This SDG will introduce the main areas and theories of ethics, including life and death, freedom and responsibility, false consciousness, God, evolution, happiness, relative vs universal ethics, and human rights. The core text is Ethics by Simon Blackburn, formerly Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge. The second edition was published in 2021. There are 20 short chapters which we will group together over the first 10 weeks of term, with each member preparing one or two topics. The last two weeks will consider specific issues in depth which have arisen during the first ten weeks. We will meet in person at Gayley for lively discussion about some of the biggest questions in life. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required - just openness and an interest in working with ethical theories and issues.
SECTION PAGES DATE
1 God 7 - 13 Aug 27th
2 Relativism 13 - 20 Aug 27th
3 Egoism 20 - 25 Sept 3rd
4 Evolution 25 - 30 Sept 3rd
5 Determinism 30 - 32 Sept 10th
6 Unreasonable Demands 32 - 35 Sept 10th
7 False Consciousness 35 - 39 Sept 17th
8 Reason 40 - 44 Sept 17th
9 Human Beings 44 - 47 Sept 24th
10 Virtue Ethics 47 - 50 Sept 24th
11 Kantian Ethics 50 - 56 Oct 1st
12 State of Nature 56 - 60 Oct 1st
13 Making Rules 60 - 65 Oct 8th
14 Desire + 15 Happiness 66 - 72 Oct 8th
16 Freedom 72 - 75 Oct 15th
17 Paternalism 75 - 78 Oct 15th
18 Natural Rights 78 - 82 Oct 22nd
19 Birth 82 - 88 Oct 22nd
19 Death 88 - 93 Oct 29th
20 Decency, Civility, and Trust 93 - 98 Oct 29th
Topic A Nov 12th
Topic B Nov 12th
Topic C Nov 19th
Topic D Nov 19th
No SDG on Election Day, Nov 5th
Ethics by Simon Blackburn, Oxford Very Short Introduction, 2021 (second ed.) 978-0198868101
The book is one of the Oxford Very Short Introductions, and it does come with rather small print! There are no important images so you can work with the ebook or kindle version if you prefer.