ETHICS (Phil 2306)
Unit1 | Introduction to the Philosopher's Way and Learning with Dr. A.
How will I learn in this class?
What does "philosophy" refer to?
What does philosophy have to do with being a strong-sense critical thinker?
Unit 2 | Introduction to Meta-Ethics
What is is the origin and status of morality?
What does "good" refer to? What does "evil" refer to?
What does culture have to do with the reality of morality and the meaning of ethical concepts?
What does religion have to do with the reality of morality and the meaning of ethical concepts?
What does evolution have to do with the reality of morality?
Unit 3 | Introduction to Moral Argument
What is an argument? What distinguishes moral arguments from other arguments?
Why do I need to develop basic skills in logic when I am taking an ethics course?
Unit 4 | Introduction to Normative Ethics
What does it mean to say an action is obligatory, optional, or wrong?
On what basis might one recommend principles or rules for making decisions of moral signficance?
On what basis might one recommend particular virtues in the cultivation of character?
How might some link consequences to rules and principles for action?
How might someone link duty to rules and principles for action?
How might someone link virtue to rules and principles for action?
Unit 5 | Applied Ethics Presentations
Given that I teach ethics at a campus hosting health-related degrees, I focus on issues of human life when it comes to applied ethics. Students, in teams of two or three will use skills and knowledge fostered throughout the semester to present reasponses to real-life cases of moral signficance as it relates to the following contemporary moral issues:
- Cloning
- Genetic Enhancement
- Stem Cell Research
- Reproductive Technologies
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Euthanasia
- Physician Assisted Suicide
- Health Care
LOGIC (Phil 2303)
Unit1 | Introduction to Logic
How does one learn logic (with Dr. A.)?
How is Logic related to philosophy and critical thinking?
What are some of the core concepts of logic?
Unit 2 | Analyzing Ordinary English Arguments
What distinguishes arguments from nonarguments?
How can I improve my ability to identify, critique, and construct arguments in general?
What is a well crafted argument?
How can I learn to map the structure of someone's reasoning in a more intuitive manner?
Unit 3 | Recognizing, Analyzing, and Evaluating Inductive Arguments
What are some common inductive forms?
What questions can I ask to critique such arguments?
Unit 4 | Recognizing, Analyzing, and Evaluating Categorical Arguments
What is statement logic?
What makes a statement categorical?
What is a categorial syllogism?
What does a well crafted categorical syllogism look like?
Unit 5 | Analyzing and Evaluating Deductive Arguments with Truth Tables and Proofs
What are some methods I can use to test arguments for validity?
Unit 6 | Recognizing and Analyzing Informal Fallacies
What is the difference between a formal fallacy and an informal fallacy?
What are some of the most common informal fallacies?
INTRODUCTION TO PHIL (Phil 1301)
Unit1 | Introduction to the Philosopher's Way and Learning with Dr. A.
How will I learn in this class?
What does "philosophy" refer to?
What does philosophy have to do with being a strong-sense critical thinker?
Unit 2 | The Metaphysician's Way
What does "self" refer to?
What is the nature of self?
How is my concept of self related to my concept of idenity?
Is it possible to remain the same
self through out space and time?
Is the self an illusion?
Unit 3 | The Metaphysician's Way
What does "freedom" refer to?
What conditions must be met for a decision or action to be free?
How are my concepts of choice, individuality, and responsibility realted to my concept of freedom?
Unit 4 | The Epistemologist's Way
What is the link between appearance, reality, and the truth?
Given the dynamics of perception formation and belief formation, how certain can we be that anyone has access to the "truth" about reality?
If truth is elusive, is genuine knowledge possible?
What does "truth" refer to? What does "knowledge" refer to?
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