Moral Philosophy, PHL 210 (WF), Fall, 2025
Syllabus Moral Philosophy, PHL 210-01 (WF), Fall, 2025,
Prof. Michael Kagan, last updated 8/20/2025.
Class meetings WF as scheduled. Right now, the plan is to meet
in person.
We are now (8/20/25) scheduled to meet in person (Please remember to
check schedule for room changes at the beginning of the semester!)
Office hours via zoom -
Wednesdays 11-11:45am, and by appointment.
Tel:315-445-4489 - Campus voice mail - you should receive a reply within a few days.
Email:kagan@lemoyne.edu - You should receive a reply within a day or so (not including weekends).
This course aims at an understanding of the activity of making moral judgments or affirming one value or set of values over another. At issue are, typically, the meaning of the words spoken when people make ethical assertions, the possibility of justifying or proving the truth of such assertions and the implications of discovering situations in which the ethical dimension is problematic. Integral to this course is a study of these questions in the light of the great traditions of ethical thinking as they have come to light in the various wisdom literatures. (Le Moyne College Catalog)
Philosophy department outcomes this course serves:
Students will develop a philosophical understanding of the world through the eyes of others.
Philosophically Significant Issues in the World: Students will evince a mature discernment of the relationship between philosophically significant issues and their own intellectual and moral worlds.
Students will be able to summarize a philosophical argument with appropriate detail.
Core outcomes this course serves:
CLO 1 Disciplinary Inquiry
Students will explore meaningful questions, both
practical and transcendent, through study in the arts, humanities,
natural sciences, and social sciences.
CLO 3 Critical Thinking
Students will comprehensively evaluate issues,
ideas, events, and works before making informed conclusions.
CLO 4 Written Communication
Students will produce coherent arguments in writing.
CLO 5 Oral Communication
Students will prepare and present in a variety of
contexts, as speaker and listener.
CLO 8 Ethical Integrity
Students will make reasoned ethical decisions by
assessing their own moral values, recognizing different ethical
perspectives, and thoughtfully analyzing ethical and moral dilemmas.
CLO 9 Creating a More Just Society
Students will investigate complex challenges
involving cultural and social diversity, and the individual's role in
developing just solutions.
[Links to some online versions of these texts can be found by clicking here.]
Plato - Five Dialogues (Grube translation, with Cooper revisions)
Aristotle - Nicomachean Ethics (David Rosss
translation)
Confucius - Analects (D.C. Laus translation)
Lau Tzu - Tao Te Ching (D.C. Laus translation)
Martin Buber - The Way of Man
Kathryn J. Norlock - "Feminist Ethics", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
AI Writing tools such as ChatGPT are welcome in this class,
provided that you cite when
and how you use the tool. You also need to verify and
correct any citations in the generated material! You
will be provided with examples of how to cite your use of
this tool in your writing.
Example of attribution language:
The author generated this text in part with GPT-3, OpenAIs
large-scale
language-generation model. Upon generating draft language, the
author reviewed,
edited, and revised the language to their own liking and takes
ultimate responsibility for
the content of this publication.
Statement from faculty member at Siena College:
https://www.depts.ttu.edu/tlpdc/JillHogan_AISyllabusStatement.pdf
Syllabus Statement - Jill Hogan jillian.a.hogan@gmail.com
Excerpted from "Working Document for Generative AI Syllabi Statements," emailed from the Dean Beth Mitchell on June 14, 2023.
In coordination with the Academic Support Center (ASC) and Disability Support Services, reasonable accommodations are provided for qualified students with disabilities. Please register with the ASC Office for disability verification and determination of reasonable accommodations. After receiving your accommodation form from the ASC, you will need to make an appointment with me to review the form and discuss your needs. Please make every attempt to meet with me within the first week of class so your accommodations can be provided in a timely manner. You can either stop by the ASC, Library, 1st floor, or call (445-4118-voice or 445-4104-TDD) to make an appointment.
A copy of and the Le Moyne College Student Support
Statements and a recent (Spring 2024) Le Moyne College COVID-19
Syllabus Statement is found below the course schedule in the
links and other important information section.
If you miss class for any obligation or religious
observance throughout the semester, please let me know (so it gets
recorded as an excused absence).
No classes or office hours on the following dates:
September 23 Tuesday - Rosh HaShanah
Oct 2 Thursday - Yom Kippur
October 13-14 Monday -Tuesday - Wellness Break
November 26-28 Wednesday - Friday - Thanksgiving Break
Due dates:
Wed., Oct. 15 - 1st take-home quiz given (due Wed., Oct. 22).
Fri., Nov. 7 - 2nd take home quiz given (due Fri., Nov 14).
The second quiz is optional for students who passed the first quiz
(received a grade of 60 or better).
Other
Aug. 27, Wed., Mass of the Holy Spirit, 10:45 a.m. in the Panasci Family Chapel. Classes scheduled for 11 a.m. and noon will not be held.
Last day for our class is Friday, December 5.
