| Unit name | Ethics |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHIL20011 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Finn Spicer |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
PHIL10005 Introduction to Philosophy A, PHIL10006 Introduction to Philosophy B. |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Philosophy |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The course provides an introduction to the main topics discussed in systematic moral theory over the last thirty years. It focuses on whether the main structural features of commonsense morality are defensible, or whether, as many have argued, ordinary moral thinking is seriously mistaken. It also examines a moral theory called utilitarianism, which says, very roughly, that the right act is the one that will best promote people's interests. Many of the challenges to commonsense morality have their sources in utilitarian thinking, and utilitarians have argued that commonsense morality is seriously mistaken. But utilitarianism itself has been the subject of an enormous amount of criticism, and the course will examine these criticisms and ask whether they can be used to generate a defense of commonsense morality.
