City University
 

 INT 306

Comparative European Ethics

Alexander Maxwell

5 Credit Hours
Effective: 10/98

Required Texts and Materials

     Palmer, Michael. Moral Problems: A Coursebook. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995.
Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers: The City University Style Manual. 8^th ed. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.

 
Additional study materials may be provided during the course.
Access to a personal computer is required. All written assignments must be word processed.

 Course Description

 INT 306 is an introduction to comparative ethical issues from a European perspective. We will examine a variety of major figures in European intellectual history, examining both their impact on the development of European thought, and their contribution to various moral questions.  Since CITY University is a business school, a number of essay topics have also been assigned in business ethics. Students have the choice to focus either on business ethics or on canonical figures of western thought.

 Learning Objectives
Upon the successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

 
1.   Identify four main schools of ethics: Egoism, Utilitarianism, and Kant’s theory of the Categorical Imperative.
2.       Discuss the philosophical problems associated with the concept of free will.
3.       Chart the development of ethical theories over the preceding two centuries.
4.       Compare ethical theories to determine how each theory influenced its time, and in particular discuss how twentieth century events have influenced moral thinking.
5.       Evaluate moral problems from both Christian and non-Christian perspectives.
6.       Use the Socratic method to refine your thinking.
7.       Discuss moral issues in a public forum.
8.       Defend an ethical theory and its impact on life in a unifying Europe, using logical, defensible and clear support.

 The grade you receive for the course will be derived using City University’s decimal grading system, based on the following:

 
Oral Presentation

 For the oral presentation students will pick one of the following and present it to the class.

            -a book from the pre-approved list (denoted on the syllabus with the symbol )
            -a topic in business ethics (denoted on the syllabus with the symbol )

 For the topics in business ethics, you can get some ideas from the book Managing Business Ethics on reserve in the library. Generally, the business ethics topics require less reading but more difficult research.

 The presentation should outline the main issues raised by the book or the topic in business ethics, state their own position about the issue in question, and justify their stance. Since this is a business school, students will be graded on presentation style as well as content. Treat this presentation as a sample sales presentation: A professional appearance is important, and the use of graphics is encouraged.

 All the presentation topics are legitimate essay topics, and students are allowed to treat their presentations as a forum to try out ideas for their essays.  However, students are not required to write their essays on the same topic as the presentations.  Not all students will be able to do the presentation topic they want, but you are free to do your paper on any pre-approved topic.

 Grade criteria for Oral presentations:

            Mastery of original text / dilemna in business ethics - 25%
            Syle of presentation (do you catch the audience’s interest?) - 25%
            Is your argument logical and convincing? - 25%
            Discussion Quality - Your ability to withstand questioning - 25%

 Final Examination

 You should be prepared to answer a variety of types of questions pertinent to the concepts covered in or suggested by the course materials, assignments and activities. Since there is no mid-term, the exam will cover everything we discuss in the course. You should expect a lot of “write a paragraph in the blank” sorts of questions.

 All papers should be word-processed and spell-checked. Use the font “Times New Roman,” font size 12, and the default margins of your word processing program. Spell-check. Double-space. Spell-check. Illustrations or charts are okay, but do not count toward page numbers. Indent paragraphs, but do not put a line between them. Spell-check. No trying to make your paper appear longer than it is by fiddling with the font size or margins.  Finally, since this is a business school, any paper that misspells the word “lose” as “loose” will be marked down 10%.

There are two possible types of essay, similar to the two types of presentation. Students who wish to do a topic other than the ones listed here should get their topic approved first.

Option A

Choose one primary text from the list circulated during the first week of class.  Based on your reading of this text, compose a critical analysis which incorporates your personal response to the author’s claims and/or arguments.  The purpose of this assignment is not to generate a summary of the text or a biography of its author, but to interpret the text, to enter a dialogue with it.

Some of the texts are in the CU library, either in Bratislava or in Trenčin.  Those books are marked on the syllabus with the symbol ☻  If you choose to do one of the titles which the CU library does not have, you are responsible for finding the book on your own. Only one student per section may choose a given book. Students from different sections of this class are expected to stay in contact with each other insofar as there may only be one copy of the book to share between different sections. You should exchange phone numbers at the very least, so that both students get a chance to read the book.

