General Education Program
Extended Course Description

PHIL 325 Ethics: International Issues

Course Content: In recent years many international issues have increasingly come to be analyzed in ethical terms. For some issues like war, this analysis is part of a long tradition (the Just War Tradition) that has simply grown more complex because of recent weapons developments. For others, like world hunger and human rights, much of the discussion is of more recent vintage, though still rooted in long standing ethical views. This course will provide an introduction to the contemporary ethical discussions of a number of international issues, like those already mentioned, or others like the activities of multinational corporations in the developing world. While these considerations are often controversial, they have been important for helping individuals form their own convictions about these matters and make decisions about what role ethics should play in international affairs. That is the purpose of this course. The specific issues studied will vary from semester to semester, though at least three issues will be considered each semester.

Continuity and Comparison: One of the lessons of this course is that we live in an interdependent world of nation states and economies, and that we must learn to live with each other if we are to survive and live with some measure of justice. Our ethical horizons must be extended to include global organizations and structures, treating the world as, in some sense, one. It is this aspect of continuity that is emphasized in this course. Comparison is also an important feature of the class, comparison between one system of ethics and another, between the rich and the poor of the world, between people enjoying human rights and those deprived, between the world before nuclear weapons and the world after.

Course Requirements: Students are expected to do daily reading assignments and to participate in class discussion about these readings. The course will have three to four exams and either one longer research paper (10-12 pages) or a number of shorter papers. Students will also do one or two short oral presentations in class.

Benefit to the Student: Students will gain an increased understanding of a number of international issues and their moral dimensions, and an ability to analyze these issues in ethical terms. Students will learn that ethical obligations extend beyond national boundaries. The course will also enhance various important general skills, including the ability to comprehend and analyze complex issues, and to express ideas clearly, both in writing and orally. A student's G.P.A. will not benefit unless the benefits already mentioned are realized in a significant way.

(Revised: May 1995)

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