PHIL 237: Contemporary Moral Issues

Summer 2009
MTWR 1:35-3:55, RPHYS 114 (Rutherford Physics Building)
Instructor: Catherine Carriere
Office Hours: Monday, 11:30-12:30 or by appointment
Office: Leacock 934
Telephone: 398-6069
Email: catherine.carriere@mail.mcgill.ca
Course Aims and Content
Being a responsible member of society depends on being able to think critically about the
ethical status of our institutions and practices. In this course, we will be examining how
philosophers have attempted to put rigorous thinking in the service of the concrete
problems facing us both as individuals and as a society. Applied ethics is where the
philosophical rubber meets the road.
This course will focus on five controversial moral topics in contemporary society: samesex marriage, abortion, euthanasia, environmental ethics, and privacy & information
ethics. The course aims to acquaint students with several opposing viewpoints with
respect to each topic while developing students skills in reasoning and argumentation.
We will take an analytic approach to readings in applied ethics in order to familiarize
students with techniques in moral reasoning. A significant portion of class time will be
devoted to discussion. Students will also get the chance to engage with the issues in the
form of debate-style presentations. On completion of this course, students should possess
competence in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of moral arguments, an enhanced
knowledge of debates in the five topic areas of the course, and the ability to formulate
and critically assess their own convictions.
Course Materials
Course materials will emphasize topical readings in applied ethics. A brief initial
overview of important theoretical tools in moral philosophy (e.g. comprehensive theories
such as deontology, utilitarianism; approaches to moral reasoning such as appeal to
rights, duties, and values) will help students to identify the basis of the force of moral
arguments in their readings and to strengthen the argumentation in their own writing. In
addition, some readings from contemporary media will be included to enrich our
understanding of the values and stakes at the root of every controversial moral issue. All
readings will be available in the course pack. The course pack will be sold at The Word
Bookstore at 469, rue Milton, close to the Milton gates.

Assignments and Evaluation

One short paper of approximately 750 words, a paper of approximately 1000 words,
participation in a debate presentation, and a final exam will be the components of
evaluation in this course.
Assignment 1: 20% (due May 13)
Assignment 2: 30% (due May 29)
Final Exam: 35%
Debate presentation: 15% (week 3 or June 1)
All written assignments may be submitted in French or English.
Late papers will be penalized at 5% per day (weekend days count for 5% each).
"McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand
the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences
under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see
www.mcgill.ca/integrity/ for more information)."
Topic Schedule
May 4-6: Introduction: Theoretical Standpoints
May 6-11: Same-Sex Marriage
May 12-14: Abortion
May 14-20: Euthanasia
May 21-26: Environmental Ethics
May 26-28: Privacy and Information Ethics
Reading Schedule
Due to the intensive nature of this course, we have to cover a lot of material quickly.
There is a lot of reading to do for each class, so make sure to set aside adequate time.
Note that there are a number of readings listed as supplemental; these generally include
illustrative articles or material that forms some of the background for the lectures.
Supplemental readings are not required reading for exam purposes, but you may find
them useful when writing your papers.
May 5

1. Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. In Morality and Moral

Controversies (MMC), ed. John Arthur and Steven Scalet, 65-72.
Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2009.
2. ONeill, Onora. Kant and Utilitarianism contrasted. MMC, 78-82.
3. Ross, W.D. Intuitionism. MMC, 74-78.
4. (Supplemental) Kant, Immanuel. The Moral Law. The Moral Life
3rd ed., ed. Louis P. Pojman and Lewis Vaughn, 309-328. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2007.

