COURSE GUIDE PHL204 INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS Course Team Dr. A.Z. Ibrahim (Course Developer/Writer) – ABU Zaria Prof. Andrew Efemini (Course Editor) - UNIPORT NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA PHL 204 COURSE GUIDE © 2020 by NOUN Press National Open University of Nigeria Headquarters University Village Plot 91, Cadastral Zone Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway Jabi, Abuja Lagos Office 14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island, Lagos e-mail: [email protected] URL: www.nou.edu.ng All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed 2020 ISBN: 978-978-058-021-6 ii PHL 204 COURSE GUIDE CONTENTS PAGE Introduction…………………………………………… iv Course Objectives……………………………………. iv Working Through this Course……………………….. iv Study Units……………………………………………. v Presentation Schedule………………………………… vii Assessment……………………………………………. vii How to Get the Most from the Course……………….. viii Facilitation…………………………………………….. viii iii PHL 204 COURSE GUIDE INTRODUCTION Welcome to PHL204: Introduction to Ethics. PHL204 is a three-credit unit course that has a minimum duration of one semester. It is a compulsory course for all B.A. Philosophy students of the University. The course is supposed to expatiate on Ethics which you learnt about in Introduction to Philosophy during the first semester. It aims to enlighten you about the significance of ethics in philosophy. COURSE OBJECTIVES By the end of this course, you will be able to: explain the origin of ethics define ethics explain the division of ethics discuss the methodology of ethics explain the value of ethics explain human values; examine the nature of human conduct discuss human act analyse the relationship between ethics and morality identify the disparity between ethics and law explain the concept of moral law discuss the principles of justice and conscience define the concept of good identify the good and doing the good examine the nature of right and wrong discuss whether ethics is science or art explain the assumption of ethics identify some fundamental principles of ethics describe the relationship between ethics and religion. WORKING THROUGH THIS COURSE To successfully complete this course, read the study units and do all the assignments. Open the link and read, participate in the discussion forums, read the recommended books and other materials provided, prepare your portfolios, and participate in the online facilitation. Each study unit has an introduction, intended learning outcomes, the main content, conclusion, summary and references/further readings. The introduction will tell you the expectations in the study unit. Read and note the intended learning outcomes (ILOs). The intended learning outcomes tell you what you should be able to do after each study unit. iv PHL 204 COURSE GUIDE So, you can evaluate your learning at the end of each unit to ensure you have achieved the intended learning outcomes. To meet the intended learning outcomes, knowledge is presented in texts and links arranged into modules and units. Click on the links as may be directed, but when you are reading the text offline, you will have to copy and paste the link address into a browser. You can print or download the text to save it in your computer or external drive. The conclusion gives you the theme of knowledge you are taking away from the unit. Unit summaries are also presented in downloadable format. There are two main forms of assessments – the formative and the summative. The formative assessments are presented as in-text questions, discussion forums and Self-Assessment Exercises. It helps you monitor your learning. The summative assessments would be used by the University to evaluate your academic performance. This will be given as a Computer Based Test (CBT) which serves as continuous assessment and final examination. A minimum of two or a maximum of three computer-based tests will be given with only one final examination at the end of the semester. You are required to take all the Computer Based Tests and the final examination. STUDY UNITS There are 25 units in this course grouped into five modules. The modules and units are presented as follows: Module 1 Unit 1 Origin of Ethics Unit 2 Definition of Ethics Unit 3 Divisions of Ethics Unit 4 Methodology of Ethics Module 2 Unit 1 The Values of Ethics Unit 2 Human Value Unit 3 Nature of Human Conduct Unit 4 Human Act Module 3 Unit 1 Relationship between Ethics and Morality Unit 2 Ethics and Law Unit 3 The Concept of Moral Law v PHL 204 COURSE GUIDE Unit 4 Principles of Justice and Conscience Module 4 Unit 1 Definition of ‘Good’ Unit 2 Knowing the Good and Doing the Good Unit 3 The Nature of ‘Right’ and ‘Wrong’ Module 5 Unit 1 Is Ethics Science or Art? Unit 2 Assumptions of Ethics Unit 3 Some Fundamental Principles of Ethics Unit 4 Ethics and Religion REFERENCES/FURTHER READING Bentham, J. (1825). The Rationale of Reward. London: trans. R. Smith, J. and H.L. Hunt. Bentham, J. (1830). The Rationale of Punishment. London: trans. R. Smith, Robert Heward. Brentano, F. (2009). The Origin of our Knowledge of Right and Wrong. Oxon: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. Broad, C.D. (1930 & 1967). Five Types of Ethical Theories. