links back to sources
BBA
Discussion
Update your Outline with information from
Th Wrapping it all up previous week, making links to relevant entries
on other pages

Final Papers: “Do Children Have a Right to be Loved?”

Week
Final ‘Exam’
17
Roundtable: Do Children Have a Right to be Loved?