Principles of Ethics

This course provides an overview of the history of (mostly Western) ethics and moral philosophies, as well as introducing students to contemporary moral debates. Among the applied ethical issues that will be addressed are: economic justice; human rights; hunger and poverty; war, peace, and terrorism; racial and ethnic discrimination; gender roles; abortion and euthanasia; corporate social responsibility, and environmental responsibilities.
This course provides an overview of the nature and history of ethics and moral philosophy from a theoretical and applied framework. The course is designed to make students familiar with the foundations, key concepts, major approaches and applications of moral reasoning. In the course, students will investigate major historical ethical issues and contemporary ethical dilemmas faced by many modern societies. The course look critically at real-life cases in social and inter-group relations and analyzes the conflicting ethical, political and social choices faced by ethical actors. The course is designed to challenge students to come to terms with ethical choices contemporary citizens face and will confront in their professional, social and personal lives.