CHB5101

Ethics

This subject aims to provide students with a basic understanding of ethical theory, as a foundation for their studies in bioethics. It begins with questions about the nature of ethics. Are moral judgements subjective? Are they always relative to a particular culture? Can they be true or false? What role does reason play in ethics, and how? The course then examines the question, 'What is ultimately valuable?', considering answers from Aristotle, the Stoics, and the Buddha, as well as from modern philosophers. Finally we consider theories about what we ought to do, including theories of natural law, virtue ethics, utilitarianism, Kantianism, and social contract ethics.

Back to the 1999 Distance Education Handbook