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Contemporary Moral Issue Essay

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Contemporary Moral Issues
Philosophy 215
Fall 2014
Instructor: Valerie Philbrick-DeBrava Office: James Blair 132
Email: vaphilbrickdeb@wm.edu Office Hours: MWF 9:00-10:00
Phone: (804) 642-4621 Course Times: MWF 10:00-10:50 (01)
Course Location: James Blair 201 MWF 11:00-11:50 (02)
Course Description: Philosophy 215 is designed to improve our understanding of the moral issues our twenty-first-century society faces. As both a survey of these issues and their attendant controversies, and as an introduction to moral philosophy, this course teaches us how respected thinkers have rigorously explored such topics as capital punishment, social inequality, and environmental …show more content…

Georgia – BB; Jeffrey Raiman, “Justice, Civilization, and the Death Penalty” – BB; Ernest Van den Haag, “The Ultimate Theory of Punishment” – BB; David Gelernter, “What do Criminals Deserve?” – BB; Dahlia Lithwick, Review of “The Autobiography of an Execution,” The New York Times, Feb. 14, 2010 – BB
10/01 – Chapter 7
10/03 – Plato’s Protagoras
Sexuality and Morality
10/06 – Chapter 9 (note: we will read Chapter 8 in a couple of weeks); “Elite Women Put a New Spin on an Old Debate.” The New York Times June 21, 2012 – BB
10/08 – Chapter 10; Camille Paglia, “Rape: A Bigger Danger Than Feminists Know” – BB; Susan Jacoby, “Common Decency” – BB; the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s “Pornography and Censorship” – BB
10/10 - *Essay #1 due; Casebook debate: “Florida Ban on Gay Adoptions”
10/13 – Fall break; no class meeting
More Life and Death Issues: Abortion, Suicide, and Euthanasia

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