Schedule

·      The readings and assignments for a date should be completed by that date.

·      The book you’ll need is Today’s Moral Issues, 7th ed., (TMI), edited by Daniel Bonevac, available at the SMU bookstore. 

·      Additional readings are online; to access them, follow the links in the schedule below.

·      This schedule may be altered over the course of the semester.

F Jan 16   Individual morality, social justice

M Jan 19 MLK Day (no classes)

I. What should I do? What should laws allow me to do?

A. Moral theories

W Jan 21 Moral theories Read: TMI 19-21, 23-26, 37-38 (start at “The Categorical Imperative” and stop before “Rational Nature”). We will discuss the prolific inseminator and possibly also the minibar puzzle.

F Jan 23 More moral theories Read: TMI 43-45 (stop after #14 on 45), 55-58.

A. Offensive Speech and Censorship

M Jan 26  Is it wrong to cause offense? Read: Brooks, “I am not Charlie Hebdo”; Donohue, “Muslims are right to be angry”;  Saletan, “Hate speech hypocrites”; and TMI 223-225.

W Jan 28  Aristotle and Mill on limiting free speech  Read: TMI 165-166, 168-176.

F Jan 30 Do teenagers have a right to free speech?  Read: TMI 248-257.

B. Sexual ethics

M Feb 2  Is monogamy morally required?  Read: TMI 61-65, 73-76

W Feb 4 What counts as sexual harassment? Read: TMI 66-72

F Feb 6  Is there anything wrong with being gay? Read: Finnis, “Law, Morality, and Sexual Orientation”

M Feb 9  Judging and legislating gay behavior Read: Corvino “Born this way?”; and TMI 79-86

C.  Assisted Suicide

W Feb 11  Is it wrong to choose death?  Read: Egan, “Terminally ill woman…”; Hecht, “To live is an act of courage”

F Feb 13 Should assisted suicide be legal? (yes) Read: TMI 460-365

M Feb 16 Should assisted suicide be legal? (no) TMI 366-371

W Feb 18 EXAM I

II. When is inequality unjust? What should be done about it?

A. Economic inequality

F Feb 20 Inequality in America Read: TMI 540-553; Kristof, “When whites just don’t get it”

M Feb 23 The social contract account of justice  Read: TMI 492-496

W Feb 25 Libertarian justice Read: TMI 497-504

F Mar 27 What needs to be equal?  Read: TMI 516-519    

M Mar 2 What should be for sale? Sandel, “What isn’t for sale?”

B. Racial inequality

W Mar 4  Fixing racial inequality with affirmative action (for) Read: TMI 573-578

F Mar 6  Fixing racial inequality with affirmative action (against) Read: TMI 579-594

Mar 9, 11, 13 Spring Break

C. Marriage inequality

M Mar 16 In favor of gay marriage Read: TMI 106-111 

W Mar 18 Against gay marriage Read: TMI 112-118

F Mar 20  Should plural marriage be legal?  Read:  NYT Debate

D. Beyond our borders

M Mar 23 Against immigration and aid Read: TMI 616-620

W Mar 25 The benefits of immigration Read: TMI 621-630

F Mar 27 Immigrants’ rights Read: TMI 631-640

M Mar 30  Using the bodies of distant people Carney, “Inside India’s rent-a-womb business”; Deghan, “Kidneys for sale”.

W Apr 1 Should kidneys be for sale?  Read:  NYT Debate

F Apr 3 Holiday

M Apr 6  EXAM II

III. Extending rights to the fetus and to animals

A. Abortion

W Apr 8 Abortion facts and laws Read: TMI 292-296

F Apr 10  An argument for choice Read: TMI 297-306

M Apr 13 Thomson, continued

W Apr 15 An argument against abortion Read: TMI 318-325

F Apr 17 Was I once a fetus?  Read: TMI 342-349

M Apr 20  Abortion and the virtues Read: 327-332; we will discuss the movies Juno and Obvious Child.

B. Animals And Vegetarianism

W Apr 22  Animals in western thought Read:  just the Aristotle and Kant passages here.

F Apr 24  Equality for animals?  Read: TMI 123-129

M Apr 27 Rights for animals? Read: TMI 130-133

W Apr 29 No equality or rights for animals  Read:  TMI 134-142

F May 1 Is it wrong to eat meat?  Read: Norcross, “Puppies, pigs, and people”

M May 4  PAPER DUE

M May 11 EXAM III 8:00