Option B:       

Explore an issue of organizational ethics, gather information about it, formulate a position based on your evidence, construct a thesis statement, and develop an argument that is well-supported and demonstrates a thorough application of the critical-thinking process.  For this project you will find a “real” ethical dilemma faced by a “real” business or organization, and construct a detailed analytical study of it.  While Managing Business Ethics may give you some initial guidance, I stress that to get a good grade, students who choose a business ethics topic will have to do significant outside research to get a good grade.

Course Schedule

 Monday April 1                                                                Wednesday April 3

                School holiday                                                     Intro to course.
                                                                                               Homework:  Chapter 1 “ethics.”
 

Monday April 8                                                                    Wednesday, April 10

                Select paper topics.                                            ☻ Plato Dialogues ☻
                Socrates, Plato, Aristotle                                   ☻ Aristotle On the Soul☻       
                The Socratic Method                                         ☻ Marcus Arelius The Meditations☻
                Ring of Gyges (if time)                                        Questions: Socrates in Prison, MP p.19

Monday April 15                                                                  Wednesday, April 17

                Intro to monotheism:                                          ☻ Augustine: Confessions ☻
                Judaism, Christianity, Islam                               ☻Descartes Philosophical Writings ☻
                MP p. 7 “moral commands”                                Stakeholder theory TN 188-191
                Law vs. Morality                                                  Money and Ethics TN 80-84, 101-105                                                                                                              Homework: Chapter 2 “Egoism”

Monday April 22                                                                  Wednesday, April 24

                Egoism.                                                                  Whitleblowing TN p.134-40
                Abortion: Thompson, MP 159.                          Profits vs. Ethics TN p. 38-40
                                                                                                Discussion of Outlines - Q&A
                                                                                               Homework: Chapter 3 “Utilitarianism”

Sunday April 28                                                                   Monday, April 29

                Utilitarianism                                                        ☻ Machiavelli The Prince ☻
                Newton > Stress on Reason                              ☻ Smith - Wealth of Nations☻
                Hedonic Calculus: MP p. 43                              ☻ J.S. Mill On Liberty☻
                Outlines Due!                                                     ☻ J.S. Mill Utilitarianism☻
                                                                                               ☻ Bentham Introduction to the Principles…☻

Sunday May 5                                                                       Monday May 6

                Socialism: Utopians, Marx                                  ☻ Marx: Communist Manifesto☻
                Individual vs. Collective                                     ☻ Hugo Les Miserables ☻
                Punishment: MP p. 103, 109,110                        ☻ Hegel Philosophy of Spirit ☻
                                                                                                 Punishment and Rewards: TN 152
                                                                                                  Homework: Chapter 4 “Kant”

 
Monday May 13                                                                      Wednesday, May 15
                Kant - The Categorical Imperative                     ☻Kant Philosophy of Right ☻
                “Duty” and the 19th century.                             ☻Nietzsche The Antichrist ☻
                MP. p 112. Ross, MP p. 131                                ☻Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil☻
                                                                                                Homework: Chapter 5 “Free Will”

 
Monday May 20                                                                    Monday May 22
                World War and ethical impact                           ☻Arendt Eichmann in Jerusalem ☻
                Nietzche > Hitler?                                                 ☻ Camus Myth of Sisyphus ☻
                Disillusionment > Existentialism                        ☻ Sartre Being and Nothingness☻

Monday May 27                                                  Wednesday May 29

                Free Will, Totalitarianism                                     Ethics in Advertising TN 181-183.
                Hopes/fears for total control                              ☻ Freud “Civilization and Discontents”  ☻           
                Freud, psychological ideas                                 ☻ Orwell 1984  ☻      
                Papers due!                                                           ☻ Burgess Clockwork Orange☻
                                                                                                ☻ Huxley Brave New World ☻

Monday June 3                                                    Wednesday, June 5

                Cultural Relativism
                Discrimination (sexual)                                       FINAL EXAM!
                Discrimination (racial)       
                Review for final exam