Ethics Minor

PHIL 342. Advanced Ethics. 3 Credits.

This course will examine contemporary (20th and 21st century) ethical theories as well as moral problems affecting societies around the world. Topics may include human rights, sexual ethics, ethical consumerism, and ways in which science and technology have affected moral deliberation and judgment. S, odd years.

PHIL 253. Environmental Ethics. 3 Credits.

The course centers on the way that ethics helps us to understand environmental issues. We examine a broad cross-section of environmental issues from a variety of traditional and contemporary ethical frameworks. Issues include sustainability, animal rights, energy consumption, habitat loss, biodiversity, land conservation, and pollution. Class members will explore such issues through case studies in a context of relevant ethical history and theory. Offered Fall every 3 years.

PHIL 355. Social and Political Philosophy. 3 Credits.

This course examines core issues in society and governance: the nature of justice, the limits of freedom, the role of religion, family and pluralism in the modern community, are a few examples of possible topics. Students in the course may examine both classical and contemporary theories of political society. Offered Fall every 3 years (2008).

PHIL 371. Philosophy of Law. 3 Credits.

An investigation of the nature of both law and legal reasoning. Study of the nature of law focuses on theories of natural law, legal positivism, and legal realism. Legal reasoning concerns justified interpretation of precedent and statute within the common law tradition. Additional topics dealt with as time allows, encompass such issues as the justification of punishment and enforcement of morality. S, even years.

PHIL 451. Current Topics in Political Philosophy. 3 Credits.

This course provides an in-depth study of the nature of citizenship, with special emphasis on how citizens deliberate collectively and individually. It focuses on questions of rationality, political activism, political education, and cosmopolitanism. Students will read classic and contemporary thinkers, and primary and secondary sources. Repeatable to 6 credits. On demand.

PHIL 450. Philosophy, Economics, and Politics. 3 Credits.

This course provides an introduction to the discipline sometimes called "political economy" and illustrates its connection to political philosophy in general. It focuses on the relationship between political and economic structures, with a special emphasis on the nature and problems of liberal capitalist democracies. Students will read classic and contemporary thinkers, and primary and secondary sources. Offered Spring every 3 years.