5510735: FU_Contemporary ethical debates

Description

To practice philosophy means to engage with fundamental and complex issues about human life and society at large. This course will be looking into four contemporary issues discussed among ethicists and political philosophers: animal experimentation, euthanasia, immigration, and world poverty.
- Animal experimentation: Should experiments be practiced on animals? What are the philosophical positions regarding this issue? How are those positions justified?
- Euthanasia: How to justify at all the practice of euthanasia in light of the principle of sanctity of life? What arguments are pro-euthanasia putting forth to justify their position?
- Immigration: how to understand the issue of immigration in the context of sovereignty of states and freedom of movement of individuals? On which arguments are based the positions on open and/or closed borders?
- World poverty: How to understand world poverty in the context of global justice? Is world poverty a consequence of unjust distribution? Do wealthy people have obligations to assist the poor?

Lecture Goals

Participants will be able to:

• Familiarize with the philosophical methods and approaches to deal with these complex issues.
• Relate the theoretical standpoints to practical issues.
• Understand the questions raised by these issues of concrete life-situations.
• Develop critical thinking.
• Formulate personal positions and arguments supporting it.

Lectures Method

Presentations, reading assignments, discussions and a written examination (Essay).

In order to be well prepared to write the final Essay, students are highly recommended to attend at least two of the following assignments:

• 25.02.2023: Written commentary on two texts chosen by the lecturer
• 04.03.2023: Written commentary on two texts chosen by the lecturer
• 11.03.2023: Written commentary on two texts chosen by the lecturer
• 18.03.2023: Written commentary on two texts chosen by the lecturer

Admission Requirements

No prior knowledge on philosophy is required. But participants should have a genuine interest in these four issues.

Literature

Simon Blackburn, Ethics: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: OUP, 2001).

Andrew I. Cohen, Christopher H. Wellman, Eds. Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005).

Peter Singer, Practical Ethics, 3rd Ed. (Cambridge: CUP, 2011).

Recommended literature:
Relevant Web-resources and academic articles (for each topic) will be available on Moodle.

Comments

Fakultätsübergreifendes Wahlfach:
Es gelten spezielle Anmeldemodalitäten.