Outline

Overview

We go beyond the question of which actions are morally right to consider the following: How should we evaluate motives and emotions? Is anyone actually virtuous, or are we all weak-willed, self-deceived confabulators? Are any actions or persons evil? When should we feel guilty or ashamed? Should forgiveness be unconditional? Is morality the product of Darwinian natural selection, or of culture and learning? Is there any objective truth in morality, or are moral claims merely subjective or culturally relative?

Unit details and rules

Unit code	PHIL2623
Academic unit	Philosophy
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	PHIL2513 or PHIL3513
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 1000 level in Philosophy
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Luke Russell, luke.russell@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Take-home exam n/a	50%	Formal exam period Due date: 05 Jun 2022 at 23:59 Closing date: 19 Jun 2022	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay n/a	50%	Week 08 Due date: 11 Apr 2022 at 23:59 Closing date: 25 Apr 2022	2500 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Late penalties of 5% per day late, in accordance with FASS rules.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Normative Ethics Background	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Practical Reasoning and Moral Motivation	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 03	Virtue	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 04	Vice and Weakness of Will	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 05	Situationism and Virtue Ethics	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 06	Virtue Signalling and Moral Grandstanding	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 07	Moral Responsibility and Agency	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 08	Moral Emotions	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 09	Forgiveness	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 10	Evil	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 11	Causal Explanations of Morality	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 12	Debunking Morality: Nietzsche	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)
Week 13	Debunking Morality: Social Intuitionism	Lecture and tutorial (3 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Reading list available on the Canvas website.

Week 1. Normative Ethics Background

Philip Pettit, "Consequentialism", in Singer (ed.) A Companion to Ethics, Blackwell 1993.

Nancy Ann Davis, “Contemporary Deontology”, in Singer (ed.) A Companion to Ethics, Blackwell 1993.

Week 2. Practical Reasoning and Moral Motivation

David Hume, "Reason and Passion", in Singer (ed.) Ethics, Oxford University Press 1994.

Immanuel Kant, "Pure Practical Reason and the Moral Law", in Singer (ed.) Ethics, Oxford University Press 1994.

Week 3. Virtue

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, sections 4.42 to 4.54.

W. E. H. Lecky, "The Saints of the Desert" in Singer (ed.) Ethics, Oxford University Press 1994.

Julia Driver, Uneasy Virtue ch. 2 "Virtues of Ignorance", Cambridge University Press 2001.

Week 4. Vice and Weakness of Will

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book 7.

Jonathan Bennett, "The Conscience of Huckleberry Finn", Philosophy 49, 188, 1974.

Week 5. Situationism and Virtue Ethics

John Doris, Lack of Character ch. 3 "Moral Character, Moral Behaviour", Cambridge University Press 2002.

Recommended: Rachana Kamtekar, “Situationism and Virtue Ethics on the Content of Our Character”, Ethics 114 (3), 458-491 (2004).

Week 6. Virtue Signalling and Moral Grandstanding

Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke, Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk, ch 2. “What is Moral Grandstanding?”, Oxford University Press 2020.

Recommended: Julia Driver, “Moralism” Journal of Applied Philosophy, 2005.

Week 7. Moral Responsibility and Agency

Dana Kay Nelkin, Making Sense of Freedom and Responsibility Chapter 1. Oxford University Press (2011).

Recommended: P. F. Strawson, “Freedom and Resentment”, Proceedings of the British Academy, 48: 1–25; 1962.

Week 8. Moral Emotions

Justin D'Arms and Daniel Jacobson, "The Moralistic Fallacy: On the 'Appropriateness' of Emotions", Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 61, 1, 65-90: 2000.

Recommended: Bernard Williams, Moral Luck Chapter 1, Oxford University Press (1981).

Week 9. Forgiveness

Lucy Allais, "Wiping the Slate Clean: The Heart of Forgiveness", Philosophy and Public Affairs 36, 1, 2008.

Recommended: Eve Garrard and David McNaughton, Forgiveness Chapter 1, Routledge (2014).

Week 10. Evil

Eve Garrard , "Evil as an Explanatory Concept", The Monist 85, 2, pp.320-36, 2002.

Recommended: Luke Russell, “Defining Evil Actions” in Nys and de Wijze (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Evil, Routledge (2019).

Week 11. Causal Explanations of Morality

Aristotle, "Moral Virtue, How Produced" in Singer (ed.) Ethics, Oxford University Press 1994.

Mencius, "Are Humans Good by Nature?: A Debate Between Chinese Sages"" in Singer (ed.) Ethics, Oxford University Press 1994.

Elliott Sober, Philosophy of Biology 2nd ed., ch.7 "Sociobiology and the Extension of Evolutionary Theory", Westview 2000.

Week 12. Debunking Morality: Nietzsche

Brian Leiter, Nietzsche on Morality, ch. 6 "A Commentary on the First Essay", Routledge 2002.

Recommended: Mattieu Queloz and Damian Cueni “Nietzsche as a Critic of Genealogical Debunking”,

Week 13. Debunking Morality: Social Intuitionism

Miller, Christian B “Assessing Two Competing Approaches to the Psychology of Moral Judgments”,

Philosophical explorations, 2016, Vol.19 (1), p.28-47

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate a familiarity with the major issues and theories in moral philosophy and moral psychology
LO2. understand and analyse theories and arguments in moral philosophy and moral psychology, and to apply these theories to practice
LO3. critically evaluate these theories and arguments
LO4. articulate ideas with clarity of expression and exposition
LO5. develop new arguments or perspectives.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Some older readings have been replaced to bring more contemporary issues into focus.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

PHIL2623: Moral Psychology

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect