Goodbye to Yesterday...

Your grades are now posted. Bye, 9:00 class!


Enjoy your summer, 10:00 class!


(Sorry, 11:00 class, I forgot to take your picture!)

Final Exam

Just a reminder that the final exam is Wednesday, May 13th in our normal classroom at our normal class time. You will only have 50 minutes to take the test, so be sure to show up on time.

Stubborn = Intellectually Dishonest

Here's a little rant on a favorite topic of mine: intellectual honesty. A simple goal of this class is to get us all to recognize what counts as good evidence and what counts as bad evidence for a claim. I think we're getting better at that. But it's not clear that we're caring about the difference once we figure it out.

Getting us to care is the real goal of this class. We should care about good evidence. We should care about it because it's what gets us closer to the truth. When we judge an argument to be overall good, THE POWER OF LOGIC COMPELS US to believe the conclusion. If we like an arg, but still stubbornly disagree with its conclusion, we are just being irrational.

This means we should be open-minded. We should be willing to let new evidence change our current beliefs. We should be open to the possibility that we might be wrong. This is how Todd Glass puts it:


Here are the first two paragraphs of a great article I read in the Fall on this:

Last week, I jokingly asked a health club acquaintance whether he would change his mind about his choice for president if presented with sufficient facts that contradicted his present beliefs. He responded with utter confidence. "Absolutely not," he said. "No new facts will change my mind because I know that these facts are correct."

I was floored. In his brief rebuttal, he blindly demonstrated overconfidence in his own ideas and the inability to consider how new facts might alter a presently cherished opinion. Worse, he seemed unaware of how irrational his response might appear to others. It's clear, I thought, that carefully constructed arguments and presentation of irrefutable evidence will not change this man's mind.

Ironically, having extreme confidence in oneself is often a sign of ignorance. In many cases, such stubborn certainty is unwarranted.

Give Up

Because we ran out of time, we skipped over a section in class on giving to charity. It's an important issue, though, so I thought I'd give you some links on it, anyway.

• Free Charity! The Hunger Site. Just clicking there donates food! Also, try the word game at FreeRice.
• Affordable Charities! $10 Club, Microcredit, & Oxfam.
• Research on Effective Charities! Want to know which charities aren't squandering their donations? Check out Charity Navigator or GiveWell.
• Peter Singer's been promoting his new book a lot lately. He's pointed out the biases that keep us from giving, and called out professors for not teaching about poverty.
  
• NPR's Fresh Air ran a radio interview with someone who argues that a lot of current aid does more harm than good. (Donate to his organization here.)
• Here's a great article on the concerns about giving aid to African nations. I recommend reading the last section.
• Why would we give away the money we earn? (This article even references Thomas Nagel's anti-I'M-SPECIAL-ism.)
  

Finally, here's Peter Singer's recent Colbert Report interview .

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Peter Singer
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

Hunting

-via FailBlog

Moopheus

Here are some links on animal ethics:

• Vegetarians Still Love the Smell of Bacon
• David Foster Wallace: Consider the Lobster
• How to Cut Back on Meat Slowly
• What Is The Meatrix?
  
• Animal Research (Peter Singer's Sometimes OK with It!)
• Peter Singer on Michael Vick & Dog Fighting
  
• Audio Interview with Peter Singer
• Michael Pollan's "An Animal's Place"
• Is Worrying About the Ethics of Your Diet Elitist?
• Huge List of Resources on the Moral Status of Animals

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Peter Singer

Ron Paul Interview
Bob Barr Interview

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Paper #2 Guidelines

Due Date: The beginning of class on Monday, May 11th, 2009

Worth: 15% of your final grade

Assignment: Write an argumentative essay on the topic below. Papers must be typed, and must be between 600-1200 words long. Provide a word count on the first page of the paper. (Most programs like Microsoft Word & WordPerfect have automatic word counts.)

Topic: Explain and defend your definition of “person” as it relates to morality.

