The aim of this course is to introduce students to the philosophical study of ethics; the study of how we should live. What makes an action right or wrong, and what sort of people should we be? The course will introduce students to the three major types of ethical theory: consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics, as well as discussing skeptical approaches to ethics.
At the completion of their work for this course, students will be able to recognize and describe what is meant by error theoretic, relativist, subjectivist, and egoist ethical views. They will be able to identify and describe differences in approach between the three major types of ethical theory. They will be able to understand and critically assess arguments for and against the foregoing views.