Reading Assignments for Spring 2007 PHI 238 Version 1.0

01/15  Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday - No Class

01/17  Class orientation, syllabus and class policies

01/19  History of Philosophy and subfields in Philosophy

01/22  Arguments and Argumentation in Moral Philosophy

01/24  Fallacies

01/26  Ethical Traps: False Friends

01/29  Ethical Theories: Chart

01/31  Review for initial exam (WebCt online)

02/02  Chapter 6: Drug and Alcohol Use (Introduction)

02/05  Web Materials

02/07  Szasz “The Ethics of Addiction”

02/09  Wilson “Against the Legalization of Drugs”

02/12  Discussion of Initial Project and workshop on initial set of arguments

02/14  Case Studies

02/16  Chapter 5: Punishment and the Death Penalty (Introduction)

02/19  Web Materials

02/21  Van Den Haag “Defense of Capital Punishment”

02/23  Bedau “Capital Punishment” (longer reading)

02/26  Case Studies

02/28  Chapter 9: Racism and Affirmative Action (Introduction)

03/02  Web materials

03/05  Johnson: To Fulfil These Rights and The Great Society Speech

03/07  Steele “I’m Black, You’re White”

03/09  Case Studies

03/12  Spring Break - No Class

03/14  Spring Break - No Class

03/16  Spring Break - No Class

03/19  Chapter 10: Feminism, Motherhood and the Workplace (Introduction)

03/21  Web materials: Pay Equity

03/23  Dowd “Work and Family”

03/26  Web Materials: Women and Violence

03/28  Case Studies

03/30  Chapter 7: Sexual Intimacy and Marriage (Introduction)

04/02  Web Materials

04/04  Ruse “Is Homosexuality Bad Sexuality?”

04/06  Nava and Dawidoff “A Case for Gay Marriage”

04/09  Case Studies

04/11  World Hunger: Web Materials from Ethics Update (Peter Singer “Global Ethics”)

04/13  Henry Shue “A Conversation about World Hunger and Human Rights” and Hunger 2006

04/16  Amartya Sen “Public Action to Remedy Hunger”

04/18  12 Myths about Poverty and Hunger

04/20  Chapter 12: Nonhuman Animals and the Environment. Introduction

04/23  Regan “Moral Basis for Vegetarianism”; Videos

04/25  Warren “Power and Promise of Ecological Feminism”

04/27  Video: Women of the Canopy

04/30  Case Studies

05/02  Overview and catch up day for the semester

05/04  Review for Final Exam

Final Exam will be scheduled in accordance with the Final’s matrix located in the Course Schedule for Spring 2007.

This schedule is for the reading assignments for the semester. Writing assignments will be announced in class. Look for the due dates for these assignments on the assignment sheet. These will also be posted for the course website.

There will also be periodic WebCt quizzes throughout the course of the semester. You are required to check WebCt for these. The due dates for these WebCt quizzes will be posted on WebCt.

For page numbers, consult the Table of Contents in the Boss anthology. Some of this material is only available on my website. (Check syllabus for the link [www.philosophy.ilstu.edu/ljwaggl/] Check the link entitled “Links to Topic Resources”. This is divided by topic. Consult this link often as the course progresses. Additional material will be made available there.

If you have any trouble accessing these links, please advise. My email address is ljwaggl@ilstu.edu

Please note that I am tentatively considering scheduling a midterm exam just before spring break. Regular work with the WebCt quizzes will greatly enhance your chances in success on this tentative exam.

Case study dates are in-class discussion days. These are obligatory and participation therein is evaluated for a component in your overall grade.