10059 - Moral Philosophy (1)

Learning outcomes

This course will mainly address issues in applied ethics. At the end of the course students will be expected to grasp the distinction of individual and public ethics; to know the chief lines of recent debates in this field; to appreciate the relations between various approaches in moral philosophy (normative, virtue and care ethics); to understand the multiple connections between moral reflection and cultural studies, political science, and humanities. Students shall be able to make sense of the relevant literature and to properly use the technical language of this field, and they will have studied in depth at least one topic in applied ethics and the seminal texts related to it.

Course contents

This course provides an introduction to Aristotle’s ethics. We shall focus on Aristotle’s moral psychology and, in particular, on the physiology of moral development, on the difference between natural and moral virtues, and on the role of emotions in character formation.

The course syllabus and further optional readings will be made available on the lecturer’s webpage in due course.

Readings/Bibliography

• Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics. Translation, introduction, and commentary, edited by Sarah Broadie and Christopher Rowe, Oxford University Press 2002.

• David Charles (2021), The Undivided Self. Aristotle and the 'Mind-Body Problem', Oxford, Oxford University Press, chapters 1-3*.

 

* Please note that non-attending students are expected to read all chapters.

Teaching methods

This course is designed to be delivered over a period of 5 weeks with three two-hour classes per week.

Assessment methods

Attending students are required to attend no less than 12 classes. Each week, they are required to do the assigned readings before class. Grades will be distributed as follows: active participation during classes (20%), final viva voce examination (80%).

Non-attending students will be evaluated on the basis of a viva voce examination.

Teaching tools

Further sources will be provided via IOL.

Office hours

See the website of Pia Campeggiani