Link to Le Moyne College Academic Calendar
This semester (Fall 2025) the plan is to start meeting synchronously in person. If we end up using Zoom again, please check your email and Canvas for information and the links to the Zoom sessions. I will attempt to record the lectures for student use.
When campus/dorms are closed due to flu or other circumstances, my intent is that the course continue. Assignments continue to be due electronically (if Canvas is down, email to kagan@lemoyne.edu may still work). Presentations will be replaced by papers, virtual presentations, or extended descriptions of presentations. In addition to notes and group work already available there on-line, I will post updates, lecture notes, etc., to Canvas and to my Le Moyne College website at http://web.lemoyne.edu/~kagan/index.html.
As at other times, if your situation results in your needing an extension, please let me know. Also, if internet service is down or there are other infrastructure problems, please complete the assignments and turn them in when services are restored.
Your grade will be based on the average of the following:
(50%) You will have an opportunity to take two take-home quizzes. These will be handed out at least 4 days before they are due. Late quizzes will receive a 15% grading penalty for each day they are late. [If you cannot get a quiz in on time, please let me know you need to take a make-up quiz with a different deadline.] Unless otherwise indicated, please complete the quiz in less than 500 words. All work, except in-class writings, is to be typed double-spaced. Quizzes are to be turned in electronically on the date due through Canvas (if you cannot access Canvas, please email the quiz to me at kagan@lemoyne.edu, and - in addition to the file attachment - please paste the text of your answers into your email message.)
(50%) Other class work, which may include the following: group work/in-class writings/optional quizzes (optional quizzes can be used to replace take-home quizzes and vice-versa).
Grades are based on a 10-point scale as follows:
90-100 - 'A' range (97-100 = A+; 94-96=A; 90-93=A-); 80-89 - 'B' range (87-89 = B+; 84-86=B; 80-83=B-);
70-79 - 'C' range (77-79 = C+; 74-76=C; 70-73=C-); 60-69 - 'D' range (67-69 = D+; 64-66=D; 60-63=D-).
Below 60 - 'F'.
Week #1 (of Wed., Aug. 27) Introduce course. Discussion of nomos, phusis, logos, & reading. Brief survey of ethical theories. Start reading Plato's Euthyphro (the Plato assignments are in the Five Dialogues text). The following reading assignments are intended ideally to be completed by the date indicated. If you need to choose between reading carefully and completing the entire reading, I recommend reading carefully.
In-class writing assignment Please answer at least one of the following and submit your answer on Canvas. What do you like to study? Is there anything you want me to know about you or your interests that could help you learn more in this course.
Week #2 (Wed., Sep. 3) Continue brief survey of ethical theories. Group work on ethical theories. Read Plato's Euthyphro.
Week #3 (Wed., Sep. 10) Read Plato's Apology.
Week #4 (Wed., Sep. 17) Read Plato's Crito.
Group work - In the three dialogues Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, what authority or authorities is Socrates willing to disobey? Why? What authority or authorities is Socrates willing to obey? Why?
Week #5 (Wed., Sep. 24) Plato's
Meno. Group work question - According to Socrates in this
dialogue, why should we seek the truth even if we are not persuaded
by the idea of knowledge from recollection?
Week #6 (Wed., Oct. 1) Meno (continued).
Week #7 (Wed., Oct. 8) Read Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1. Group work:
Who does Aristotle claim is the appropriate student for ethics? Why?
Week #8 (Wed., Oct. 15) Read Nicomachean Ethics, Books 2-7. Read Kathryn J. Norlock's Feminist Ethics. Group work questions - Describe two virtues in terms of the principle of the mean.
Then, answer one of the following:
Week #9 (Wed., Oct. 22) Read Nicomachean Ethics, Books 8-9. Group work - Does Aristotle's account of friendship explain the friendships you are familiar with? If so, how? Please give an example. If not, describe a friendship the theory does not explain, and explain why it fails to explain that friendship.
Week #10 (Wed., Oct. 29) Read Confucius' Analects,
Books I-X. Group work - Choose an analect that you like or find
interesting. Explain why you like it or what you find interesting about
it. Explain how it fits in with or contradicts other analects you have
read.
Week #11 (Wed., Nov. 5) Group work - read Analects, Books X-XX. Answer at least one of the following.
Group Work on Confucius' Analects and some human situations, Books I-XX. Answer at least one of the following.
Having read the Analects, choose an analect that you find interesting or surprising. How could it be applied?
The Analects indicate a variety of responses to living in a corrupt society. Name two. What is an advantage of each? What is a disadvantage of each?
Fri., Nov. 7 - 2nd take home
quiz given (due Fri., Nov 14).
The second quiz is optional for students who passed the first quiz
(received a grade of 60 or better).
Week #12 (Wed., Nov. 12) Continue Analects. Read Lau Tzu's Tao Te Ching, Book One.
