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Ethical Theory (PHIL20008)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
To learn more, visit 2023 Course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Overview
Availability | Semester 1 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
How should one live? What makes an action right or wrong and how can we tell which actions are which? Can critically engaging with what philosophers say about these questions make you a better person, or a moral expert?
This subject is divided into three parts, with a part devoted to each of the three main families of ethical theories. We start by looking at John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism, or the view that actions are “right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” and go on to consider the views of contemporary heirs to this tradition. Some object that utilitarianism delivers counter-intuitive verdicts and can, if the calculations turn out right, support seemingly repugnant actions. This worry leads naturally to an investigation of Kantian ethics, which puts good will rather than good consequences at the heart of its analysis of right action, and argues that reason is key to moral judgment and action. Some object that Kantianism does not acknowledge the centrality of emotion in our moral lives. The virtue ethics tradition, a tradition with roots in both Ancient Greece and China, seems well equipped to address these concerns. But can it provide sufficient guidance about what to do when we are in moral quandaries? As we examine each of these main approaches, we ask ourselves what we want from an ethical theory. Are we hoping to find a decision procedure that would simplify moral choice, a framework for identifying considerations that matter in making moral decisions, or do we want something more ambitious but more elusive, such as a conception of what it is to live a good life?
Intended learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this subject will:
- Understand the main approaches to the nature of morality, including understanding the historical antecedents to important contemporary approaches to the nature of morality
- Be able to charitably reconstruct arguments from classic philosophical texts and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses
- Become more able to defend, and not just coherently state, one's own position with regard to controversial questions in normative ethics
- Have acquired a background for one's own further philosophical reflection on morality
- Work individually, and in groups, to create and test arguments.
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
PHIL10002 | Philosophy: The Big Questions | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
PHIL10003 | Philosophy: The Great Thinkers | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Essay
| Mid semester | 50% |
Take home exam
| During the examination period | 50% |
Hurdle requirement Hurdle requirement: Hurdle Requirement: Students must attend a minimum of 75% of workshops in order to pass this subject All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject Note: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. After five working days late assessment will not be marked. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. | Throughout the semester | N/A |
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Coordinator Ten Lai Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 35 hours - 2 x 1 hour lectures per week for 12 weeks and 1 x 1 hour tutorial for 11 weeks. Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 27 February 2023 to 28 May 2023 Last self-enrol date 10 March 2023 Census date 31 March 2023 Last date to withdraw without fail 5 May 2023 Assessment period ends 23 June 2023 Semester 1 contact information
Time commitment details
170 hours
Additional delivery details
it is recommended that students enrolling in this subject have completed a first year philosophy subject, however this is not a requirement.
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Sahfer-Landau (ed) Ethical Theory: An Anthology (Blackwell 2007). This book will be available from the University bookshop at the start of semester.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Major Philosophy Major Philosophy Major Minor European Studies - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Science
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 19 March 2024