PHIL 2.07 Ethics    Fall 2025     

Meetings: Monday, Wednesday 1:30-2:45pm, 208 Douglass Hall 

Instructor: Prof. Kyle Swan

Contact: Canvas message

Office hours: Monday 11am-1pm, Wednesday 12-1:15pm

Course Description

From the catalogue: Examination of the concepts of morality, obligation, human rights and the good life. Competing theories about the foundations of morality will be investigated.

More: Arguing with Peter Singer

We will spend this semester arguing with Peter Singer. Singer is an Australian moral philosopher best known for his work in applied ethics and his advocacy of utilitarianism. Born in 1946, he gained international prominence with his 1975 book Animal Liberation, which launched the modern animal rights movement. Another book, The Life You Can Save, figures prominently in the effective altruism movement, which uses "evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible, and taking action on that basis." Here he continues to focus on issues like global poverty, bioethics, and the moral status of animals. His work challenges tradition- and emotion-driven conventional moral boundaries with rigorous, consequence-driven reasoning.

Singer's work is controversial and touches sensitive issues that people often find difficult to subject to a detached, rational, critical scrutiny. We will argue with him. For each of us, sometimes this will mean arguing alongside him and other times this will mean arguing against him. In either case, the objective will be to better understand and argue for our own moral views, with an eye towards better understanding why we hold them and how to defend them.

Objectives and outcomes

You will learn to think about morally and politically controversial issues and improve your ability to think and write clearly, analytically, and critically about difficult and emotional issues, including some that involve dearly held values. You will be encouraged to develop the skills and virtues of open and intellectually honest inquiry. These include the charitable interpretation of others’ views; clarity and rigor in formulating, critically evaluating, and expressing your own beliefs (some about values you hold dear) as well as those of others; tolerance of complexity; and the willingness to suspend judgment until all sides of an issue have been examined. In short, you will learn about different views regarding difficult moral and political issues and you will learn to think about and discuss such issues civilly, respectfully, and most of all, rationally (that is, with reason and logic) —even when these issues concern dearly held values. 

Reasonable Accommodation

If your circumstances require accommodation or assistance in meeting the expectations of this course, please let me know as soon as possible. You may need to provide documentation to the University office of SSWD (in accordance with the University policy outlined here: https://disabilityservices.csus.edu/custom/misc/home.aspx).

Text

Peter Singer, The Life You Can Save (LYCS) available to download here: https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/book/

Peter Singer, Ethics in the Real World (ERW) available to download here.

I strongly recommend that, throughout the semester, you practice arguing with Peter Singer using chatGPT. You will often find it helpful to do this after reading the assignment before the class meeting we discuss it.

Assessment

Please do not cheat. If you do then at a minimum you will be marked with a zero on the assignment. Multiple and/or flagrant violations will lead to me assigning a failing grade for the course and initiating disciplinary action through the Office of Student Affairs. Familiarize yourselves with the University’s Academic Honesty Policies and Procedures document (here: https://sacramentostate.policystat.com/policy/11300038/latest/).

AI Policy: I fully expect you to use AI tools, like ChatGPT, throughout this course. I will show you ways you can use these tools to understand complex texts, greatly increase the depth of your understanding of moral and political controversies, and sharpen your ability to both analyze and communicate insight about them. Keep in mind, however, that exams (which will comprise the bulk of your grade) will be rocking it old school: you with your thoughts and pen/pencil and paper. In class, I will expect you to be conversant with the readings and concepts, and prove your facility with them through various tasks, exercises, thought-questions, etc.

Electronics: I may allow you to use your phone or other device during certain class activities, but I’ll let you know. Otherwise, do not have them out. You should be present during the class mentally as well as physically.

Your final grade is determined by how many total points you earn, with these grade thresholds: 92 points=A, 90 points=A-, 88 points=B+, 82 points=B, 80 points=B-, 78 points=C+, 72 points=C, 70 points=C-, 68 points=D+, 62 points=D, 60 points=D-, and F = all scores less than 60 points.

There are these ways of earning points (see "Assignments" link):

1. Be an active and thoughtful participant in class meetings. (30 possible points)

Someone who earns all these points would:

• Demonstrate familiarity with the readings;
• Offer original and thoughtful ideas and perspectives;
• Connect with ideas from other classes or something in the broader community;
• Share relevant experiences;
• Pose good questions; and
• Take stands and defend them with references to readings and experiences.

I will assess this in a variety of ways in class throughout the semester. I may ask for a summary and/or response related to the assigned reading or some other activity or “thought question” that requires you to engage with the course material. These aren’t announced ahead of time. You’re either in class to earn the point, or you aren’t.

2. Write a number of short papers/summaries/discussion pieces based on assigned readings and class discussions. (20 possible points)

Details of these assignments will depend on the type of piece I assign you to write and will be provided when I assign them. Any number of them will be assigned to write in-class.

3. Answer questions on a midterm exam based on readings and classroom lectures/discussions (25 possible points)

4. Answer questions on a final exam based primarily on readings and classroom lectures/discussions. (25 possible points)

Schedule (The remaining parts of the schedule will depend on ethical issues you want to talk about)