May 6

1. Noddings, Nel. Caring. In Justice and Care, ed. Virginia Held, 9-18,
23-29. Boulder: Westview Press, 1995.
2. Browning, Frank. Why Marry? In Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con
(SSM), ed. Andrew Sullivan, 132-134. New York: Vintage Books,
1997.
3. Graff, E. J. Retying the Knot. SSM, 134-138. (Reprinted from The
Nation, June 24, 1996.)
4. Rauch, Jonathan. For Better or Worse? New Republic 214, no.19 (6
May, 1996): 18-22.
5. Wilson, James Q. Against Homosexual Marriage. Commentary 101,
no.3 (Mar 1996): 34-39.
6. (Supplemental) Held, Virginia. The meshing of care and justice.
Hypatia 10, no.2 (1995):128-132.
7. (Supplemental) Bennett, William and Sullivan, Andrew. Same-Sex
Marriage: A Debate. MMC, 328-331.

May 7

1. Elstain, Jean Bethke, The Future of Marriage, and Editorial,

Marriages True Ends. SSM, 54-60.
2. Mello, Michael. The Choice: Whats Wrong With Virginias Civil
Marriage Substitute. In Legalizing Gay Marriage, 142-145, 149, 151152, 162-163, 165-169 (excerpt). Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, 2004.
3. Eskridge, William N. Jr. Prohibiting Same-Sex Marriage is
Antifamily and Pragmatic Objections. In The Case For Same-Sex
Marriage, 111-120. New York: The Free Press, 1996.
4. (Supplemental) State of California. California Voter Information
Guide. Prop 8: Arguments and Rebuttals.
http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/argu-rebut/pdf/prop8-a-and-r.pdf
(accessed March 19, 2009).
5. (Supplemental) Arendt, Hannah. Reflections on Little Rock. SSM,
144. (Reprinted from Dissent 6, no. 1, Winter 1959.)
6. (Supplemental) Race and the Right to Marry. Loving vs. Virginia.
Justice Warrens ruling for the US Supreme Court, June 1967. SSM,
88-90.

May 11

1. Finnis, John. Law, Morality and Sexual Orientation. Notre Dame

Law Review 69 (1994): 1049-1076 (excerpt).
2. Koppelmann, Andrew. Is Marriage Inherently Heterosexual?
American Journal of Jurisprudence 42 (1997): 51-77 (excerpt).
4. (Supplemental) Ettelbrick, Paula. Since When is Marriage a Path to
Liberation? SSM, 118-124.

Additional Online Resources (supplemental):

Law Commission of Canada. The Legal Regulation of Adult Personal
Relationships: Evaluating Policy Objectives and Legal Options in Federal
Legislation, by Brenda Cossman and Bruce Ryder. May 1, 2000.
http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/JL2-13-2000E.pdf (accessed
January 7, 2009.
May 12

1. Warren, Mary Anne. On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion.

MMC, 218-224. (Reprinted from The Monist, 1973.)
2. Wolf, Naomi. A Call For Truth. In Contemporary Moral Issues:
Diversity and Consensus (CMIDC), 2nd ed., ed. Lawrence M. Hinman,
31-35. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall,1999.
3. Thomson, Judith J. A Defense of Abortion. Philosophy And Public
Affairs 1, no.1 (1971): 47-66.

May 13

1. Marquis, Dan. An Argument that Abortion is Wrong. In MMC, pp.

231-239.
2. Wolf-Devine, C. Abortion and the Feminine Voice. The Abortion
Controversy, ed. Louis Pojman and Francis Beckwith, 414-426.
Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1994.

*Paper 1
due
May 14

1. Bergman, B. The Final Hours: Physician Assisted Suicide Against

Nancy Morrison in Nova Scotia. Macleans 111, no. 10 (9 March,
1998): 46(4).
2. Kluge, H-H W. Assisted Suicide, Ethics and the Law. In Assisted
Suicide: Canadian Perspectives, 83-94. Ottawa: University of Ottawa
Press, 2000.
3. (Supplemental) Rachels, James. The Challenge of Cultural
Relativism. EHTCI, 645-652.

May 19

1. Callahan, Daniel. When Self-Determination Runs Amok. Hastings

Center Report 22, no. 2 (1992): 52-55.
2. Savage, Dan. In Defense of Dignity. The Stranger. October 7, 2008.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=691855 (accessed
January 9, 2009).
3. (Supplemental) van der Burg, Wilbren. The Slippery Slope
Argument. In Readings in Biomedical Ethics: A Canadian Focus, ed.
Eike-Henner Kluge, 383-400. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1999.

