Undergraduate courses in Ethics in Society

(Same as PHIL 20.) What is the basis of moral judgment? What makes right actions right and wrong actions wrong? What makes a state of affairs good or worth promoting? What is it to have a good or virtuous character? Answers to classic questions in ethics through the works of traditional and contemporary authors. GER:DB-Hum, EC-EthicReas

5 units, Win (Schapiro, T)

ETHICSOC 30. Introduction to Political Philosophy

(Same as PHIL 30, POLISCI 3, PUBLPOL 103A.) State authority, justice, liberty, and equality through major works in political philosophy. Topics include human nature and citizenship, the obligation to obey the law, democracy and economic inequality, equality of opportunity and affirmative action, religion, and politics. GER:DB-Hum, DB-Hum, EC-EthicReas

5 units, Spr (Hussain, N)

ETHICSOC 77. Methodology in Ethics: Translating Theory into Practice

(Same as PHIL 77.) Ideally, social policies are informed by ethical thought and reflection, but doing good in the world requires the active translation of moral theory and political philosophy into action. What kinds of empirical data are relevant to social decision making, and how should they be collected, evaluated, and integrated into normative analysis? What assumptions about human nature are in play? How should diverse cultural values be addressed? Case studies from biomedical science, business, and government.

4 units, not given this year

ETHICSOC 78. Medical Ethics

(Same as PHIL 78.) Introduction to moral reasoning and its application to problems in medicine: informed consent, the requirements and limits of respect for patients' autonomy, surrogate decision making, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, and abortion. GER:DB-Hum, DB-Hum, EC-EthicReas

4 units, not given this year

ETHICSOC 133. Ethics and Politics of Public Service

(Same as POLISCI 133.) Ethical and political questions in public service work, including volunteering, service learning, humanitarian assistance, and public service professions such as medicine and teaching. Motives and outcomes in service work. Connections between service work and justice. Is mandatory service an oxymoron? History of public service in the U.S. Issues in crosscultural service work. Integration with the Haas Center for Public Service to connect service activities and public service aspirations with academic experiences at Stanford. GER:DB-SocSci

5 units, given next year

ETHICSOC 136R. Introduction to Global Justice

(Same as INTNLREL 136R, POLISCI 136R, POLISCI 336.) Recent work in political theory on the ethics of international relations. Topics include human rights, global economic justice, and the problem of global poverty.

5 units, Spr (Staff)

ETHICSOC 137R. Justice at Home and Abroad: Civil Rights in the 21st Century

(Same as EDUC 261X, POLISCI 137R, POLISCI 337R.) Focus is on theories of justice. How the core ideals of freedom, equality, and security animate theories which John Rawls considers the first virtue of social institutions. Topics include the U.S. Constitution as a legal framework for the operation of these ideals, civil rights legislation and litigation as the arena of tensions between those ideals, and how ideas of justice function both at home and abroad to impact civil liberties in today's war on terror.

5 units, Aut (Reich, R; Steyer, J)

ETHICSOC 170. Ethical Theory

(Same as PHIL 170, PHIL 270.) Major strands in contemporary ethical theory. Readings include Bentham, Mill, Kant, and contemporary authors. GER:DB-Hum, EC-EthicReas

4 units, Aut (Schapiro, T)

ETHICSOC 171. Justice

(Same as IPS 208, PHIL 171, PHIL 271, POLISCI 136S, PUBLPOL 207.) Focus is on the ideal of a just society, and the place of liberty and equality in it, in light of contemporary theories of justice and political controversies. Topics include protecting religious liberty, financing schools and elections, regulating markets, assuring access to health care, and providing affirmative action and group rights. Issues of global justice including human rights and global inequality. GER:DB-Hum, EC-EthicReas

4-5 units, Aut (Cohen, J)

ETHICSOC 174A. Moral Limits of the Market

(Same as PHIL 174A, PHIL 274A.) Morally controversial uses of markets and market reasoning in areas such as organ sales, procreation, education, and child labor. Would a market for organ donation make saving lives more efficient; if it did, would it thereby be justified? Should a nation be permitted to buy the right to pollute? Readings include Walzer, Arrow, Rawls, Sen, Frey, Titmuss, and empirical cases. GER:DB-Hum

4 units, Win (Satz, D)

ETHICSOC 179M. Libertarianism, Egalitarianism, and Public Policy

Evaluation of libertarian arguments about public policy, rights of ownership and rights of liberty such as: whether it is unjust to tax some persons' market incomes in order to provide benefits for others; whether such taxation is a form of theft; whether such taxation is morally equivalent to forcing some persons to work for others; and whether the minimum wage is an unjust restriction of persons' freedom to make mutually voluntary contracts. Readings include: Nozick, Milton Friedman, Hayek, and G.A. Cohen.

4 units, Win (Mchose, J)

ETHICSOC 181M. The Ethics of Risk

Why is it sometimes permissible to risk a harm when causing that same harm for certain would be wrong? Ethical issues involved in making decisions to act under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Topics include the nature of risk, the ethics of imposing risks on oneself and others, and the implications of different ethical views about risk for questions of public policy. Readings from philosophy, economics, law, and cognitive psychology.

4 units, Win (Staff)

ETHICSOC 185M. Contemporary Moral Problems

Moral problems faced by individuals and societies. Topics include global poverty, access to education, punishment, and abortion. Do affluent individuals have a duty to aid poor foreigners? How might such a duty depend on whether others are doing their share? Can people harm others through inaction? Should society punish successful crimes more severely than failed attempts? Contemporary philosophical writings including Feinberg, Thomson, Unger, Wolff.

4 units, Aut (Staff)

ETHICSOC 190. Ethics in Society Honors Seminar

(Same as PHIL 178.) For students planning honors in Ethics in Society. Methods of research. Students present issues of public and personal morality; topics chosen with advice of instructor.

3 units, Win (Reich, R)

ETHICSOC 198. Community Engagement Internship

Restricted to Ethics in Society minors with the citizenship option. Opportunities for students to engage in community work via the Haas Center for Public Service. Students work with Haas Center staff to design an internship involving community-based research or supported by a Haas Center fellowship or community service work/study, or to serve for an academic year as a tutor in one of the Haas Center's several K-12 programs in East Palo Alto. May be repeated for credit.

3-5 units, Aut (Staff), Win (Staff), Spr (Staff), Sum (Staff)

ETHICSOC 199. Independent Studies in Ethics in Society

May be repeated for credit.

1-15 units, Aut (Staff), Win (Staff), Spr (Staff), Sum (Staff)

ETHICSOC 200A. Ethics in Society Honors Thesis

Limited to Ethics in Society honors students, who must enroll once in A and once in B.

1-5 units, Aut (Staff), Win (Staff), Spr (Staff), Sum (Staff)

ETHICSOC 200B. Ethics in Society Honors Thesis

Limited to Ethics in Society honors students, who must enroll once in A and once in B.

1-5 units, Aut (Staff), Win (Staff), Spr (Staff), Sum (Staff)

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Stanford Bulletin, Archive 2008-09

Stanford Bulletin, Archive 2008-09

Alphabetical Index

Bulletin Archive

Undergraduate courses in Ethics in Society