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851-0094-00L 1 Credits DR D-HEST , D-ARCH , D-BAUG , D-MAVT , D-MATH , D-BIOL , D-ERDW , D-INFK , D-GESS , D-ITET

Introduction to Practical Philosophy for PhD's

Einführung in die praktische Philosophie für Doktorierende

Lecturers & Examiners: Prof. em. Dr. Lutz Wingert
This course is open to PhD students only. BA and MA students enroll for the course "851-0101-01L Introduction to Practical Philosophy".
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:23:30

Abstract

Practical philosophy deals in a descriptive and evaluative way with the realm of the practical, that is, with action, practices, norms of action, and values held by people and societies. Ethics and political philosophy are branches of practical philosophy. This introductory course will treat some of the main questions and introduce students to the thinking of central figures in the field.

Objective

This course will be a mixture of lecture and seminar. Credits will be earned after consultation with the instructor by submitting a small written paper on topics related to ethics.

Content

Ethics is an account and instruction of the good, that could be reached by conscious, intentional behaviour (=action). Ethics is an essential part of practical philosophy. Therefore one of those central questions, which will be discussed in the course, is: 1. What is the meaning of words like "good" and "bad", used in ethical language? What is meant by "good", if one says: "Working as a volunteer for the is good"? Does one mean, that doing so is useful, or that it is altruistic, or that is fair? Further questions, to be discussed in the course, are: 2. Are moral judgements apt to be justified, e.g. judgments like "Lower taxes for rich foreigners in the are unjust" or "Every person ought to be entitled to leave any religious community"? If so, how far a moral judgment's justification can reach? Is one right in arguing: "It is possible to show the truth of the proposition (a):The emissions of nitrogen dioxide in Zurich is far beyond the permissible limit (80 mg/m3). But it is not possible to verify the proposition (b): In our times, the inequal global distribution of wealth is far beyond the permissible limit. Proposition (a) states an objective fact, whereas (b) expresses a mere subjective evaluation, though that evaluation might be widely spread. 3. What are just laws, and what is the relationship between law and morality? 4. Is freedom of a person, though presupposed by criminal law and morality, nevertheless an illusion? These questions will be partly discussed with reference to seminal authors within the western philosophical tradition (among else Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, Immanuel Kant). Contemporary philosophers like Jürgen Habermas, Thomas Nagel, Ernst Tugendhat or Bernard Williams will be included, too. 5. A part of the course will examine the question of what "good" research ethics and intellectual probity mean.

Resources

Literature

Zur Vorbereitung: -Dieter Birnbacher, Analytische Einführung in die Ethik, 2. Aufl. Berlin: de Gruyter Verlag 2006. - Simon Blackburn, Denken, Darmstadt: Primus Verlag 2001, Kapitel 3 und 8. - Philippa Foot, sowie beide in: dies., Die Wirklichkeit des Guten. Moralphilosophische Aufsätze, Frankfurt/M.: Fischer Taschenbuch 1997. - H.L.A. Hart, (1958), in: ders., Recht und Moral, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1971, S. 5-57. - Detlef Horster, Rechtsphilosophie zur Einführung, Hamburg: Junius Verlag 2002 - Robert Kane, , in: ders., (Hg.), The Oxford Handbook of Free Will, Oxford 2002. – Thomas Nagel, Die Grenzen der Objektivität. Philosophische Vorlesungen, Stuttgart: Reclam 1991. - Ulrich Pothast, in: ders., (Hg.), Seminar: Freies Handeln und Determinismus, Frankfurt/M.: suhrkamp taschenbuch wissenschaft 1978, S. 7-31. - Bernard Williams, Der Begriff der Moral. Eine Einführung in die Ethik, Reclam: Stuttgart 1976. - Peter Winch, Die Idee der Sozialwissenschaft und ihr Verhältnis zur Philosophie, Frankfurt/M.: suhrkamp taschenbuch wissenschaft 1974 (Kap. II: ).

General Information

Language
German
Levels
DR
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
ungraded semester performance

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture with exercise Einführung in die praktische Philosophie
  • Wed 16:15-18:00 (CAB G 61)
  • 07.06 Date 16:15-18:00 (HG E 1.1)
2 h weekly

Offered In