PHIL 37.01 Consequences and Contracts

Ethical theory begins with questions about the foundations of morality: Why should I care about other people at all? It then asks very general questions about what shape our duties to self and others should take: Given that I owe something to other people, do I owe them pleasure? Happiness? To help them pursue their projects? To solicit their consent? This class is devoted to two systems of answers to these questions. The first, consequentialism, holds that the moral status of an action is primarily a matter of whether it brings about good or bad consequences. The second, contractualism, understands moral principles as grounded in a hypothetical contract between agents.

Prerequisite

One Philosophy course, or permission of the instructor.

Degree Requirement Attributes

TMV

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