Introductory description

In this module we address key ethical issues, issues where people disagree and there is no fixed consensus.

• Is it wrong to sell parts of people?
• Is it ok to keep pets?
• When do robots have rights?
• Is there a right to die? Is there a duty to help someone die?
• Is consent enough to make sex ethical? What counts as consent?
  As individuals we have to make decisions about what we think is ok, and what to do. As a society we have to collectively determine what practices are ok. What practices do we tolerate, or even encourage, and what practices do we prohibit with public sanction and laws. This module will give you a chance to think about and explore these complex problems.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Illustrative syllabus
Week 1: Introduction: Good action and effective policy
Week 2: Selling people and their parts
Week 3: Helping people die
Week 4: Animals and persons
Week 5: Ableism and disability
Week 6: READING WEEK
Week 7: Designing people
Week 8: Sex and desire
Week 9: Robots and their rights
Week 10: Porn and the pornification of culture

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Subject knowledge and understanding: Students should be able to understand and differentiate positions on central issues in applied ethics, and offer relevant support for, and criticisms of. these views from cases studies and empirical evidence.
• Key skills: students should be able to communicate clearly and substantively in speech and in writing on the questions addressed in the module.
• Cognitive skills: students should be able to identify the most important claims within readings, understand the structure of arguments, test views for strengths and weaknesses, make pertinent use of case studies and empirical evidence to explain and test theories..
• Subject-specific skills: students should be able to pursue and organize philosophical research using a range of sources (print and electronic media, real world case studies and empirical evidence), and show the ability to engage independently in ethical debate.

Indicative reading list

There is no main text for the module. Instead, the module will be based on a list of selected readings. Useful companions and collections include:

• Frey, R. G. and Wellman, C. H. (eds.) A Companion to Applied Ethics (Blackwell, 2003).
• Lafollette, H. (ed.) Ethics in Practice (Blackwell 2002).
• Singer, P. (ed.) A Companion to Ethics (Blackwell, 1991).
• Wellman, C. H. and Cohen, A. (eds.) Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics (Blackwell 2005).
• Skorupski, J. (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Ethics (Routledge, 2010).

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

1. Understanding key topics and arguments in applied ethics.
2. Comprehensive understanding across a range of views, showing engagement with topics, rather than single papers.
3. Being able to defend or critique an ethical position in applied ethics, using material from key philosophical theories and thinkers, supported with real world cases and empirical evidence.

Transferable skills

1. Understanding and synthesising of complex material quickly and succinctly.
2. Using empirical cases and evidence to illustrate positions.
3. Being able to articulate key points in discussion.