Philosophy 137Gm: Social Ethics for Earthlings and Others

Spring 2014 Professor S.A. Lloyd Meets MW, 10-11:45, SGM 101 [email protected] Office Hours: MW 8:30-9:30 MHP 205c & by appointment

PHILOSOPHY 137GM: SOCIAL ETHICS FOR EARTHLINGS AND OTHERS: Political Philosophy Through Science Fiction

In our increasingly pluralistic world, it is difficult to figure out how to organize our collective society so that it works well for all of us, and is fair to all of us. Differences in culture, ethnicity, gender, age, nationality, religion, philosophies, and interests and capabilities seem to entrench us in parochial ways of thinking about social organization and social justice that make it hard for us to generate any kind of social consensus or mutually accommodating community. How can we get beyond our prejudices, to think “outside the box” about social morality? This course taps the imagination of science fiction to make more vivid the perspectives of others with whom we could or did not antecedently identify, and considers what help the various classical political theories available to us have to offer.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the course is to develop skills in critical thinking about social issues. A secondary objective is to facilitate each student’s coming to his or her own reasoned (if provisional) conclusion on some important social issues currently being debated in our society, including whether we should try to “build a better human”, how to treat the emergent artificial intelligences and new species we expect to create; whether environments, both earthly and extra-terrestrial should be preserved for their intrinsic value or the other species they support or rather developed for human use; whether our criminal justice system should aim, in light of our increasing ability to predict criminal behavior and to conduct surveillance, at deterring future crime rather than punishing past offenses; whether desirable social positions should be awarded on the basis of a conception of merit that uses genetic information to predict performance; whether membership in the human species ought, as such, to confer special rights and privileges against members of non-human species; and whether any moral norms of warfare apply to enemies whose form of life and values are very different from our own. This course fulfills the Diversity Requirement by focusing on four forms of difference: species, economic class, degree of talent or native endowment, and enemy status. Students will learn about speciesism, discriminatory meritocracy, and the ethical treatment of those we classify as enemies by considering diverse forms of sentience and intelligence, and competing theories of social justice and equality of opportunity.

COURSE ORGANIZATION

The course is organized around different answers to one of the basic questions of political philosophy: What should be the goals and guiding values of our political society? We will consider five attractive answers: To secure the greatest good for the greatest number of persons (Bentham); to create fair opportunities for each person (Rawls, Dworkin); to engage in autonomous self-government (Kant); to develop virtuous citizens living well in a virtuous community (Plato, Aristotle); to develop individuality, and enable progressive innovation (Mill). Can these goals be jointly satisfied, or do they pull in different directions? What are their implications for our practical questions?

REQUIRED READINGS All books are available in paperback at the campus bookstore. Additional required readings are posted on the course Blackboard.

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals John Stuart Mill, On Liberty and Other Essays Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake Chris Moriarty, Spin State

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Please come to class and discussion section having read, and prepared to discuss, the assigned readings for the week.

Short exercises (20%) Midterm exam Wednesday, February 12th (15%) First paper, approx. 1500 words, due Monday, March 10th (15%) Second Paper, approx. 2000 words, due Monday, April 7th (20%) Final Exam, Monday, May 12th, 8-10 a.m. (20%) Regular and constructive participation in weekly discussion section (10%) PROVISIONAL SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS

Central Theme: What moral norms should structure a society’s organization and legal requirements of its members?

Theory 1: The greatest good for the greatest number. Week 1: Introduction to the course and to Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism. Read Simmons (BB) and Bentham (BB) Exercise 1 due 1/14

Week 2: Utilitarianism’s Hedonic Calculus Read Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, first half

Week 3: Utilitarianism as a social ordering principle, advantages and supporting argument. Read remainder of The Handmaid’s Tale Exercise 2 due 1/31

Week 4: Objections to Utilitarianism and argument by counterexample Exercise 3 due 2/4

Week 5: Midterm prep and midterm exam 2/12.

Theory 2: Fair opportunity. Weeks 6 & 7: Meritocracy, Rawls’s Original Position, and Dworkin’s choice-reflective view Read the three Rawls excerpts, and articles on Meritocracy on BB Paper 1 assigned 2/26

Theory 3: Autonomous self-government. Week 8: Equal Respect and the Moral Law Read Kant’s Grounding, First Section and Second Section Read Copelston (BB) Week 9: The Categorical Imperative Procedure; Kantian Fairness and the Rule of Law Exercise 4 due 3/11 Begin theory of the moral standing of non-human animals

SPRING BREAK!

Week 10: Moral standing of artificial intelligences and of the environment Read Singer, Frey, (BB) Read Atwood, Oryx and Crake Paper 2 assigned 3/24 Exercise 5 due 3/27

Theory 4: Virtuous character in a virtuous community Weeks 11 & 12: Plato and Aristotle Read Plato in (CR) Read Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Books 2,3,4,7,8 Exercise 6 due 4/3 Paper 2 due 4/7

Theory 5: Individuality and progress Week 13: J.S. Mill on liberty, individuality and community claims Read Mill, On Liberty chapters III and IV, and Utilitarianism chapters II and V

Weeks 14 & 15: treatment of enemies in war Exercise 7 due 4/29 Course Review

Final exam: Monday, May 12th, 8-10 a.m.

COURSE POLICIES

No recording or streaming of lectures is permitted. Internet posting of course materials is prohibited. Please turn off your cell phones during class.

U.S.C.’s academic integrity standards will be strictly enforced for all assignments in this course. Please be sure to observe all quotation and citation conventions. All written work must be yours alone. Please consult your Scampus guidebook to inform yourself of the details of these standards, and bring to me or your T.A. any questions or uncertainties you may have as to what they require. Any academic integrity violation will result in an “F” for the course, and possibly further sanctions.

No late papers will be accepted, but you may turn in any of your papers prior to the due date if you wish. There will be no make-up exams, so be sure to mark exam dates on your calendar. No passing grade will be assigned to any student who has not taken the final exam.

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776 TOPICS FOR T.A.-LED DISCUSSION SECTIONS

Week 1 Introductory section meetings, discussion of exercise 1 2 Philosophical method and argument; Utilitarianism 3 Utilitarianism 4 Objection by counterexample and The Handmaid’s Tale 5 Utilitarianism and midterm discussion 6 Rawls 7 Dworkin 8 Kant 9 Kant and moral standing of nonhuman animals SPRING BREAK 10 Moral standing of artificial intelligences and the environment 11 Plato 12 Aristotle 13 Mill 14 Mill and Just War Theory 15 Moral standing of enemies in war and preparation for Final Exam