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PHIL 1103 Introduction to Ethics

Sponsoring Institution: University of Idaho

3 Credits

Instructor Information

Course Instructor: Bryce Blankenship

• Email:  bblankenship@uidaho.edu

• Copy the ISI office at indepst@uidaho.edu on all communications. 

Bryce Blankenship is a Senior Instructor of Philosophy in the Department of Politics and Philosophy. He has been with the department for 14 years and is constantly inspired and excited to offer the world of philosophy to students. He encourages critical analysis, clear communicating, and engaged thinking.

Course Description 

Introduction to philosophical reasoning through historical study of Western moral thought. This is a course in ethical thought throughout the world. There are no prerequisites to this course.

The word "philosophy" literally means the love of wisdom. To be a philosopher is to care about wisdom, to care about developing a deeper understanding of ourselves, our communities, and the world. When we study philosophy we seek a deeper understanding of what it is to be a human being, to uncover the very heart of who we are and what we value in order to live wisely.

And discovering what we value, what really matters to us is important because our thoughts and actions express what we value, and those thoughts and actions impact ourselves and others.

In this class, students will explore ethical traditions through course themes including:

• The ethics of virtue and character in contrast to ethics based on principle or rules
• The summum bonum: What is the best life or the highest good?
• Human nature
• The roles of reason and emotion in ethics
• The roles of motives and consequences in ethics
• Universality and particularity
• Absolutism/universalism and relativism

U-Idaho students: May be used as core credit in J-3-d.

Course Learning Outcomes 

Throughout this course, students will:

• Improve their understanding of the historical foundations of Western and Eastern ethical traditions.
• Learn to assess strengths and weaknesses of ethical theories.
• Improve their ability to evaluate questions of virtue and moral character.
• Improve their ability to analyze an ethical position or problem in writing.
• Improve their ability to read original source material and find the main ideas.
• Make connections between this course and other courses, as well between this course, their lives, and the world beyond.

Required Materials 

• Rachels, James, 1941-2003; Rachels, Stuart, University of Alabama. The Elements of Moral Philosophy, 7th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2012. ISBN-10: 0078038243 ISBN-13: 9780078038242
• Weston, Anthony. A Practical Companion to Ethics. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN10: 019973058X ISBN13: 9780199730582

Please note: in order to save money, you are welcome to use older versions of the listed texts (back to Edition Four in Rachels and Edition Three in Weston). It will be up to you to properly adjust the required reading's page numbers.

Recommended Course Materials

In your lesson PDFs, which are found in your Modules in Canvas, there are URL's pointing to additional readings. Each URL is followed by parenthetical instructions:

• Required reading: information you need to know (R)
• Take a peek: information you should skim over (TP)
• Not required but possibly of interest to you (NR)

Much of the course content is delivered in PDF form.  If you do not have a PDF reader, you can download the Free Adobe Reader.

Course Rules and Requirements 

7 graded written papers, 2 graded journal submissions, 7 graded self-administered quizzes

Course Structure

There are fifteen weeks in a University of Idaho semester and there are fifteen lessons in this course, coincidence?

The course is broken down into eight units. Each unit has two lessons (except Unit 15 which has only one) for a total of 15 lessons. Every lesson has a required task for you to complete.

You will complete a short quiz for lessons 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 and you will write a short paper for lessons 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, and 15.

In addition, throughout the course, you will need to keep a journal that will be both your midterm and final course requirements. The midterm will be submitted with lesson 8 and the final after you have completed lesson 15.

Instructions for all of the required work for this course are found below.

Please read these instructions very carefully!

Assignment Guidelines

• Place your name and V number on every lesson.
• Lessons should be double-spaced, twelve-point font, 1 inch margin all around, Times New Roman if possible.
• Submit lessons in sequence. Students may submit assignments via Canvas. Students will receive graded assignments via Canvas.
• Students may submit up to 1 assignment(s) at a time. Students may submit up to 1 assignment(s) in one week.
• Keep a copy of every assignment submitted. Write your name and V Number on every submission.
• You will typically receive graded assignments within two weeks after the date of the receipt by the instructor.