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. Deigh, J. (2010). An Introduction to Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ltd. Foot, P. (Ed.). (2002). Theories of Ethics. Oxford: University Press. Graham, G. (2004). Eight Theories of Ethics. London: Routledge. Hare, R.M. (1981). Moral Thinking, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Lillie, W. (1971). An Introduction to Ethics. London: Methuen & Co Ltd. Morgan, P. & Lawton, C.A. (2007). Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions. Edinburgh University Press. Popkin, R. H. (1993). Philosophy. Oxford: Made Simple Books. vi PHL 204 COURSE GUIDE Sagi & Statman (1995). Religion and Morality. Rodopi, Amsterdam- Atlanta. Sidgwick, H. (1962). The Methods of Ethics. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Solomon, R.C & Greene, J.K. (1999). Morality and the Good Life. New York: McGraw-Hill. Tannsjo, T. (2002). Understanding Ethics: An Introduction to Moral Theory. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. PRESENTATION SCHEDULE The presentation schedule gives you the important dates for the completion of your computer-based tests, participating in forum discussions and participating at facilitations. Remember you are to submit all your assignments at the appropriate time. You should guide against delays and plagiarism in your work. Plagiarism is a criminal offence in academics, and it is highly penalised. ASSESSMENT There are two main forms of assignments that will be scored in this course: the continuous assessment and the final examination. The continuous assessment shall be in three-fold. There will be two computer-based assessments which will be given according to the University calendar. The timing must be strictly adhered to. The computer-based assessments shall be scored a maximum of 10% each, while participation in discussion forums and your portfolio presentation shall be scored a maximum of 10% if you meet 75% participation. Therefore, the maximum score for continuous assessment shall be 30% which shall form part of the final grade. The final examination for PHL204 will be a maximum of three hours, and it takes 70% of the total course grade. The examination will consist of five questions out of which you are expected to answer four. Note: You will earn a 10% score if you meet a minimum of 75% participation in the course forum discussions and in your portfolios. Otherwise, you will lose 10% of your total score. You will be required to upload your portfolio using google Doc. What you are expected to do in your portfolio is to present your notes or the jottings you made on each study unit and activity. This will include the time you spent on each unit and or activity. vii PHL 204 COURSE GUIDE HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM THE COURSE To get the most of this course, you need to have a personal laptop and internet facility. This will give you an adequate opportunity to learn everywhere you are in the world. Use the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) to guide your self-study in the course. At the end of every unit, examine yourself with the ILOs and see if you have achieved what you need to achieve. Carefully work through each unit and make your notes. Join the online real-time facilitation as scheduled. Where you missed the scheduled online real-time facilitation, go through the recorded facilitation session at your own free time. Each real-time facilitation session will be video recorded and posted on the platform. In addition to the real-time facilitation, watch the video recorded summary in each unit. The video/audio summaries are directed to the salient part in each unit. You can assess the audio and video by clicking on the links in the text or through the course page. Work through all self-assessment exercises. Finally, obey the rules in the class. FACILITATION You will receive online facilitation. The facilitation is learner-centred. The mode of facilitation shall be asynchronous and synchronous. For the asynchronous facilitation, your facilitator will: present the theme for the week direct and summarise forum discussions coordinate activities in the platform score and grade activities when need be upload scores into the university recommended platform support you to learn. in this regard personal mails may be sent send you video and audio lecture and postcards. For the synchronous: There will be a minimum of eight hours and a maximum of 12 online real-time contacts in the course. This will be video conferencing in the Learning Management System. The sessions are going to be run at an viii PHL 204 COURSE GUIDE hour per session. At the end of each one-hour video conferencing, the video will be uploaded for view at your own pace.