PHL2180

Morality, Objectivity and Agency: Issues in Meta-Ethics (6 points)

(ARTS)

Leader: TBA

Offered:
Not offered in 2003.

Synopsis: This unit will concentrate on some central issues concerning the nature and status of the moral judgements we make and their influence on our actions. What are we doing when we judge an action to be right or wrong? Are we merely expressing our emotions? Or are we using our reason? Can moral judgements be true or false? How are our moral judgements related to our motives for acting? Moral judgements are supposed to be action guiding yet we have all had the experience of doing something, while at the very same time judging that we shouldn't. We shall look at the ways in which the major meta-ethical theories answer these questions. www.arts.monash.edu.au/phil/undergraduate/

Assessment: Two short expository exercises (750 words each) 30% + one essay (2000 words) 50% + one hour exam 20%

Contact Hours: 2 hours per week

Prerequisites: A 6 point first year unit in philosophy except with permission