PHIL-2306-004: Ethics

SYLLABUS

*** F A L L     2 0 1 1 ***

 

General Information

Professor:   D. Andrew Christie
Course Name:   Ethics
Course Number:   PHIL-2306-004
Synonym:   36867
Semester:   Fall 2011
Day/Time:   Thursdays 7:05 - 9:55 p.m.
Campus/Room:   RGC RGC1 314

Contact Information

Voicemail:    223-1181
Email Address:   achristi@austincc.edu
Office Hours:    Thursdays: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. & By Appointment
Office Location:    RGC 3150

Course Description

Students will be introduced to the principles of morality through a critical examination of various ethical theories and their application to contemporary moral problems.

There are no course prerequisites for Ethics. A passing score or the equivalent on the reading and writing portions of the TSI/THEA test is required.

Course Materials

Required textbook: Ethical Theory: Classical & Contemporary Readings; 6th edition; Editor: Louis P. Pojman and James Fieser; Publisher: Wadsworth Cengage Learning

Instructional Methodology

The course will include lectures based on the selected readings in the required texts and class discussions of the moral issues and the ethical reasoning that support them. Two writing assignments, two exams (a midterm and final), plus some unannounced quizzes, will supplement the learning experience.

Course Rationale

One of the most distinctive things about human beings is that we are not simply determined by natural forces; we have the capacity to decide how to act. One of the greatest challenges for human beings is that along with the capacity to decide how to act comes the responsibility to do so rightly. Through the study of ethics one can gain greater insight into how to meet this responsibility successfully.

Course Objectives

Departmental Objectives/Outcomes

  1. Students will be able to read, think, and write critically with respect to Ethics.
  2. Students will understand several philosophically significant ethical theories.
  3. Students will be able to apply these theories to contemporary moral problems.

Course Evaluation/Grading System
Mid-Term Exam 20%
Quizzes 20%
Written Essays 20%
Attendance/Class Participation 15%
Final Exam 25%

Course Policies

Attendance

The student is responsible for information covered in class, whether present or not. This policy applies to course assignments and deadlines, including test dates, announced in class.

Withdrawal

Any student who has not attended class during the first two weeks of classes, and has not contacted the professor to make a case otherwise, will be withdrawn from class. After the second week it is the student's responsibility to take the necessary course of action to withdraw from the class if that is the student's intent. For information concerning important college dates, including the withdrawal date, please refer to ACC's Academic Calendar.

Incompletes

Incompletes are only granted in documented, extenuating circumstances.


Scholastic Dishonesty

"Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research, or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework." (Student Handbook, 2002-2003, p. 32)

Cases of scholastic dishonesty will be pursued according to the procedure set forth in the Student Handbook, “Student Rights and Responsibilities,” Section J, “Academic Dishonesty."

Please reference the Online Student Handbook covering Student Discipline Policy for more information.

Academic Freedom

Students have the right to believe whatever they happen to believe and, within the appropriate constraints that follow from the organization of a course and its class meetings, to express those beliefs. Grades will never be based on the beliefs that a student maintains, but only on the quality of the philosophical workperformed by a student in conjunction with the course.

Office of Students with Disabilities

"Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester." (Student Handbook, 2002-2003, p. 14)

For more specific class information, see Fall 2011 Ethics Class Calendar

To return to the professor's home page, see Home Page

This page was last updated 09/02/2011 18:00:00 by achristi@austincc.edu.