*Debate 1
(Same-Sex
Marriage)

May 20
*Debate 2
(Abortion)

1. Rachels, J. Active and Passive Euthanasia. EHTCI, 782-786.

2. Nesbitt, W. Is Killing No Worse Than Letting Die? Journal of
Applied Philosophy, 12, no. 1 (1995): 101-105.
4. (Supplemental) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 'Compassionate
homicide:' The law and Robert Latimer. March 17, 2008,
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/latimer/ (accessed March 19,
2009).

May 21

1. Leopold, A. Ecocentrism: The Land Ethic. In Environmental Ethics

(EE), ed. Louis P. Pojman, 84-91. Boston: Jones and Bartlett
Publishers, 1994.
2. Callicott, J.B. The Conceptual Foundations of the Land Ethic. In EE,
92-102.

May 25

1. Taylor, Paul. Biocentric Egalitarianism. EE, 71-83.

2. Watson, Richard. A Critique of Anti-Anthropocentric Biocentrism.
EE, 117-123.
3. Thompson, Janna. A Refutation of Environmental Ethics.
Environmental Ethics 12, no. 2 (1990): 147-160.
4. (Supplemental) Etzioni, Amitai. The Limits of Privacy. In CDAE,
253-262.

May 26

1. Norton, Bryan G. Values in Nature: A Pluralistic Approach. In

Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics (CDAE), ed. Andrew I.
Cohen and Christopher Heath Wellman, 298-309. Oxford: Blackwell
Publishing Ltd., 2005.
2. Baxter, William F. People or Penguins: The Case for Optimal
Pollution. The Moral Life, 933-940.
3. Heilbroner, Robert. What Has Posterity Ever Done for Me? The
Moral Life, 910-914.
4. Ryberg, Jesper. Privacy Rights, Crime Prevention, CCTV, and the life
of Mrs. Aremac. Res Publica 13 (2007):127143.
5. Benjamin Goold. The Difference Between Lonely Old Ladies and
CCTV Cameras: A Response to Ryberg. Res Publica 14 (2008):43
47.
6. Lever, Annabelle. Mrs. Aremac and the Camera: A
Response to Ryberg Res Publica 14 (2008):35-42.
7. (Supplemental) Friedman, David. The Case for Privacy. In CDAE,
263-275.

May 27

1. Bothma, Theo, Britz, Johannes and Lor, Peter. Global Capitalism and
the Fair Distribution of Information in the Marketplace. Journal of
Information Ethics 15, no. 1 (Spring 2006): 60-69.
2. Posner, Richard A. An Economic Theory of Privacy. Computers,
Ethics and Social Values, ed. Deborah G. Johnson and Helen
Nissenbaum, 358-366. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1995.
3. Koehler, Wallace and Newman, Simon. Copyright: Moral Rights, Fair
Use, and the Online Environment. Journal of Information Ethics 13,
no. 2 (Fall 2004): 38-57.
4. Peekhaus, Wilhelm. Privacy for Sale -- Business As Usual in the 21st
Century: An Economic and Normative Critique. Journal of
Information Ethics 16, no. 1 (Spring 2007): 83-98.

May 28
*Paper 2
due Friday

1. Grodzinsky, F. and H. Tavani. Ethical Reflections on Cyberstalking.

CMIDC (2006), 492-501.
2. Rumbough, Tim. Explosive Information: How the Internet Can Help
Terrorists. Journal of Information Ethics 12, no. 2 (Fall 2003): 16-21.
3. Doyle, Tony. Should Websites for Bomb-Making Be Legal? Journal
of Information Ethics 13, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 34-37.

June 1

No reading for today.

*Presentations 3, 4 and 5 (Euthanasia, Environmental Ethics, and
Privacy & Information Ethics)