Group work - What is one short passage from this section of the Tao Te Ching that you found interesting, puzzling or confusing? Specify it by source, chapter number, and title (for example, "Book 1, 13" or Book One, XIII"). Explain what is interesting, puzzling or confusing about this passage.
2nd take home quiz due Fri., Nov 14.
Week #13 (Wed., Nov. 19) Read Lau Tzu's Tao Te Ching, Book Two.
Group work -What is one short passage from this section of the Tao Te Ching that you found interesting, puzzling or confusing? Specify it by source, chapter number, and title. Explain what is interesting, puzzling or confusing about this passage.
November 26-28 Wednesday - Friday - Thanksgiving Break
Weeks #14. (Wed., Dec. 3 ) Continue Tao Te Ching. Read Martin Buber's Way of Man. Group work - Of the stories told here, summarize one that your group found interesting. What teaching does it offer about how to live a better life? What is the source of this teaching? If any members of your group are familiar with another place where this teaching can be found, please have them say where they have found it.
(Fri., Dec 5) Last day of class.
Note: There is no final exam in this class.
Links
to some online versions of the course texts
Materials for Ethics
Norlock, Kathryn, "Feminist
Ethics", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer
2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
Kagan's homepage
Le Moyne College
Respiratory Virus Syllabus Statement
Fall 2025
Overview. The following information describes the health and safety guidelines for in-person classes and classrooms, which are subject to change1. The College may adjust health and safety protocols pending prevalence of respiratory viruses and their transmissibility on campus, in Onondaga County, and/or the State of New York. Major respiratory viruses include COVID-19 and its variants, RSV, Pertussis (whooping cough), and the flu. Please note, given the continuing dynamic and evolving nature of the coronavirus as well as other respiratory viruses, all students, faculty, and staff are expected to monitor campus email announcements for policy updates.
Summary of Key Classroom Health and Safety Protocols:
Respiratory Virus-Related Symptoms. Regardless of vaccination status, students who are experiencing respiratory virus-related symptoms must not attend class and are encouraged to contact the Student Health Center [healthservices@lemoyne.edu, (315) 445-4440] or their primary medical provider. Respiratory virus-related symptoms may include one or some combination of the following:
Respiratory Virus Recovery Recommendations and Expectations. Any individual who becomes ill with a respiratory virus should adhere to the following CDC guidelines:
Following these recovery recommendations and expectations are especially important to protect those most at risk for severe illness from respiratory viruses.
Approved Student Absences from Class. Students are expected to attend classes in-person as scheduled and require appropriate approval to be excused from in-person classes. Students may be excused from attending in-person classes for short-term absences due to accidents or illness such as colds or respiratory viruses, e.g., COVID-19, RSV, Pertussis (whooping cough), and the flu. Students who must miss class for illness should follow the Policy on Student Absenteeism in the Event of Illness or Accident which stipulates the following: If illness or injury requires more than three consecutive days of hospital or home care, Health Services needs to be informed [(315) 445-4440]. If the student has been treated by a doctor off campus, some documentation from that office will be expected. Health Services will then notify the Registrar who will inform the students instructors, advisor, and the appropriate academic dean. It is the students responsibility to contact his or her instructors, as soon as possible, to explain the absence and make arrangements for the completion of missed work or tests.
Vaccine and Boosters. As part of the Colleges strategy to reduce the risk of transmission and serious illness, Le Moyne highly encourages all eligible community members to remain up to date on recommended vaccines for respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, RSV, Pertussis (whooping cough), and the flu. Individuals are encouraged to consult with their health care provider to determine which vaccines are appropriate for them to receive. Several vaccine clinics will be available to community members during the upcoming semester.
College Face Covering Recommendation. The CDC continues to recommend that individuals regardless of vaccination status may choose to wear a face covering at any time regardless of the level of viral transmission as a prevention strategy, particularly if they are immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease from respiratory viruses such as COVID-19, or if they have someone in their household who is immunocompromised, at increased risk of severe disease, or not fully vaccinated. As a caring community, the College respects and supports individuals who choose to wear face coverings. At this time face coverings are optional on campus.
Responsibility to the Le Moyne Community. Finally, in keeping with our values as a Jesuit college, each member of the community is expected to act honestly and ethically regarding any experienced respiratory virus-related symptoms. Further, each member of the community is expected to take care of not only their own health, but to be mindful of the health of others and to avoid actions that may jeopardize the health and welfare of those we learn, work, and live with at the College. A well-informed and attentive community better protects the vulnerable amongst us and loved ones at home.
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The Colleges policies remain subject to public health orders issued by the Onondaga County Health Department and New York State Department of Health, and will be adjusted if directed by public health authorities.
2 Appropriate and recommended face coverings include N95, KN95 or KF94 respirators, surgical masks, and face coverings made of at least two layers of cloth. Above all else, a snug fit (no gaps, wired nose bridge, adjustable ear loops), offers the best protection to the user and the community. Most importantly, face coverings with an exhalation/release valve, single-layer gaiter-style neck fleeces, and bandanas should NOT be worn on campus.
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