Critical Thinking II: Ethical Reasoning Course
Critical Thinking II: Ethical Reasoning Course
Instructor Dr. Christopher DiCarlo
09/15/2021 04:00 PM – 11/03/2021 06:00 PM EST
Location
Virtual Course on Zoom, WEDNESDAYS 4.00 – 6.00 PM EST
Prerequisites
This is a stand-alone course for which there is no prerequisite. It is not necessary/required to have taken Critical Thinking I to enroll in this course. Although related to Critical Thinking I, this will be taught as a completely independent course.
Description
COURSE DESCRIPTION
What is the difference between right and wrong? Or good and evil? What is the good life? What is well-being? What is autonomy? These are difficult and eternal questions that are central to ethical theory, law, bioethics, and political discussion. To explore these concepts in depth, we will first consider various theories about the nature of value and morality through an introduction to moral philosophy in its various forms, including relativism, natural law, utilitarianism, and more. Then, given that conceptual foundation, the majority of the course will deal with how we can have deeper and more meaningful discussions about specific, important topics such as abortion, genetic engineering, euthanasia, capital punishment, and racism.
CERTIFICATION
A Certificate of Completion is issued upon successful completion of the course (a pass /fail multiple-choice test).
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Christopher DiCarlo is a philosopher, educator, and author. He is the Principal and Founder of Critical Thinking Solutions and the Ethics Chair for the Canadian Mental Health Association. He is an Invited Professor at The Life Institute at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, and a past Visiting Research Scholar at Harvard University. He has authored several books, the latest of which is entitled: So You Think You Can Think: Tools for Having Intelligent Discussions and Getting Along. And in November of 2021, the 2nd Edition of his best-seller: How to Become a Really Good Pain in the Ass, will be released by Rowman and Littlefield.
SCHEDULE
Class 1: Review of Critical Thinking. Introduction to Ethics, Theories, and Principles.
Class 2: Ethical Theories and Principles: Divine Command Theory, Subjectivism, Cultural Relativism, Egoism, Utilitarianism, Virtue Theory, Deontology, Social Contract Theory, Rights and Duties, and Principlism.
Class 3: Ethics and the Law, How to Analyze Ethical Case Studies via The Five Step Procedure for Ethical Dilemma Analysis.
Class 4: Ethical Issues and Case Studies: Abortion and Euthanasia.
Class 5: Ethical Issues and Case Studies: The New Reproductive Technologies.
Class 6: Ethical Issues and Case Studies: Racism and Capital Punishment.
Class 7: Ethical Issues and Case Studies: Genetics and Genomics.
Class 8: Ethical Issues and Case Studies: Autonomy – Political and Metaphysical.
FEES
$150.00 for Humanist Canada members; $250.00 for non-members. If you are an HC member, please log into your account to select the discounted fee.