PHIL - 203 Introduction to Ethics

This course is intended to acquaint students with the practical relevance of ethics within everyday life and to aid them in cultivating the skills inherent in ethical reasoning. Emphasis will be placed on the usefulness of major ethical theories in facilitating personal reflection and interpersonal dialogue, via detailed examinations of opposing ethical arguments over several contemporary moral issues, such as: war & terrorism, punishment & the death penalty, world poverty & hunger, abortion & cloning, animal rights & environmentalism.  Attention will be given to the application of ethics to the evaluation of moral claims found outside academia, including newspaper editorials.