Wilhelm Vossenkuhl, Ludwig Maximilians Universität

The course offers an historical as well as systematic introduction to ethical theory. Historically it covers the theories of Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Mill, Sidwick, Rawls, and MacIntyre. In systematic terms seminal texts from these authors are used to explain and discuss the major claims of Virtue Ethics (Aristotle, MacIntyre), Utilitarianism (Mill, Sidgwick), Kantianism (Kant, O'Neill), Contractualism (Hobbes, Rawls), and Metaethics (G.E. Moore).

Week 1: Virtue Ethics, Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics, books I and II)
Week 2: Virtue Ethics, Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics, books III and IV)
Week 3: Modern Virtue Ethics, A. MacIntyre (After Virtue, chap. 14 and 15)
Week 4: Utilitarianism, J.S. Mill (Utilitarianism)
Week 5: Utilitarianism, H. Sidgwick (The Methods of Ethics, book I, chap.VI – IX)
Week 6: Kant, Groundwork (Part I)
Week 7: Kant, Groundwork (Part II, the Categorical Imperative and Moral Law)
Week 8: Kant, O. O'Neill (Constructions of Reason, part I)
Week 9: Contractualism, T. Hobbes (Leviathan, part I, of Man)
Week 10: Contractualism, J. Rawls (A Theory of Justice, chap.I, Justice as Fairness)
Week 11: Contractualism, J. Rawls (A Theory of Justice, chap.III, The Original Position)
Week 12: Metaethics, G.E. Moore, Principia Ethica, chap.I.

A general survey on Ethical Theory is offered by Stephen Darwall in his Philosophical Ethics (Boulder 1998).

The texts discussed in the course are:
•  Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics (transl.by W.D. Ross, rev.by J.L. Ackrill and J.O. Urmson), Oxford 1989.
•  MacIntyre, Alasdair, After Virtue, Notre Dame 2 1984.
•  Mill, John Stuart, Utilitarianism (1861), Indianapolis 1979.
•  Sidgwick, Henry, The Methods of Ethics, 7 th ed., Indianapolis 1981.
•  Kant, Immanuel, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), (transl. by H.J. Paton), New York 1964.
•  O'Neill, Onora, Constructions of Reason. Explorations of Kant's Practical Philosophy, Cambridge: University Press 1989.
•  Hobbes, Thomas, Leviathan (1651), Indianapolis 1994.
•  Rawls, John, A Theory of Justice, Oxford 1972.
•  Darwall, Stephen, Philosophical Ethics, Boulder: Westview Press 1998.