Course Goals and Organization

Philosophy 2

Moral & Political Philosophy

Mr. Graves

 

This course provides an introduction to philosophy through a study of two of the major areas traditionally identified as within the province of philosophy.  It is a philosophy course, so it will seek clarity, precision, and thoroughness. However, it is also a one-semester, introductory course; so our intention will be to discover, rather than to exhaustively examine, the issues and methods presented. 

 

The following is a very basic description of what we will attempt to achieve in this class, and some of the means by which we will attempt to achieve it. 

 

       Basic Course Objectives

 

The course will aim to develop:

 

1.   A working grasp of some of the goals, tools, areas, issues, approaches, and processes of philosophy;

 

2.   An appreciation for the asking of philosophical questions, and for the seeking of answers through critical and imaginative reflection, and through systematic inference and abstraction;

 

3.   A fundamental sense of the necessity for, difficulties of, and consequences arising from, working through ethical and political problems, for individuals and communities;

 

4.   A number of skills, including reflection, questioning, analyzing, organizing, interpreting, creative imagining, and presenting information -- both orally and in writing -- in a full, clear, precise manner;

 

-through a study of selected ethical perspectives and problems.

 

       Basic Course Organization

 

The course will be comprised of four main sections, which we will complete in the order listed below:

 

1.   A brief introductory exploration of the tools of philosophy -- particularly logic and argumentation;

 

2.   An examination of the types of ethical theories underlying the work of (applied) ethics:

                  a. Absolutist/Relativist;

                  b. Action-based/Virtue-based;

                  c. Deontic/Consequentialist;

                  d. Rationalist/Empiricist.

 

3.   A study of some fundamental political theory as it has evolved in the West:

 

                  a. Democratic/Undemocratic/Antidemocratic;

                  b. Contract Theory.

 

4.   An investigation of one or more classic and contemporary ethical/political problems.

 

       Basic Course Approach

 

The course will involve:

 

1.   Analysis of arguments we study, and of the perspectives from which they come;

 

2.   Honest reflection on ideas, arguments, and perspectives offered;

 

         3. Practice on refinement of appropriate skills, through --

 

         4. Participation in all phases of coursework.