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Philosophy 274z Contem porary Ethica l TheoryFal l 2006

Instruct ors: Course Assistant:Chris Korsgaard Simon Rippon

205 Emerson Hall rippon@fas.harvard.edu 

617-495-3916

Christine_Korsgaard@Harvard.edu 

Office Hours: Thursdays 2:00-4:00

Tamar Schapiro

schapiro@stanford.edu 

Descr ip t ion :

A study of some important work in contemporary ethical theory by Thomas Nagel, Stephen Darwall,Allan Gibbard, Peter Railton, and Michael Thompson, all of whom will visit the seminar.

Course Admiss ions Pol ic i es :Participation in this course is by permission of the instructors. The course is not open to

undergraduates, either as enrolled students or auditors. Permission to enroll will be extended to

philosophy graduate students; in other cases our decision will depend on the size of the course and

the student’s background in philosophy. Graduate students who wish to audit the course must

commit to attending regularly, participating in discussions, and asking questions of the visitors.

Readings f rom:Stephen Darwall, The Second-Person Standpoint . Harvard, 2006.

Thomas Nagel, The View From Nowhere . Oxford, 1986.

___, Equality and Partiality . Oxford, 1995.

___, The Last Word . Oxford, 1997.

Allan Gibbard, Wise Choices, Apt Feelings . Harvard, 1990.

___, Thinking How to Live . Harvard, 2003.

___, “Moral Feelings and Moral Concepts,” Oxford Studies in Metaethics, Volume 1 . Oxford, 2006.

T.M. Scanlon, “Reasons and Decisions”

Peter Railton, “Normative Force and Normative Freedom: Hume and Kant but not Hume versus

Kant,” Facts, Values, and Norms : Essays Towards a Morality of Consequence . Cambridge, 2003.

___, “Naturalism and Prescriptivity” Social Philosophy and Policy 7 (1989).

___, New work on normativity and naturalism (new ms.)

Michael Thompson, “Apprehending Human Form,” Modern Moral Philosophy . Cambridge, 2004

___, “What is it to Wrong Someone? A Puzzle about Justice,” Reason and Value . Oxford, 2004.

___, “Practical Knowledge” (new ms.)

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We have not ordered the books at the bookstore. Readings will be posted on or available through the

course website and are on reserve in Robbins Library. If you are auditing the course and wish to access

the readings through the web site, you must supply us with your Harvard e-mail address or ID so that we can add you to the class list. If you are auditing and are not a Harvard student, you can get an “XID”

for this purpose. Please contact Simon Rippon to be added to the class list.

Written Ass ignments :

i) Questions for the speakers . All students, both auditors and enrolled students, are required to post

questions for the speakers to the speaker’s blog on the course website, no later than noon on Thursday 

 before the speaker’s visit.

ii) Weekly 2-3 page papers . Every enrolled student is required to hand in 2-3 double-spaced pages of 

 writing (absolutely no more ) each week. These short papers will be due by 5:00 each Wednesday, andmust deal with the readings for the forthcoming Friday. Apart from that requirement, the topic is

entirely up to you: you may summarize the material, give a reading of a difficult passage, criticize one of 

the arguments, or defend the author against a possible criticism - anything as long as it concerns the

reading for the week in question. These papers will not be graded, but you must turn all of them in

order to pass the course.

iii) Seminar Paper . A seminar paper of 15-20 pages is due on Wednesday, January 17, by 5:00 p.m.

ScheduleSeptember 22: Introductory Meeting

September 29: Stephen Darwall

The Second-Person Standpoint  

Chapter 4, “Accountability and the Second Person”

Chapter 5, “Moral Obligation and Accountability”

October 6: Steve Darwall Visit

The Second-Person Standpoint  

Chapter 6, “Respect and the Second Person”Chapter 10, “Dignity and the Second Person: Variations on Fichtean Themes”

October 13: Thomas Nagel

The View from Nowhere , Chapter 8, “Value”

The Last Word , Chapter 6, “Ethics”

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October 20: Thomas Nagel Visit

The View from Nowhere , Chapter 9, “Ethics”

Equality and Partiality , Chapter 4, “Legitimacy and Unanimity”

Equality and Partiality , Chapter 5, “Kant’s Test”

October 27: Allan Gibbard

Wise Choices, Apt Feelings , Chapter 3 “Analyses Broached”

Wise Choices, Apt Feelings , Chapter 4, “Normative Psychology”

Thinking How to Live , Chapter 3, “Planning and Ruling Out: The Frege-Geach Problem”

Thinking How to Live , Chapter 5, “Supervenience and Constitution”

November 3: Allan Gibbard Visit

“Moral Feelings and Moral Concepts”

T.M. Scanlon, “Reasons and Decisions”

Allan Gibbard: Reply 

November 10: Veteran’s Day Holiday 

November 17: Peter Railton

“Naturalism and Prescriptivity”

“Normative Force and Normative Freedom: Hume and Kant but not Hume versus Kant”

November 24: Thanksgiving Holiday 

December 1: Peter Railton Visit

Some new work on normativity and naturalism

December 8: Michael Thompson

“Apprehending Human Form”

“What is it to Wrong Someone?”

December 15: Michael Thompson Visit

“Practical Knowledge” (new ms.) 

Final Paper due Wednesday January 17