Ethics Study Guide
A standard undergraduate ethics course: metaethics (moral realism, relativism, subjectivism), normative theories (utilitarianism, Kantian deontology, virtue ethics, care ethics, social contract theory), applied ethics (bioethics, business ethics, environmental ethics, technology ethics), and moral reasoning skills (identifying moral arguments, evaluating thought experiments, addressing moral disagreement).
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12 Topics Covered
Foundations of Ethics and Moral Reasoning
Core skills in argument analysis, distinguishing normative from descriptive claims, and evaluating moral reasoning structures.
Metaethics: The Nature of Morality
Moral realism vs anti-realism, emotivism, constructivism, and the is-ought problem—essential for understanding ethical foundations.
Cultural Relativism and Divine Command Theory
Critical analysis of relativist and theological approaches to morality, including standard objections and defenses.
Consequentialism and Utilitarianism
Act, rule, and preference utilitarianism; utility calculation; justice objections; demandingness—heavily tested theory application.
Kantian Deontology
Categorical imperative formulations, perfect and imperfect duties, universalizability tests, and rigidity critiques for exam scenarios.
Virtue Ethics and Moral Character
Aristotelian eudaimonia, virtues and vices, situationism critique—requires character-based case analysis on exams.
Care Ethics and Feminist Approaches
Gilligan, Noddings, relational ethics, and feminist critiques of traditional impartialist theories for comparative analysis.
Social Contract Theory and Justice
Hobbes, Locke, Rawls, veil of ignorance, justice as fairness—fundamental for political and distributive ethics questions.
Thought Experiments and Moral Intuitions
Trolley problems, violinist analogy, experience machine—mastering counterexamples as philosophical tools for exam arguments.
Bioethics: Life, Death, and Medicine
Abortion, euthanasia, genetic enhancement, informed consent—applying multiple theories to contested biomedical cases.
Environmental and Animal Ethics
Singer, Regan, anthropocentrism vs ecocentrism, climate justice, intergenerational obligations—increasingly prominent exam topics.
Business and Technology Ethics
Corporate responsibility, AI ethics, algorithmic bias, privacy, autonomous weapons—contemporary applications requiring rigorous moral analysis.
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