Online Syllabus
BC 306
Ethics: Theory and Practice
Larry Johnson
5 Credit Hours
Effective: October, 2007
Required Resources
Thiroux, J. P., & Krasemann, K. W. (2006). Ethics: Theory and practice (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice.
Research paper guide. (2004). Trencin, Slovakia: City University.
Access to a personal computer and the Internet is required. All written assignments must be word-processed.
Copyright 1993-2006 by CityUniversity of Seattle
All rights reserved
BC 306
Ethics: Theory and Practice
This document provides an overview of the course foundation elements, assignments, schedules, and activities. For information about general City University of Seattle policies, please see the City University of Seattle catalog. If you have additional questions about the course, please contact your instructor.
Notification to Students with Disabilities
If you are a student with a disability and you require certain help, please contact the Associate Dean as soon as possible.
ScholasticHonesty CityUniversity expects each student to do his/her own work. The University has "zero tolerance" for cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration on assignments and papers, using "notes" during exams, submitting someone else's work as one's own, submitting work previously submitted for another course, or facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others. The penalties are severe! A first offense can result in a zero grade for the assignment or for the course; a second offense can result in a zero grade for the course and suspension for one or more quarters; a third offense can result in expulsion from the University. The Policy and Procedures may be found at
In addition to providing your work to the instructor for grading, you must also submit an electronic copy for the City University archives (unless the work is specifically exempted by the instructor). You will not receive a grade for particular work until and unless you submit this electronic copy. The procedure for submitting work to the archives is to upload it via the website Files should include the cover page of the work with the student name, instructor name, course name and number, and date. File names should indicate the type of assignment, such as “researchpaper.doc”, “casestudy.doc” or “ thesis.doc” (student name should not be a part of the file name because the system adds it). All files received into the archives are submitted to plagiarism checking.
Course Description
An overview of various philosophical approaches to ethical decision-making and practical applications involving ethical problems that arise in contemporary society, such as crime and punishment, marriage and the family, biotechnology, and business.
Learning Goals
Upon the successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Compare and contrast various philosophic approaches to ethical decision-making;
- Assess the value of ethical inquiry;
- Analyze the relationships between punishments, rewards, and ethics;
- Evaluate the necessity of free will for ethical decision-making;
- Discuss the issues involved in constructing a coherent ethical system;
- Construct an ethical argument with appropriate supporting data and logical consistency;
- Apply ethical analysis to contemporary social problems.
Core Concepts
To achieve the goals of this course, you will need to master the following core concepts:
1. Consequentialism: ethical egoism, utilitarianism, and care ethics;
2.Nonconsequentialism: Divine Command Theory, Kant's Duty Ethics, and Ross's Prima Facie Duties;
3.Virtue ethics: Aristotelian and Confucian;
4.Standards for evaluating types of propositions (analytic, internal sense, empirical and moral);
5.Absolutism and relativism;
6.Determinism (hard and soft) and free will;
7.Theories of reward and punishment: utilitarianism, retribution, restitution, Rawls's Theory of Justice;
8.Bioethics: paternalism, radical individualism, and reciprocity;
9.Business ethics: competitive and government-control approaches;
10.Environmental ethics: Western and non-Western perspectives.
Recommended Supplementary Resources
As a City University of Seattle student, you have access to library resources regardless ofwhere and howyou are taking this class. To access the resources that are necessary to complete your coursework, visit the library menu in the CU portal at or the CU Slovakia library at
Search the CU Slovakia library’s online catalog to locate books, and use the Web site Directory to find links relevant to your course. This site will also help you access City University of Seattle’s online databases for journal, magazine, and newspaper articles, or you can access them directly through the portal. For additional help, visit the library or submit your question in the Contact Us section of the Slovakia library’s home page.
Electronic Resources
The publisher of your text has provided a companion website available at In addition the following Internet resources may be of use to you in this course. Please be aware that Web addresses may change from time to time. Consult your instructor if you have questions about electronic resources.
American Philosophical Association Home Page
CityUniversity of Seattle
The City University Library provides access to a variety of databases that contain abstracts, brief summaries of articles, as well as full text, the complete text of the journal article. The following is a partial list of databases that may be of use to you in this course. A complete list can be found at
Academic Search Premier
Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe
National Newspapers
Research Library
The following Internet resources may be of use to you in this course. Please be aware that Web addresses may change from time to time. Consult with your instructor if you have questions about electronic resources.
City University of Seattle
Overview of Course Activities and Grading
The grade you receive for the course will be derived using City University of Seattle’s decimal grading system, based on the following:
Assignments
Student Introductory Assignment / 0%Discussion Assignments / 30%
Short Essays (2 @ 10%) / 20%
Research Paper / 30%
Final Essay / 20%
TOTAL / 100%
Please see the current City University of Seattle catalog or consult your instructor for guidance in determining your decimal grade.
Explanation of Assignments and Grading
Student Introductory Assignment (SIA)
City University requires that you submit a Student Introductory Assignment (SIA). This SIA must be completed during the first week of your course. The SIA consists of introducing yourself in the Discussion Forum titled: Student Introductory Assignment. It is designed to begin the online class experience by letting us know you are in class and facilitating interaction. It is due at the end of the first week. Even though this assignment is not graded, it is required in order for you to continue your course. Your instructor will notify CU/VSM at the end of the first week as to whether or not you completed your SIA.
Discussion Assignments
A discussion question/topic from your instructor appears weekly in the discussion forum. You are to post your answer as well as a response to two other student’s answers to the discussion forum by the end of each session. The forum is to help promote student to student discussion. The instructor will not be responding to each posting. If you have a question or comment that is specifically for your instructor, email your instructor directly or use the Question and Answer Forum.
