Syllabus

The syllabus for Morality and Modernity, including a description of the course's content and objectives, and a list of the required readings

David Solomon

Course Description

This course explores the nature of modern morality through an examination of the work of Alasdair MacIntyre and Charles Taylor. We will read MacIntyre's groundbreaking account of emergence of modern morality, After Virtue, and compare his interpretation of the morality of modernity with that offered by Charles Taylor in The Ethics of Authenticity. We will also read works by Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Nietzsche, two thinkers whose ideas have powerfully shaped the moral culture of the modern world.

Course Objectives

  1. The students will develop a basic understanding of distinctive features of modernity, and acquire a broad understanding of the moral and social changes that have been part of the transition to modernity.
  2. The students will become familiar with a variety of important philosophical reflections on the fate of ethics in the modern world.
  3. The students will be able to reflect critically on the readings for the course and its subject matter and themes.
  4. The students will develop their ability to express their critical reflections in clear and precise prose.

Prerequisites

None

Required Texts

Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, 3d ed. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1993. (preview)

Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue, 3d ed. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007.

Walter Miller, Jr., A Canticle for Leibowitz. New York: Eos, 2006. (preview)

Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. (preview)

Charles Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993. (preview)

The assigned readings also include chapters from the following books:

J.M. Roberts, The New Penguin History of the World, 5th ed. New York: Penguin Books, 2007.
(Book Five, Chapter Two, "Authority and Its Challengers")

C.S. Lewis, The Discarded Image. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. (preview)
(Chapter Five, "The Heavens")

Films

The course includes screenings of the following films:

Thank You for Smoking, dir. Jason Reitman, 2005.

Match Point, dir. Woody Allen, 2005.

Groundhog Day, dir. Harold Ramis, 1993.

Grading

Component Percentage
Midterm exam 20%
Final exam 20%
Papers (3) 40%
Discussion section participation 20%
100%