Critical Thinking II: Ethical Reasoning Course

About the Course:

What is the difference between right and wrong? Or good and evil? What is the good life? What is well-being? What is autonomy? These are difficult and eternal questions that are central to ethical theory, law, bioethics, and political discussion. To explore these concepts in depth, we will first consider various theories about the nature of value and morality through an introduction to moral philosophy in its various forms, including relativism, natural law, utilitarianism, and more. Then, given that conceptual foundation, the majority of the course will deal with how we can have deeper and more meaningful discussions about specific, important topics such as abortion, genetic engineering, euthanasia, capital punishment, and racism.

About the Instructor:

Dr. Christopher DiCarlo is a philosopher, educator, and author. He is the Principal and Founder of Critical Thinking Solutions and the Ethics Chair for the Canadian Mental Health Association. He is an Invited Professor at The Life Institute at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, and a past Visiting Research Scholar at Harvard University. He has authored several books, the latest of which is entitled: So You Think You Can Think: Tools for Having Intelligent Discussions and Getting Along. And in November of 2021, the 2nd Edition of his best-seller: How to Become a Really Good Pain in the Ass, will be released by Rowman and Littlefield.

Semester Schedule:

Class 1: Review of Critical Thinking. Introduction to Ethics, Theories, and Principles.

Class 2: Ethical Theories and Principles: Divine Command Theory, Subjectivism, Cultural Relativism, Egoism, Utilitarianism, Virtue Theory, Deontology, Social Contract Theory, Rights and Duties, and Principlism.

Class 3: Ethics and the Law, How to Analyze Ethical Case Studies via The Five Step Procedure for Ethical Dilemma Analysis.

Class 4: Ethical Issues and Case Studies: Abortion and Euthanasia.

Class 5: Ethical Issues and Case Studies: The New Reproductive Technologies.

Class 6: Ethical Issues and Case Studies: Racism and Capital Punishment.

Class 7: Ethical Issues and Case Studies: Genetics and Genomics.

Class 8: Ethical Issues and Case Studies: Autonomy – Political and Metaphysical.

Certification:

A Certificate of Completion is issued upon successful completion of the course (a pass /fail multiple-choice test).

Fees:

$150.00 for Humanist Canada members; $250.00 for non-members. If you are an HC member, please log into your account and select the discounted fee.