Should murderers be executed? Should cocaine and heroin be legalized? Is torture ever morally justified? Is abortion morally wrong? Should pornography be banned? Should prostitution be legal? Are laws permitting the slaughter of animals unjust? This module assesses these and other questions in an intellectual search for the moral principles that ought to govern public policy.
The module aims to expose students to a variety of scholarly debates about the moral principles that govern different areas of law and policy-making. By the end of the module, students will be able to explain and appraise the arguments on different sides of a wide range of controversial political topics. The module’s further objectives are to develop students’ capacities for critical reasoning: for understanding and explaining arguments, identifying weaknesses and articulating objections to arguments, and offering constructive criticism about how to make arguments better. The module will also develop students’ skills in oral argumentation, strengthening their capacities to articulate their positions on complicated questions and defend them with confidence in front of their colleagues.
The module aims to expose students to a variety of scholarly debates about the moral principles that govern different areas of law and policy-making. By the end of the module, students will be able to explain and appraise the arguments on different sides of a wide range of controversial political topics. The module’s further objectives are to develop students’ capacities for critical reasoning: for understanding and explaining arguments, identifying weaknesses and articulating objections to arguments, and offering constructive criticism about how to make arguments better. The module will also develop students’ skills in oral argumentation, strengthening their capacities to articulate their positions on complicated questions and defend them with confidence in front of their colleagues.
- Module Supervisor: James Christensen