| CODE | PHI1018 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Ethics for Social Wellbeing | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Philosophy | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | All of us are constantly making ethical decisions in life. Have we really stopped to think about why we take a particular stance? What makes an action right or wrong? If challenged, do we find it difficult to justify our position? Thinking philosophically is not easy - it involves challenging our preconceptions, which can be uncomfortable. This study-unit engages with the theories, principles, and applications of ethics. It has a strong theoretical aspect that introduces students to the main philosophical approaches to ethical thinking and then shows how these theories can inform analyses of ethical issues. The study-unit commences with a focus on ancient thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and their understanding of truth, virtue, well-being, morality, wisdom, self-control, courage, and happiness. The study-unit then moves on to investigate the Natural Law Theory in ethics, championed by Aquinas, and modern theories of ethics, such as Kant鈥檚 duty-based ethics and John Stuart Mill鈥檚 utilitarian ethics, and the more recent revival of virtue ethics as defended by MacIntyre. Moreover, this study-unit will also delve into ethical personalism and value-based ethics together with the 20th century schools of thought known as phenomenology and existentialism Throughout the study-unit, ethical theories and ideas will be applied to consider themes such as personhood, community, truth, values, objectivity and subjectivity, happiness and wellbeing, emotions and rationality, vulnerability and care.. These issues are all related to the different areas of studies in social wellbeing. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims to: - provide students with a grounding in the history and theories of philosophical ethics from ancient to modern and contemporary times; - guide students in how to apply ethical thinking to real life situations that can be experienced in the field of social wellbeing; - highlight the relevance of philosophical and ethical inquiry in the different fields of social wellbeing; - unpack and evaluate what is meant by 鈥榮ocial wellbeing鈥�. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - outline the ethical theories discussed in the study-unit; - apply ethical theories to real life situations related to social wellbeing; - discuss and evaluate different ethical positions and discourses; - critically explain central notions in ethics, such as virtue, duty, autonomy, care and responsibility; - discuss issues in current affairs and politics with reference to ethical notions. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - discuss and contrast different ethical theories and outlooks; - conduct discussions on the nature of ethics and ethical notions; - outline the historical development of central ethical notions and ideas; - apply the ethical theories discussed in the study-unit to various issues of concern to the areas of social wellbeing; - evaluate ethical choices in terms of the ethical theories discussed in the study-unit. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Readings: - Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, trans. and eds. Sarah Broadie and Christopher Rowe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). - Christine M. Korsgaard, 鈥淚ntroduction,鈥� in Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, trans. and ed. Mary Gregor (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997 [1785]), vii-xxx. - Plato, The Last Days of Socrates (London: Penguin Classics, 2010). - Joaquim Siles I Borras, The Ethics of Husserl鈥檚 Phenomenology: Responsibility and Ethical Life (London: Continuum, 2010). - Gordon Graham, Theories of Ethics (Taylor & Francis, 2010) Supplementary Readings: - Pierre Hadot, What is Ancient Philosophy? (Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2004). - Dan Zahavi, Self and Other, (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2014). - Dietrich von Hildebrand, Ethics (Hildebrand Press, 2020). - Cheikh Mbacke Gueye, Ethical Personalism (De Gruyter, 2013). - Simon Blackburn, Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics (OUP Oxford, 2002). |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Robert Farrugia |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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