Advanced Studies in Moral Philosophy B [ LFILO2191 ]

The course requires an introduction to moral philosophy at the bachelor level and a good reading knowledge of English.

In order to attain the objectives that have been set, the course will concentrate each year on a different theme that will allow the relationships between different orientations in philosophical ethics to be seen - concrete issues of "applied" ethics and methodological reflection. The conceptual analysis will be accompanied by case studies.

By the end of the course the student shall be able
- to analyse selected topics in the field of moral philosophy;
- to develop a well argued point of view, taking a position relative to various approaches to ethics;
- to use appropriately the tools of research in philosophy and in interdisciplinary collaboration.

The elements of evaluation are the regular and active participation, the writing of a short essay (maximum 5 pages on a subject that can be chosen among the topics of the course) and an oral exam.

There will be lectures and important interactive moments based on texts that have to be read by all participants. English will be the working language of this course.

Morality and Impartiality

Impartiality is often considered as one of the most important features of a moral point of view and of any theory of justice. On the other hand, moral behavior can imply preferential options for specific persons or groups. The course will focus on the debates between philosophers representing these two approaches in the framework of different theories of ethics. This reconstruction will also be tested by dealing with concrete challenges in the field of applied ethics.

Some texts will be available on iCampus. You can find an excellent introduction to the topic in this article (with a significant bibliography): Troy Jollimore, "Impartiality", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/impartiality/>.

The course starts on Monday, 22-09-2014.
The professor's office hours are every Monday between 13:30 and 14:30