(1) First, briefly explain and critically evaluate the different definitions of “person” that we have discussed in class. Be sure to explain each definition offered by Mary Anne Warren, Stephen Schwarz, James Rachels (his account of a biographical life), and Roger Scruton.

(2) Second, explain how each of these authors uses their definition of “person” to attempt to settle the particular ethical debate he or she wrote about. (Warren on abortion, Schwarz on abortion, Rachels on euthanasia, and Scruton on animal ethics).

(3) Third, explain your definition of “person”: do you agree with one of these authors’ definitions, or do you have one of your own?

(4) Fourth, explain the solution that your definition of “person” gives to the ethical debates of abortion, euthanasia, and animal ethics.

When considering your definition of “person,” be sure to answer the following questions: Which living creatures are persons, and which living creatures are not persons? Do you believe that you need to be a “person” in the moral sense in order to have moral rights (in particular, the right to not be killed and the right to not suffer unnecessarily)? Can someone have moral rights before they have moral duties? Be sure to fully explain and philosophically defend each of your answers.

Youth In Asia

Ali G's Take on Euthanasia

[More on euthanasia]

Group Presentations: 11:00 Class

Here are the group assignments for the 11:00 a.m. class. If you're not in a group yet, let me know as soon as possible so we can get you in one.

Team Stem Cells (1st on Monday, 5/4/09)
Alex, Chris M., Ebony, Kim, Nichelle

Team Death Penalty (2nd on Monday, 5/4/09)
Christina, Karolina, Kyle B., Shanta, Tom

Team Homosexuality (3rd on Monday, 5/4/09)
Autumn, Mallory, Meghan, Nicole, Shardé

Team Pornography (1st on Wednesday, 5/6/09)
Amanda, Chris K., Diane, Jamie, Kevin, Tom B.

Team Steroids (2nd on Wednesday, 5/6/09)
Lisa, Mark, Nick, Shane, Spencer, Steve

Team Cosmetic Surgery (1st on Friday, 5/8/09)
Bernadette, Danielle, Justin, Kyle W., Rebecca

Team Wal-Mart (2nd on Friday, 5/8/09)
Alaina, Brooke, Gladys, Jess, Liz

Also, I mentioned this in class, but just in case...

Attendance is mandatory for the group presentations on Monday (5/4/09), Wednesday (5/6/09), and Friday (5/8/09). It's the only time I'll be a stickler for it. Basically, I want you to show respect for the other groups presenting.

If you don't attend on either the days your group isn't presenting (and your absence isn't excused), your own personal presentation grade will drop. Each day you don't attend will lower your grade by a full letter grade.

One last thing: be sure to keep the presentations under 15 minutes. A 10-minute presentation is ideal, so we can have time for a short question-and-answer session afterward.

Group Presentations: 10:00 class

Here are the group assignments for the 10:00 a.m. class. If you're not in a group yet, let me know as soon as possible so we can get you in one.

Team Pornography (1st on Monday, 5/4/09)
Ashley, Casondra, Jessica, Juanita, Kristine, Zach

Team Stem Cells (2nd on Monday, 5/4/09)
Antonio, Aubrey, Jeremiah, Shaun, Vyvyan

Team Prostitution (1st on Wednesday, 5/6/09)
Casey, Chelsea, Dan, Jennifer, Lindsay, Stephen L.

Team Torture (2nd on Wednesday, 5/8/09)
Alex, Ashton, Chris, Ralph, Steve P., Yousef

Team Steroids (1st on Friday, 5/8/09)
Frank, Hasan, Joe A., Joe K., Mike, Tiana

Team Death Penalty (2nd on Friday, 5/8/09)
Andrew, Bill, Brittany G., Brittany S., Monique, Tim

Also, I mentioned this in class, but just in case...

