All the readings for this class are freely available to students. In most cases, you can click on the link and then save the associated pdf to your device.
Unfortunately, the main text for this class (Suikannen) cannot be saved as a PDF because it is protected by DRM.
Three options for reading This is Ethics by Jussi Suikannen:
- Read online via your City Tech Library account. Just click on the links in the schedule to go to the correct page.
- Download the entire book for 21 days at a time (to a computer, phone, tablet, etc). To do this you will need to install a DRM capable e-reader app (Adobe Digital Editions or Bluefire Reader. I recommend Bluefire Reader). Go to the main page for the book and click on “Download Book.” Follow the prompts for your device, then open the downloaded file in your e-reader app. You will have to check out the book again after 21 days pass.
- Buy the book online.
|
Class |
Date |
Topic |
Reading |
|
1 |
8/28 |
Introduction |
 |
|
2 |
8/30 |
Pleasure |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Pleasure.” Ch. 1 in This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 3-20). |
|
3 |
9/6 |
 |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Pleasure.” Ch. 1, continued |
|
4 |
9/11 |
Well-being |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Happiness, Well-being, and the Meaning of Life.” Ch. 2 in This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 25-44). |
|
5 |
9/13 |
 |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Happiness, Well-being, and the Meaning of Life.” Ch. 2 continued. |
|
6 |
9/18 |
Egoism |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. Ch. 3a in This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 53-64). |
|
7 |
9/20 |
 |
Egoism, continued |
|
8 |
9/27 |
Contractarianism |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. Ch. 3b in This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 64-71). |
|
9 |
10/2 |
 |
Contractarianism, continued |
|
10 |
10/4 |
 |
Hardin, Garrett. 1968. “The tragedy of the commons.” Science 162 (3859): 1243-1248. (Read the whole article). |
|
11 |
10/10 [TUESDAY!] |
Utilitarianism |
Mill, John Stuart. 1865. “What Utilitarianism Is.” Ch. 2 in Utilitarianism, in the version by Jonathan Bennett* presented at www.earlymoderntexts.com. (Read pp. 4-17). |
|
12 |
10/11 |
 |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Consequentialism” and “Mill’s Argument for Utilitarianism.” In This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 80-90). |
|
13 |
10/16 |
 |
Singer, Peter. 1974. “All animals are equal.” Philosophic Exchange 5 (1). (Read the whole article). |
|
14 |
10/18 |
Kantian Deontology |
Kant, Immanuel. Selection from Chapter 2 of the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, in the version by Jonathan Bennett presented at www.earlymoderntexts.com. (Read from the first full paragraph on page 23 through page 30). Paper 1 thesis due. |
|
15 |
10/23 |
Midterm Review |
No reading |
|
16 |
10/25 |
Midterm |
No reading |
|
17 |
10/30 |
 |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Kantian Ethics” and “Counterexamples and Convergence.” In This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 90-106). |
|
18 |
11/1 |
 |
Writing Workshop. Paper 1 rough draft due. |
|
19 |
11/6 |
 |
Velleman, J David. 1999. “A Right of Self-Termination?” Ethics 109 (3): 606–28. (Read pp. 606-620). |
|
20 |
11/8 |
Virtue Ethics |
Aristotle. Nichomachean Ethics. Translated by W.D. Ross. Kitchener, ON: Batoche Books, 1999. Read Book I, Sections 1, 2, 4, 5, 7; Book X, Sections 1-2. |
|
21 |
11/13 |
 |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Virtue Ethics,” In This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 124-133). |
|
22 |
11/15 |
 |
Hursthouse, Rosalind. 1991. “Virtue Theory and Abortion.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 20 (3): 223-246. (beginning with the first full paragraph on page 233 (“As promised…”), read pp. 233-246) Paper 1 final draft due to Dr. MacDougall by midnight. |
|
23 |
11/20 |
Feminist Ethics |
Frye, Marilyn. 1983. “Oppression.” From The politics of reality: Essays in feminist theory. Berkeley: Crossing Press. (Read the whole article). |
|
24 |
11/27 |
 |
Feminist Ethics, continued |
|
25 |
11/29 |
 |
Wendell, S. (1989). “Toward a feminist theory of disability.” Hypatia, 4(2), 104–124. (Read the whole article). |
|
26 |
12/4 |
Subjectivism and Relativism |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Subjectivism” and “Relativism” In This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 141-151). |
|
27 |
12/6 |
Divine Command Theory |
Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Divine Command Theory” and “The Euthyphro Dilemma.” In This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 151-158). |
|
28 |
12/11 |
 |
Paul, Pope John. 1995. Encyclical letter Evangelium vitae. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. (Read sections 53-56, beginning on page 42). |
|
29 |
12/18 |
Final Review |
No reading |
|
30 |
12/20 |
Final Exam |
No reading |
