Admission requirements
Admission to one of the following programmes is required:
MA Philosophy 60 EC: specialisation Moral and Political Philosophy
MA Philosophy 120 EC: specialisation Philosophy of Law, Governance, and Politics
Description
In this course, we will examine different approaches to moral judgment – both contemporary and traditional. Moral judgment is often meant to be needed to bridge the gap between general moral knowledge and particular actions, especially when it comes to resolving moral conflicts. But there is also substantial diversity in what has been called moral judgment. For example, although moral judgments have usually been explained in terms of rational deliberation, it has also been argued that moral judgments are actually the results of automatic, unconscious processes. Contemporary moral psychology contains the debate as to whether moral judgments are based on emotions or reason. The important question is: What role do reasoning and emotion play in the formation of normative moral judgements? Furthermore: Are empathy and imagination required for making moral judgments? How about moral judgments in highly-functioning autistic individuals, who are known for having atypical empathic and imaginative abilities? Are our judgments about what we ought to do in a given situation themselves motivating or not? And what about our self-evaluative moral judgments? For that matter, how are we to understand the relationship between moral judgments, self-control and weakness of will? Finally, is moral judging only a matter of correctly applying moral principles, or is it also a matter of getting our principles right? These are some of the questions that we will discuss by analysing different contemporary accounts of moral judgment and by tracing these accounts back to their historical roots, such as Hume’s and Kant’s conceptions of moral judgement.
Course objectives
This course aims to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of some influential approaches to moral judgment.
Students who successfully complete the course will have:
a good understanding of some contemporary views of moral judgment (e.g. proposed by Jesse Prinz, Shaun Nichols, Jeanette Kennett and Jonathan Haidt), as well as certain critiques of these views;
a good understanding of several important conceptions of moral judgement proposed in the history of ethics, especially those of Hume and Kant;
I insight into the views of some present-day proponents and opponents of these conceptions, such as Christine Korsgaard, Onora O’Neill, John Deigh and John McDowell;insight into the debate between motivational internalists and motivational externalists about moral judgment.
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
identify different approaches to moral judgement;
situate these approaches in relation to each other;
apply them to issues of current moral interest (e.g. to account for the moral competence of highly functioning autistic individuals);
critically engage with important literature on the issues discussed.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminars
Class attendance is required.
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm paper
Final paper
One class presentation
Weighting
Midterm paper: 30%
Final paper: 70%
Successful completion of the presentation is required.
Resit
If the final mark is unsatisfactory, there is an option for re-examination by writing a paper. The mark for the resit will replace all previously earned marks for subtests. No separate resits will be offered for midterm test. Class participation and the presentation are required for taking the resit.
Students who have obtained a satisfactory overall grade for the first examination cannot take the resit.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Literature will be made available through Brightspace at the beginning of the course.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the information bar at the right hand side of the page.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc., contact the Education Administration Office Huizinga
Remarks
Not applicable.