Attendance is mandatory for the group presentations on Monday (5/4/09), Wednesday (5/6/09), and Friday (5/8/09). It's the only time I'll be a stickler for it. Basically, I want you to show respect for the other groups presenting.

If you don't attend on either the days your group isn't presenting (and your absence isn't excused), your own personal presentation grade will drop. Each day you don't attend will lower your grade by a full letter grade.

One last thing: be sure to keep the presentations under 15 minutes. A 10-minute presentation is ideal, so we can have time for a short question-and-answer session afterward.

Group Presentations: 9:00 class

Here are the group assignments for the 9:00 a.m. class. If you're not in a group yet, let me know as soon as possible so we can get you in one.

Team Social Contract (1st on Monday, 5/4/09)
Angeleitha, Britné, Chris, Christina, Christine, Kyle

Team Taoism (2nd on Monday, 5/4/09)
Amanda, Danielle, Dave, Duong, Lynda, Rob

Team Death Penalty (1st on Wednesday, 5/6/09)
Ahmad, Khalid, Joe, Rachel, Raquel, Taylor

Team Steroids (1st on Friday, 5/8/09)
Alex, Clark, Jim, Kevin, Scott, Steve C.

Team Pornography (2nd on Friday, 5/8/09)
Aeisha, Bora, Chaurne, Jocelyn, Kavonya, Maria

Also, I mentioned this in class, but just in case...

Attendance is mandatory for the group presentations on Monday (5/4/09), Wednesday (5/6/09), and Friday (5/8/09). It's the only time I'll be a stickler for it. Basically, I want you to show respect for the other groups presenting.

If you don't attend on either the days your group isn't presenting (and your absence isn't excused), your own personal presentation grade will drop. Each day you don't attend will lower your grade by a full letter grade.

One last thing: be sure to keep the presentations under 15 minutes. A 10-minute presentation is ideal, so we can have time for a short question-and-answer session afterwards.

Team Implants

Here are some links on the ethics of cosmetic surgery:

• The rise of cosmetic surgery.
• Is cosmetic surgery getting in nature's way?
• Feminism, science, and liberty of breast implants.
• A feminist perspective on cosmetic surgery.
  
• The case against bodily perfection.
• The uneasy connection between cosmetic surgery and racial identity.
  
• The backlash against cosmetic vagina surgery.
• Want a better brain? Try neurocosmetic surgery!
  
• If you're in the military, then you get free cosmetic surgery!
  
• Does gender reassignment surgery reinforce sexist stereotypes?
  
• The dangers of sex reassignment surgery.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Alex Kuczynski
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

Team Taoism

Here are some links:

• Two advanced overviews (one and two) of Taoism (SEP, IEP)
• Two articles (one and two) on Taoism's founder Laozi (SEP, IEP)
• Two articles (one and two) on Zhuangzi (SEP, IEP)
  
• A simpler overview of Taoism (AskAsia.org)
• A simpler overview of Taoist ethics (BBC)
  

Team Social Contract

First, you should read the section on Economic and Social Justice that starts on page 461 in our "Do the Right Thing" textbook. I recommend specifically the article by John Rawls that begins on page 464. Also, here are some links.

• Two Detailed Overviews (one and two) of Social Contract Theory (SEP, IEP)
• An Advanced Overview of John Rawls's Version (SEP)
• Simpler Intro to Rawls's Theory of Justice (Jan Garrett)
• Radio Show on John Rawls (Philosophy Talk)
• Rawls's "Original Position" (SEP)
• Behind Rawls's Veil of Ignorance (Lingua Franca)
  

Team Homosexuality

First, you should check out the section of our Do the Right Thing textbook on homosexuality, which begins on page 607.

Also, here are some links and a video:

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Article on Homosexuality
Why the Religious Are Against Gay Marriage (Slate)
The Claims of Nature (Reason)
Gays and Genes (New York Review of Books)
Gay Marriage Email Debate (Slate)
Slippery Slope Args Against Gay Marriage Suck! (Slate)