Syllabus Chaminade University of Honolulu Course Name and Number: Introduction to Ethics (PH 105-90) Spring 2005 Instructor's name, phone and email: Dr. Mark Brasher 381-6080 markbrasher@hotmail.com Office Hours: Students may e-mail or telephone the instructor anytime. The instructor will respond as soon as possible. If an extensive consultation is necessary, an appointment may be made by e-mail or phone. Course description: The study of the concepts of good and bad, right and wrong, has a long history. This course will study the origins and legitimacy of our standards of conduct and character and will discuss modern studies, which consider the compelling and unconditional overtones of ethical demands. The course will also discuss the ways in which we talk to children and young people about what is right and wrong. Course objectives: By the end of the course, the student should be able to: " Identify and explain the major approaches to ethics. " Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the major approaches. " Define vocabulary essential to ethical explanations. " Identify and evaluate ethical situations using a consistent approach. Course texts: Textbook: Ethics: Theory and Practice (8th ed) by Jacques Thiroux (ISBN 0131830023) Instructor's lecture notes: on the course website http://www.markbrasher.net/ethics Class Requirements: This course involves 6 components. The first four are weekly activities: 1. Reading the instructor's notes on-line 2. reading the week's assignment in the textbook. 3. answering the exercise questions about the current week's reading at the end of the assigned chapter. 4. reading and posting on the webboard Besides the weekly work, there will also be: 5. Term paper (optional: see 2 alternative grading patterns for the course, below) 6. Final Exam on the topics discussed in the course. Students must also complete a short survey about the course during week 8, this is not optional, it is used for the continued improvement of the course content and format. (Current students benefit from previous students' completing of this survey.) ASSIGNMENTS: Each week, students will read the instructor's on-line notes on the current topic. Then they will read the topic in the textbook while answering the exercise questions at the end of each assigned chapter (and email their answers to the instructor). Then they will log on to the webboard and read and post responses. At the end of the course there will be a final exam on the 8 topics we have examined. (It is important to keep a copy of your emailed work and returned work to prepare for the final.) Students may opt to do a term paper, then the points for the final are split between the final and the term paper. All homework should be emailed to 2 addresses: ethics@markbrasher.net and to 2duplicates@markbrasher.net ALTERNATE FORMAT: In the very unlikely event of a website malfunction, the course will temporarily switch to an "e-mail based" format and the instructor will email you the week's notes, questions and run an email discussion. In the past several years this has only happened once, for a week, so it is not likely. Normally, the course website will serve as a stable and consistent "virtual classroom". CONDUCT: Student conduct throughout the course is regulated by the code of conduct printed in your Student Handbook and the Chaminade University College Catalog. Basically, the code requires that everyone in the classroom (or on-line) treat each other with respect. Additionally: students must never present another's work as their own (plagiarism) or cheat in any way. Students failing to abide by the code may be reprimanded, expelled from the course, or from the university, as appropriate to the situation and provided for by the policies of Chaminade University. There is also an introduction to conduct on a university webboard that applies to all of your postings on the webboard. Please see the website section entitled "conduct." ABSENCES: Regular participation is required by every student throughout the ten week term. However, a hospital emergency, unexpected duty or some other circumstance may briefly interfere with your participation at some point during the term. If this occurs, you need to contact me as soon as possible, arrange to make-up your missing work and to post your missing posts on the webboard. If you do not contact me and inform me I cannot know what you are doing and will record zero credit for the missed work. If you continue in the course, you will still need to complete all of the missing work, it is not "waived," any unfinished or missing work will reduce your course grade. (Also: the final exam will include questions about each topic we discuss, so you will still need to study each part.) If your work is regularly late or you are not participating at all, a deficiency notice may be sent in and I will recommend you drop the course in order not to receive a failing grade on your permanent transcript. For more specific information, see ""Absences"" Make-up work will only receive credit by following the procedures described on the website. Work must be completed within 14 days of the original deadline. No student can make up more than 1 week excused work, beyond this no make up credit is possible. Note that all work must be in by the day of the final and no incompletes with extended deadlines will be possible. MAINTAINING CONTACT: It always remains the responsibility of the student to maintain contact with the instructor. If you lose access to your e-mail account, or change your email address, you need to inform the instructor as soon as possible. Print and keep a copy of this syllabus which contains all contact and assignment information. If necessary, contact Chaminade University Evening Program office (they are in the phone book) and ask for the instructor's phone number (they are instructed to give it out). Ceasing to communicate, without withdrawing from the course may lead to a deficiency notice and/or a failing grade for the course, on your permanent transcript. INCOMPLETES / WITHDRAWAL: Incompletes are only possible for students who have unexpected emergencies like documented hospitalization or documented, unexpected deployment. Anyone not completing the course requirements within the 10 week course term will receive a failing grade. The time/work requirements for courses are stated on the Chaminade website and in this course syllabus. Students who do not have time to follow a course should not register for a course. If you are working full time and taking several classes it does not follow that you should have to do less work in this course and still receive full credit for it. This is a full credit university course, with all the work that that entails. Incompletes will not be used to lengthen course terms. MAINTAINING COPIES: Throughout the course you need to keep a copy of any work you submit or any work returned to you. Every reasonable measure has been taken to ensure the preservation of e-mail, webboard and other coursework but it always remains the student's responsibility to also keep a copy of each assignment and each assignment returned to them. It is highly recommended that you not rely on a single copy on one computer. Instead, you should back up your work on a diskette, CD or another computer. Your weekly work will be the basis for your preparation for the final exam, do not lose it. If you opt in for a term paper, make multiple copies on multiple locations (hard disk, floppy) to ensure you do not lose your work. GRADING SCALE: Option 1 (no term paper) / Option 2 (with term paper) e-mailed answers: 25% / e-mailed answers: 25% webboard posts: 25 / webboard posts: 25% - - - / term paper: 25% final exam: 50% / final exam: 25% total: 100% / total: 100% DEADLINES: Work is due by midnight, Sunday, Hawaii Time. Work after this will be checked, so you know if the answers are correct, but you will not receive credit for it (except for the one make-up assignment described above). Rationale for this policy: in order for you to participate in the group discussions and complete all of the work for the course, you need to read/answer/post each week. Most students are not motivated to submit work regularly and on time if there are no negative consequences. For this you will need to do the work and submit the work by the scheduled dates. The deadlines for the entire course are in the schedule, plan backwards from the due date to give yourself enough time to complete the assignments. SCHEDULE April 4 – 10 Introduction to the course website, discussion board and course requirements April 11 - 17 Introduction to the topic of Ethics April 18 - 24 Consequentialist (teleological) theories of morality April 25 – May 1 Nonconsequentialist (deontological) theories of morality May 2 – 8 Absolutism versus relativism May 9 - 15 Freedom versus determinism May 16 - 22 Reward and punishment May 23 - 29 Setting up a moral system: basic assumptions and basic principles May 30 – June 5 Chapter 8: Taking Life June 6 - 11 Review June 11: Final Exam NOTE: This syllabus describes all of the requirements for the course and the due dates of all work. This syllabus is a kind of contract between the instructor and students making clear the obligations and rights of each. If you have any questions about any of the information contained within it, ask the instructor immediately. If you lose your syllabus you should call the base Chaminade coordinator or Evening Program office at the main campus and ask for the instructor's phone number and call the instructor immediately to ask about work due and to request a new syllabus, the loss of the syllabus does not excuse one from any deadlines. The instructor's phone number is available from Chaminade, so there is no reason for a delay contacting the instructor. Be sure to write down the course website address as well as the email and phone number of the instructor. It is your responsibility to keep track of these and maintain contact throughout the course.