Course Code: PHIL 217
Academic Year: 2025-2026
It seems like we live in a world with little concern for what is good, right and just. We read about people suffering, about hatred and hostility and about discrimination and inequities. In response, we throw up our hands and say, "What can we do? This is the way it is and the way it has always been. Might as well join the crowd!"In this course, this course will examine broad ethical issues: Why should we be concerned with doing what is good and becoming a good person? What is ethics? Is it possible to acquire moral expertise? Are all moral judgments equivalent or simply matters of opinion? What are examples of contemporary Canadian moral dilemmas, and can reflection upon ethical theories resolve these dilemmas? The course concludes by analyzing wider-reaching ethical issues of what constitutes justice and the possibility of constructing a global ethics.