PHIL 2020 Chapter : PHIL 2020 Section 2 Spring 2015
Document Summary
Philosophy 2020 (section 2) ethics professor husain sarkar. Tuesdays & thursdays: 10:30-11:50 a. m: required texts, george sher, editor. 978-0-415-78231-9: michael rosen, dignity: its history and meaning. 978-0-674-06443-0: immanuel kant, groundwork of the metaphysics of morals, 4:428-4:31, the aim of the course: This course will cover some pretty fundamental problems in moral philosophy. We shall begin with the famous ethical doctrine known as utilitarianism (in john rawls"s exquisite representation of it). What obligation, if any, are we under when others are faced with phenomena like wide-spread starvation, utter squalor, or massive destruction (as when a tsunami, draught, or a hurricane has striken?) Peter singer, who is a utilitarian, shows that our obligations are as inescapable as they are serious. Next, we shall examine a withering criticism of utilitarianism by bernard williams. Williams"s criticism is based on the claim that utilitarianism rides rough shod over our integrity.