Although the tone of your discussion board postings can be informal, your instructor will expect them to be on a professional level. In other words, your comments and questions for discussion should be clear and thoughtful, with correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. As with written assignments, the quality of your discussion postings will be graded on both content and presentation.
Grading Criteria for Discussion Assignment
Promptness of response / 20%Degree of participation (at least 3 postings per week) / 30%
Thoughtfulness of response / 50%
TOTAL / 100%
Essay #1—Analyzing an Ethical System
Using Chapter 8 of your text as a guide, analyze your own personal code of ethics, or one with which you are very familiar, such as your religion’s code of ethics. On what principles is it based? How are these principles justified? What assumptions does it make about issues such as reason/emotion, consistency/flexibility, teachability and resolving conflicts between principles? Your essay answering these questions must be at least four pages long.
Essay #2—Applying Ethical Theories
Chapter 9 of your text illustrates how the major ethical theories (ethical egoism, utilitarianism, divine command theory, Kant’s duty ethics, Ross’s prima facie duties, and virtue ethics) might be applied to the problems of suicide, defense of the innocent, war, terrorism, and capital punishment. Using Chapter 9 as an example, apply each of the major theories to one of the case studies presented in Chapters 10, 12 or 13 of your text. Your essay must be at least four pages long.
Your instructor may choose to make this a group project, in which case he or she will provide additional instructions and grading criteria.
Grading Criteria forEssays
Clear thesis or purpose / 15%Logical organization / 15%
Application of philosophical terms and concepts / 20%
Development of the thesis: sound arguments, effective support, persuasiveness, analysis, and well-founded conclusions / 40%
Proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and syntax / 10%
TOTAL / 100%
Research Paper
Select an article from a newspaper or magazine from the past month and think about how ethical theories contribute to your understanding of current events such as the one you selected. For your research paper, choose two approaches from those you have studied in this course, investigate them more thoroughly, and apply them to the selected current event. (Your instructor may also provide a list of alternative suggestions for your research paper.)
Begin doing some preliminary reading for your paper early in the quarter. During the fourth week of the course, you will post to the discussion board a proposal for your research essay. The proposal should suggest your topic, propose a tentative thesis, and give your instructor some idea of how you intend to research and develop your thesis. For guidance in how to prepare a research paper, consult Research Paper Guide.
As you prepare your research paper you also will want to be mindful of the following guidelines:
- Your topic must be related to the course of study and must be approved by your instructor.
- You must cite the sources of all ideas, facts and information used that are not your own, even if you have put the information into your own words. Failure to do so is plagiarism, even if the oversight is unintentional. See Research Paper Guide for a detailed explanation of proper APA author-page documentation format.
- Supporting your thesis is central to the task of writing a research paper. In scholarly writing, you are not merely copying information from another author, but using evidence to support the contentions drawn from your findings and critical analysis of related literature.
- Your research paper must be word-processed, double-spaced, with 11- or 12-point font and one-inch margins. It should be at least eight pages long and incorporate references to a minimum of five sources in addition to your text.
- You must retain at least one copy of your research paper in case the first copy is lost or misplaced. We recommend that you also retain your research notes and rough notes so that if a question arises as to an actual source and its location, you will be able to address that question in a timely manner.
Grading Criteria forResearch Paper
Appropriate format / 5%Clear objectives and thesis / 10%
Logical development of body and thesis / 45%
Proper grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation / 10%
Sufficient depth of research / 15%
Appropriate reference methods and reporting / 15%
TOTAL / 100%
FINAL ESSAY
Instead of a final test, you will write a capstone essay applying principles of ethics to a real-life situation. You’ll hear much more about this essay on the Bulletin Board.
Recommended Course Schedule
The schedule for course activities and assignments is below. If you find you are unable to complete the assignments as scheduled, contact your instructor. Your instructor may elect to adjust the outline to meet the unique needs of the class.
Session
/ Topics and Assignments / Readings1 / Introduction: What Is Morality?
DUE: Student Introductory Assignment
DUE: Discussion question/topic posting & responses
3 Posts minimum / Chapter 1
2 / Consequentialist Theories of Morality
DUE: Discussion question/topic posting & responses
3 posts minimum / Chapter 2
3 / Nonconsequentialist Theories of Morality
Virtue Ethics
DUE: Discussion question/topic posting & responses
3 posts minimum / Chapters 3 and 4
4 / Absolutism versus Relativism
DUE: Discussion question/topic posting & responses
3 posts / Chapter 5
5 / Freedom versus Determinism
Reward and Punishment
DUE: Discussion question/topic posting & responses3 posts / Chapters 6 and 7
6 / Constructing an Ethical System:
Assumptions and Principles
DUE: Discussion question/topic posting & responses
3 posts / Chapter 8
7 / The Taking of Human Life
DUE:Essay #1
DUE: Discussion question/topic posting & responses
3 posts / Chapter 9
Appendix 1
8 /
Medical Ethics
Business and Media EthicsDUE: Discussion question/topic posting & responses
3 posts / Chapters 14 and 15
Appendices 6 and 7
9 / Environmental Ethics
DUE: Research paper
DUE: Discussion question/topic posting & responses
3 posts / Chapter 16
Appendix 8
10 /
DUE: Essay #2
DUE: Final EssayDUE: Discussion question/topic posting & responses
1 post only
BC 306 Online SYL Page 1 Eff: 10/06