Quizzes

As mentioned above, there are seven quizzes in this course. Links to the individual quizzes can be found within the unit where the quiz is required (see above for the list of lessons where quizzes are required).

If you have made a good-faith effort on your readings, then you should have no problem at all with the quizzes. The quizzes are also open book, so you are welcome to refer back to your readings if you wish to.

The quizzes are graded automatically by Canvas so you will see your grade when you complete each quiz. If you are not happy with the grade on your first attempt, then you are welcome to redo the quiz. But note, even though some of the questions will be the same, some will not. In the second attempt you will get a somewhat different randomized set of questions.

Quizzes are limited to 30 minutes, so once you begin you will need to complete the quiz within that time frame. The second attempt, should you want one, will be an additional 30 minutes. 

You must wait for grades and comments on lessons prior to taking subsequent exams.

Written Papers

As mentioned above, there are seven short papers in this course. Specific instructions for each paper can be found in the actual Lesson PDF (which is linked within each lesson in Canvas) where a paper is required. Be sure to follow those specific instructions precisely. The links to where you submit each paper can be found within the unit in Canvas where the paper is required (see above for the list of lessons where papers are required). There are further instructions on writing for this class found on the Writing Assignment Guidelines page.

Email Standards

Place questions or comments for the instructor in the body of the email.

• In the email's subject line include: Your name, V number, course subject and number, and assignment number
• • Example: Joe Vandal, V01234567, ENG L277, Assignment 1
• In the body of the email include: Your name, V number, course subject & number, and the assignment number
  • Example: Joe Vandal, V01234567, BUS L321, Assignment 1

Grade Information 

The course grade will be based upon the following considerations:

• Written Papers: 35%
• Ethical Toolkit (journals): 40%
• Quizzes: 25%

The final course grade is issued after all lessons and exams have been graded.

Written Papers: At the conclusions of lessons 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, and 15 you will be required to write a short paper. The grades on these seven short papers will account for 35% of your final grade, thus each paper is worth 5% of your final grade.

Your Ethical Toolkit: Throughout the course, you will be expected to keep a journal of your work that will be submitted both as your midterm and final projects. The midterm grading will account for 15%, and the final grading will account for 25%, of your final grade.

Quizzes: At the conclusions of lessons 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13, you will be required to take a short quiz, for a total of seven quizzes. These quizzes will be automatically graded by Canvas when you complete them. The grades on these seven quizzes will account for 25% of your final grade, thus each quiz is worth 3.6% of your final grade.

Feedback and Redos 

If you have any questions regarding your work or your grades, please contact me immediately.

Canvas automatically emails me when assignments are submitted. I will then grade your assignment within a week and upload it to Canvas with a “g” added to your filename. It is crucial that you return to the assignment, click on the “Submitted” tab, and look at my comments in your paper in order to understand my grading and to improve your work overtime.

Sometimes I will allow you a redo on papers should I believe that doing so will help you improve your work and set you on the course of substantially improving future papers. If I offer you one, your redo must be done within four days of my grading the original, so you should set your notifications on Canvas to get an email from me when I have uploaded a graded assignment. Consult Canvas' Help button (on the lower left in your browser) to learn how to set your notification preferences so you get an email when I have graded your assignment.

Course Policies 

Refer to the ISI Policies for the most current policies and procedures, including information on setting up accounts, student confidentiality, exams, transcripts, course exchanges, refunds, academic integrity, library resources, disability support and other services. 

Academic Integrity

ISI's cooperating institutions expect all students to engage in academic activity with high standards of honesty and integrity. Honesty is a fundamental value of learning and the educational process. ISI promotes values and activities to instill high standards of academic integrity, civility and citizenship. Before beginning your course, please read the information on Academic Integrity and ISI's Policies and Procedures.

Be sure that you understand what plagiarism is and you quote and cite material appropriately (Plagiarism Information). I encourage my students to discuss the content of the class and the assignments, but once work on the assignment begins, I expect the student to work by him or herself. All of the work should be exclusively the student's.

All incidents of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs. Individuals guilty of academic dishonesty will be expelled from, and receive a failing grade for, the course.