Practical Ethics
| Module title | Practical Ethics |
|---|---|
| Module code | PHL3113 |
| Academic year | 2020/1 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Kirsten Walsh (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
Module description
We confront moral issues and make moral decisions every day, but we don’t always think about them as carefully as we could. In this module, you will engage in debates on contemporary moral and social issues, such as whether we should be vegetarian, what are our moral obligations to strangers, who should be allowed to vote, whether we are ever justified in silencing opinions, and whether the ban on doping in sport is morally justified. Careful consideration of these issues, along with the methods and motivations of applied ethics more broadly, will facilitate the development of analytical and critical skills that will aid you in your broader processes of moral reasoning and in your other academic studies.
There are no pre- or co-requisites for this module.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module aims to engage you in some very important contemporary debates in applied ethics. By the end of the module, you should be able to:
1) Understand the motivations and methods of practical ethics;
2) Assess arguments for different social and moral positions; and
3) Discuss in a philosophically sophisticated manner some of the most pressing contemporary moral controversies.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Identify and cogently discuss the issues raised in some key contemporary debates in applied ethics.
- 2. Critically distinguish and evaluate certain positions and arguments within some key contemporary debates in applied ethics.
- 3. Demonstrate a deep understanding of the methods of applied ethics.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Demonstrate a high level of understanding of the relationship between the practical and theoretical aspects of philosophy.
- 5. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of different types of philosophical analysis.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. Demonstrate a significantly expanded philosophical vocabulary and understanding with respect to key ideas in practical ethics.
- 7. Engage in complex and high level argumentation both orally and through writing.
- 8. Conduct research independently engaging in complex ideas and problems while developing original research insights.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics in practical ethics:
1) Animal rights, vegetarianism and the environment.
2) World hunger and the allocation of scarce resources.
3) Citizenship, suffrage and the right to vote.
4) Censorship, pornography and hate speech.
5) Drugs and sport.
6) Group responsibility, rape culture and sexual consent.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 21.5 | 128.5 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 16.5 | 11 x 1.5 hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 5 | 5 x 1 Hour fortnightly tutorials. |
| Guided Independent Study | 45 | Preparation for lectures and tutorial participation including reading, and preparing reading reports and answers to tutorial questions. |
| Guided Independent Study | 83.5 | Independent research for the first and final essays. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorial Participation | Fortnightly | 1-8 | Oral |
| Essay draft | Draft of final essay | 1-8 | Peer review |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading reports (The mark will be an overall mark for the set: you will have 8 chances to submit a reading report, and if you submit at least 5 reports over the semester, youll get the full 10% (each report is worth 2%, up to a total of 10%). You will get feedback on these assignments in three ways: (1) Reading reports will form the basis of tutorial discussion, so you will receive (and offer) feedback from your peers during class; (2) Ill provide general feedback during classes; (3) Students can receive individual feedback on request). | 10 | 5 reports x 150 words | 1-3 | Oral |
| Essay | 30 | 1000 words | 1-7 | Written |
| Final Essay | 60 | 2000 words | 1-8 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading reports | Literature summary (750 words) | 1-3 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay | Essay (1000 words) | 1-7 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay | Essay (2000 words) | 1-8 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Hugh LaFollette (ed.) (2014), Ethics in Practice: An Anthology, 4th edition, John Wiley & Sons.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 11/01/2019 |
| Last revision date | 11/01/2019 |
