Ethical Reasoning (ER)
What
Ethical Reasoning (ER) courses spend a majority of course time understanding ethical theories or frameworks and, in some cases, applying such frameworks to particular policy domains or cases.
Why
What counts as right and wrong action? What are valuable qualities of human character? We examine such questions in the study of ethics. The abilities to reason about ethical issues, to draw defensible conclusions, to assess competing ethical claims, and to communicate effectively across ethical disagreement are all fundamental both to individual development and to the functioning of a good society.
How
You might gain knowledge in ER by taking courses that examine a particular ethical theory or theories (for example, Introduction to Moral Philosophy, Ethical Theory, Justice, Introduction to Global Justice, Contemporary Moral Problems) or through courses that consider ethical questions in some specific context (for example, Ethics and Public Policy, Business Ethics, Computers, Ethics, and Public Policy, Environmental Ethics). ER courses will typically include writing assignments focused on some ethical question(s), or on analyzing a concrete case, policy, or dilemma using an ethical framework or frameworks.
Choose
You’ll find many courses that will allow you to explore Ethical Reasoning, but here are some: