Philosophy 310
Ethics, Law, &
Social Policy
Fall 2002
L. Purdy
lpurdy@wells.edu
Objectives:
Law is at one of the intersections of ethics and
policy. As such, it can help us see how to reason about moral disagreements
when societies must make policy decisions. This course aims to help you
understand and think critically about legal reasoning, as well as about the
broader, underlying issues of disagreement in democratic societies.
Texts:
Cynthia Daniels, At Women=s
Expense: State Power and the Politics of Fetal Rights (D)
David Kairys, With Liberty and Justice for Some: A
Critique of the Conservative Supreme Court (K)
Julie Van Camp, Ethical Issues in the Courts (VC)
*copies on reserve
e: e-mailed items
wr: web resources handout
Requirements:
Class participation
25%
Short paper
20%
Major presentation
25%
Long paper (based on presentation) 30%
Readings & Topics:
9/3. Introduction
9/10.
Resolving disagreement *Gutman
& Thompson, 1; *Young; K, Conclusion
9/17 Framing
the Issues K, Introduction,
1;VC, 113-18,166-68
9/24 Scope of
the Law *Kipnis: Belle
Terre, Devlin1, Devlin2, Feinberg, Conway
10/1 Free
Speech K, 2; VC,
5; wr: Rust v. Sullivan
10/8 Democracy K,
3; e:campaign funding reform readings
10/15 October
Break
10/22 Religion K, 4; VC, 6;
e:faith-based charities readings
10/29 no class
11/5 Due
Process K, 7; e:
PATRIOT act
11/12 Equality K, 5; VC,
pp.128-35; e: drug laws
11/19 Privacy K, 6; VC, 1,
also pp. 32-49; e: Safire (on HAS)
11/26 Johnson
Controls D, 1,3
12/3 Carder
case D, 2
12/10 Jennifer
Johnson case D, 4,5
Requirements:
1. Participation
2. Short paper
3. Presentation/Paper
Explanation of Requirements
Class participation
Participation is especially important in a course like
this one that is mainly discussion; exploring different perspectives is one of
the most effective learning devices and you don=t get all the benefit unless you join the fray. Quantity
isn=t the point: a well chosen comment or argument every session or two is
fine, if you aren=t the talkative type. It is important, however, to pursue your point,
not just give in (. . . in ladylike fashion!): clarifying, finding additional
support, etc., is an important part of discussion skills.
Elements of participation:
1. A lively interest in the class, as described above
2. Come to class prepared with at least a couple of
points or issues to discuss
Short paper
I=ll assign a short (5-6pp.) paper, due 10/1.
Presentation/Paper
Each of you will choose an issue related to one of our
general topics; you will work in pairs, and present your material on the dates
below. Below also are suggestions for topics, but I am open to your ideas.
There is one Afree@ topic that we can choose, as a class. I=ll want you to sign up for these topics sometime in
the 1st 2 weeks of the semester so you can get going on them.
10/8 Should
political donations be regarded as speech? (Campaign finance reform)
10/22 Should public
funding go to faith-based charities?
11/5 Are the
anti-terrorist provisions of the PATRIOT act justified?
11/26 Women/fetuses
in the workplace
12/3 Angela
Carder case
12/10 Pregnant
women & drugs
Each pair will work together to find information, evidence,
and arguments about your topic. Each of you should be prepared to speak for
about 20 minutes, leaving us about 35 minutes to discuss. Then each of you will
write your own paper, arguing for the position you think is most defensible,
taking full advantage of our discussion. Your paper will be due 1 week later.
See (on my webpage) AWriting Handout,@ AVocabulary of Argumentation,@ and AMoral Reasoning in a Nutshell@ on my webpage
(http://aurora.wells.edu/~lpurdy/) as well as the other
links listed under ATeaching Resources.@