PHIL350: Philosophy of Good and Evil

Winthrop University
Summer, 2008 (June 9-July 10)
MTWR, 10:30am-12:30pm
Owens 110
Final Exam: Thursday, July 10, 10:30am
M. Gregory Oakes, Ph.D.
Kinard 323
x4720
oakesm@winthrop.edu
http://faculty.winthrop.edu/oakesm
Course Description
From the Catalog: In-depth consideration of a specific topic of particular concern in
philosophy. (Pre-requisites waived.)
This course provides Arts and Humanities general education area credit.
More specifically: I have several aims in this course. A general aim is to familiarize you,
the student, with some important philosophical theories and concepts concerning
goodness and evil. To this end, we will read Kant and other philosophers as well as
attempt to formulate our own accounts. We shall also draw upon the literature of fiction
and religion for both theory and illustration.
I also wish to develop your reading and writing skills, in this course. To this end,
you each will select, read, and report upon some book-length treatment of good and evil.
I will guide you through this process, and we will share and discuss our results at
intervals through the course. There will also be a paper to write, and a number of lesser
writing exercises. I will offer instruction on how to construct a quality philosophy paper.
A further goal is development of my own understanding of the logic of good and
evil. A basic question is whether it makes sense that good and evil are real. That is,
can we construct or adopt an account of good and evil that logically consistent and free of
mystery? Attention to this question will guide the primary discussion of this course.
Course Requirements
- Preparation for and participation in class
- A journal, with oral reports
- Reading and reporting on a book on good and evil
- One 8-12 page essay on the philosophy of good and evil
- A number of shorter writing exercises preparatory to the essay
- A final mini-conference on good and evil
Grades
- Preparation and participation
30%
- Oral reports and exercises:
20%
- Essay:
25%
- Final conference:
25%
- Note: This course will be graded using the +/- system.

Some official policies

- Disabilities: Students with medical or other recognized disability must contact
Gena Smith, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities, at 323-2233, as
soon as possible. Once you have your professor notification letter, please notify
me immediately (and prior to the first test or assignment) so that I am aware of
your accommodations. If your accommodations affect every test/assignment,
please remind me prior to each one.
- Athletics and other University sponsored activities: I am happy to support your
school-sponsored event. If you must miss class such activities, you must provide
appropriate documentation prior to each instance. It will be your responsibility to
ensure that you meet course requirements on or before the date/s of your
absence/s.
- Plagiarism: It is your responsibility to understand the Universitys policy on
plagiarism. See www.winthrop.edu/english/plagiarism.htm. If you are found
guilty of plagiarism in this course, you will receive an F for the course and I will
report you to the Dean of Students for academic misconduct. If you are unsure of
whether your use of borrowed information counts as plagiarism, consult with me,
your English instructor, or the staff in the writing center.
Tentative reading list:
- Genesis 1-3 (see BibleGateway.com for texts)
- Milton, Paradise Lost (see
www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_1/index.shtml for a copy)
- Kant, On the Miscarriage of all Philosophical Trials in Theodicy (photocopy)
- John Mackie, Evil and Omnipotence (photocopy)
- St. Augustine on evil as privation (non-being)
- Leibnizs theodicy (this is the best possible world)
- Voltaire, Candide (a satire of Leibnizs view)
- Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals (excerpts)
- Dostoevsky, The Grand Inquisitor from The Brothers Karamazov
- Job (time permitting)
Classroom procedure
- I intend running this course as a seminar, as much as possible.
- Thus, I intend preserving maximal room for discussion, prompted by our
readings, by our investigations and observations, and supplemented by lecturing
as needed.
- Some attention to skills will also occupy our efforts.