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4609371: CF_Doing the Right Thing: On Practical Ethics (Lecture)

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Semester:WS 18/19
Type:Module
Language:English
ECTS-Credits:3.0
Scheduled in semester:1-6
Semester Hours per Week / Contact Hours:24.0 L / 18.0 h
Self-directed study time:72.0 h

Module coordination/Lecturers

Curricula

Bachelor's degree programme in Business Administration (01.09.2012)
Master's degree programme in Architecture (01.09.2014)
Bachelor's degree programme in Architecture (01.09.2014)
Cross faculty elective subjects (01.09.2014)
Master's degree programme in Information Systems (01.09.2015)
Master's degree programme in Finance (01.09.2015)
Master's degree programme in Entrepreneurship (01.09.2015)
Master's degree programme in Entrepreneurship and Management (01.09.2018)

Description

Philosophy is often and mistakenly taken as a discipline that has no relation to the real world. This course, centered around ethics in general, and practical ethics in particular, aims at deconstructing this false view about philosophy.
For practical ethics is the area of ethics that tries to analyze specific, concrete and controversial moral issues in order to provide the best (right?) answers. Indeed, as human beings, we are often confronted with real-life situations which require ethical analysis and orientation. For example:

  • Should animals be used for medical purpose?
  • Should one's privacy be violated for safety or security reasons?
  • Should some live wealthy while others die of hunger?
  • Should a citizen, even in a democratic setting, disregard his obligations towards the state?
In this course, we'll be asking how and to which extent ethical standards and principles can be applied to the above-mentioned concrete issues.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will be able to:

  • Familiarize with traditional and modern ethical theories.
  • Acquire knowledge of different fields of practical ethics
  • Understand how ethical theories can be applied to practical and concrete life-situations.
  • Formulate personal and well-articulated positions
  • Develop critical thinking.

Qualifications

Lectures Method

Lectures, written examination

Admission Requirements

  • A genuine interest in ethical issues
  • Attendance of the seminar "Fundamentals of Philosophy" is recommended.

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)


  • Michael Boylan (ed.), Environmental Ethics (John Wiley & Sons, 2nd edition, 2013).
  • David Miller, Political Philosophy. A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: OUP, 2003.)
  • Michael Huemer, The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the Duty to Obey (Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2013.)

Exam Modalities

Written examination (100%): Essay exam (2500 - 3000 words, specific criteria will follow, choice of topics will be announced on the

Sign in for the lecture series and the examination, separately.

Assessment

Passed / Failed

  • Course based on continuous assessment, details see under "assessment".
  • Written examination about lecture and the additional lecture as an exam essay.
  • The examination date of this irregular lecture: 12.12.2018 till 16.1.2019
> Sign in till 10.12.2018
> Topic will be announced 12.12.2018
> Hand in your essay 16.1.2019
  • There will be one repeat testing date - if requested - in summer semester 2019.

Comments

Cross-faculty elective subject:
Notice the special Multi-stage allocation process.

Exams

  • P-FU_Doing the Right Thing: On Practical Ethics (Lecture) (WS 18/19, bewertet)
  • P-FU_Doing the Right Thing: On Practical Ethics (Lecture) (SS 19, bewertet)