Instructor Course Description
Making ethical decisions can be hard and made even harder because they are often taboo to talk about in "polite" company for fear of offending, upsetting, or breaching etiquette. This makes it difficult to figure out what the right thing to do is, let alone how to go about doing it. In this course we will create a space to explore ethical decision making. At its core, careful decision making about ethical issues is about identifying, analyzing, and weighing reasons.[1] During our time together this semester we will practice reason-giving and reason-taking in a number of contexts because it represents our best way to get closer to truth about ethical issues.

We will look at a number of ethical issues we are all faced with today including: echo chambers and epistemic bubbles, deplatforming, casual sex and promiscuity, prostitution, marriage, and the American justice system, just to name a few. This course is heavily influenced by you (the students), and while Laura and I have identified some topics to get us started, you will be selecting the ethical issues most interesting and relevant to you. This also extends to your assignments! We want this course to expose you to new ways of thinking about the issues you are already invested in.

Instructor Learning Outcomes
Learning is a process of transformation. When you learn something, you have changed in
some way, be it drastically or subtly. Here are some goals we have for you (and us) over the
course of the semester:

• Have greater skill at initiating and navigating (potentially) uncomfortable conversations
  about contentious ethical issues.

• Practice using tools of inquiry with care, creativity, and criticality to analyze our own and
  others' reasons for holding ethical positions.

• Gain experience deconstructing complex arguments, especially in writing, and charitably
  reconstructing them identifying: the conclusion, premises, assumptions, and objections.

• Develop dialectic skills such as, active listening, critical analysis, clear speaking, as well as
  collaborative thinking and synthesis.

Instructor's Note on Philosophy's (lack of) Diversity and Inclusion

In an ideal world, philosophy would honor all voices that have contributed to its concepts, theories, and conversations over time. Unfortunately, this world is not ideal. There are many people from marginalized communities who will likely never receive the recognition they deserve because philosophy has, and continues to, privilege a very small subset of voices.

In this course, we will read papers from a diverse group of philosophers. Even so, I acknowledge that I have likely (if unintentionally) overlooked sources that deserve attention. It is possible (even likely) that there may be both overt and covert biases in the material due to the lens with which it was written. Integrating a diverse set of experiences is important to the practice of good philosophy and I would like to discuss these issues as part of the course when they arise. Please contact me (in person or electronically) or submit anonymous feedback through the canvas survey form if you have any comments or suggestions to improve the quality of the course and its incorporation of diversity along all dimensions.

A Supportive Class Environment

I want our classroom to be a place of exploration that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives and experiences and honors your identities (including race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, ability, etc.) To help accomplish this:

• I will make sure to use your preferred name and pronouns.
• I will address racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, classist, and other prejudicial statements and actions in the course, and follow up with those affected.
• I (like many people) am still in the process of learning about diverse perspectives andidentities. If something was said in class (by anyone) that made you feel uncomfortable, please talk to me about it, ESPECIALLY if that person was me.

Required Textbook and Course Materials

I do not require any texts for this course. All readings and media will be provided for you through our Canvas Course Shell. I do this because I recognize that even small book fees can add up and this puts an undue burden on some students. However, I love philosophy and would be more than happy to recommend further readings should you become interested! I would be even more delighted if you wanted to discuss them with me in office hours or over coffee sometime.

We will be using the learning management system Canvas this semester. Campus provides students with technology guidelines and recommendations to make sure you can access our course shell.

Grade Components

Attending class and sections is mandatory. Philosophy is best done with others, and you (as
well as your peers) will learn more when you participate actively and thoughtfully. We will go
over what it means to be a thoughtful contributor to our discussions in the first days of the
course.

There are five major components that will contribute to your final grade. However, they are
designed to focus your eort and attention on your growth throughout the course. I know
grades are important and matter. However, learning can be lost in the stress of making sure to
get a certain grade. To help alleviate this, all of the assignments are low-stakes. There will be
no quizzes or exams. Every assignment has been designed to give you the opportunity to reflect and demonstrate your learning without the pressure of competing, memorizing copious amounts of material, or completing meaningless busy work.

Here is a quick description of each assignment, but don't worry, comprehensive directions
will be given before any assignments are due.

ANNOTATIONS (25%)
One of the most important parts of this course is reading. We will read/listen to a variety of types
of sources. Some will be academic papers, and some will be from media outlets. Sometimes the
reading will be challenging and test your patience. However, it is the best way to encounter new arguments, and will be the basis for our in-class work. Therefore, I want to reward you for completing it. By annotating (we will talk about what this means) the reading each week, you will receive
points, and these points make up the largest component of your grade.

QCCRs (20%)
By the end of each day we have class you will submit a QCCR. QCCR stands for: Question, Comment, Critique, Reflection. This is a reflection and feedback device that will help you sort out your own thoughts about what happened in class and help me to understand how you are feeling about the material.CLASS FACILITATION (20%)

CLASS FACILITATION (20%)
Each of you (with friends) will be responsible for teaching the class one day. You will do this is
consultation with me to make sure you are well prepared to have a good class.

DECONSTRUCTION-RECONSTRUCTION SHORT PAPERS (20%--10% each)

This assignment will be done twice during the semester, once towards the beginning and once
towards the end. The goal of these is to allow you to practice identifying and analyzing arguments in other settings. You will be free to choose your topic of interest here.

PUBLIC PHILOSOPHY PROJECT (15%)

Instead of a final paper or exam for this course, you will be planning and executing your own public philosophy project. This is something we will consult about over the semester so that you are well prepared to do your project. You are welcome (and encouraged!) to work with your peers as you connect with them throughout the semester.