Introduction to Practical Philosophy

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 hold by persons and societies. Ethics and political philosophy are branches of practical philosophy. The course on introductory level will treat some of her main questions and introduce to the thinking of central figures in the field.

Objective

At the end of the course, active students (1) will be familiar with still highly influential answers to some of the main questions (see below, section "Inhalt") in practical philosophy. (2) They will be able to evaluate better, how convincing these answers are. (3) And active students's own thinking concerning normative, e.g. ethical issues, will be more precise, due to a more sophisticated use of key concepts like the good, the right, morality, law, freedom etc.

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.

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