Scholars Online Course Description for Advanced Ethics

Advanced Ethics • Offering for 2019 • Grade 11 or above • Philosophy Sequence

Primary Instructor

Sections
[Enrolled students will be notified if teacher schedules change between course posting at the time enrollment opens and the scheduled start of classes. Please see Tuition and Fees for refund policy.]

Section dates, meeting times, and tuition are still being determined.

Website

There is currently no teacher website for this course.

Description

Alasdair MacIntyre's book, After Virtue, argues that modern moral debates and concepts should be understood as disconnected survivals of a pre-Enlightenment European culture. MacIntyre traces historical concepts of virtue and touches on related areas of philosophy, including theories of meaning. The first part of the course will examine historical materials as background for the second part, using a survey text, An Introduction to Christian Ethics. The second part will focus on a careful reading of MacIntyre's book.

Meetings

This course meets once a week for discussion and review of assigned homework.

Homework

The course is structured like an Oxford tutorial. Each week, the student will be given a reading list and asked to write an essay on a given topic. The level of effort will vary from week to week but will require several hours at a minimum.

Prerequisites

Students in this course should have experience handling complex material and synthesizing such material in writing clear essays.

Recommended background

Prior study of ethics or other philosophical works is recommended.

Instructor's Notes

This course will include discussion of key figures in the intellectual history of Europe (particularly England and Germany). Students will gain experience in college-level reading and writing.

Textbooks and Materials

After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory (Edition: 3)
Alasdair MacIntyre

This text is required.
ISBN: 978-0-268-03504-4
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
Other information: Earlier editions should not be used. The third edition included significant changes from earlier editions.

An Introduction to Christian Ethics: Goals, Duties, and Virtues (Edition: 1)
Robin W. Lovin

This text is required.
ISBN: 978-0-687-46736-5
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore

Scholars Online was accredited by AdvancED and the Northwest Accreditation Commission from 2009-2016 and was accepted March 2018 with Candidate Status as a member of MSA-CESS.