Ethics

We approach ethical issues from a broad range of perspectives, our aim being to develop the richest possible account of human moral experience. We employ methods and insights drawn from theories of cognitive development, from social and cultural studies, from the sciences, from feminist discussions of gender, and from literature and the arts.

Faculty research and teaching interests currently include the following orientations: empirical research on moral development and moral reasoning, naturalized approaches to ethics, virtue ethics, pragmatist moral theory, feminist ethics in relation to issues of freedom and responsibility, ethical issues in literature and the arts, peace and conflict resolution studies, and critical theory. We are strong in many parts of the history of moral philosophy, especially in the Enlightenment through the twentieth century.

Selected Courses Related to Issues in Ethics

Introduction to Ethics
Moral Theory
Feminist Ethics
Kant’s theory of morality
Hume
Nietzsche
Levinas
Iris Murdoch
Graduate Seminar in Ethics
Seminar: Ethics through Literature
Seminar: Naturalistic Ethics
Ethics in Ancient Philosophy

Philosophy Faculty in this Concentration

William Davie
Mark Johnson
Cheyney Ryan
Peter Warnek
Naomi Zack