The Minor in Ethics

Course Requirements for the Minor: 18 units

The following courses, or their approved transfer equivalents, are required of all candidates for this minor.

1 course required:

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM	Title	Sustainable	Units	Semester Offered	Course Flags
PHIL 104	The Good Life		3.0	FS	GE
A critical survey of different theories of happiness and meaning in life, including discussion of the roles of moral values, mental health, art, music, and food and drink in living well. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (007163)
PHIL 207	The Meaning of Life		3.0	FS	GE
Is there meaning or purpose to life? Does science help or hinder the search for meaning? This course examines philosophical and scientific perspectives on the meaning of life, the nature of happiness, and how to think about the value and purpose of your life. 3 hours discussion. This is an approved General Education course. (021531)

1 course selected from:

9 units selected from:

Note: If you take both courses from either of the pairs listed above, you may count one from each pair toward these 9 units. At least 3 units must be upper-division.

SUBJ NUM	Title	Sustainable	Units	Semester Offered	Course Flags
JOUR 460W	Ethical Problems in Mass Media (W)		3.0	FS	W
Prerequisites: JOUR 260W. For Option in News: JOUR 321W. For Option in Public Relations: JOUR 341W. Ethical principles and case studies will be used to help students develop insights or responses to ethically challenging events or situations in mass media. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. (005360)
PHIL 129	Environmental Ethics		3.0	FS	GE
An examination of a variety of approaches to the development of an environmental ethic, including "shallow" and "deep" environmentalism, the balance of nature argument, and the Gaia hypothesis. 3 hours discussion. This is an approved General Education course. (021190)
PHIL 323W	Moral Issues in Parenting (W)		3.0	FS	GE  GC  W
A philosophical investigation of the moral and legal dimensions of parenting. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (021242)
PHIL 327W	Health Ethics (W)		3.0	FS	GE  W
Inquiry into ethical issues faced in the pursuit of individual and social health. Topics include alternative ideas of health, ethical theories, responsibilities of health professionals, access to health care, and environmental health. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. (021351)
PHIL 328	Business Ethics and Social Policy		3.0	SP
An examination of ethical issues that arise in business decisions and the formulation of social policy involving business, e.g. employee rights, consumer and environmental protection, advertising, and affirmative action. Moral theory and alternative conceptions of justice will also be discussed. 3 hours lecture. (007226)
PHIL 335	Regional Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl		3.0	FA
Preparation for the Regional Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (RIEB) competition that includes review of moral theory, introduction to skills in moral problem solving, application of theory to moral dilemmas across a wide range of personal, social, and professional environments, and oral presentation of solutions to moral dilemmas. Require travel to and participation in the RIEB (one weekend during semester). 3 hours lecture. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 9.0 units. (020605)
PHIL 336	American Indian Environmental Philosophies		3.0	FS	GE  USD
An exploration of traditional and contemporary American Indian thought regarding people in relationship to the human and nonhuman worlds, with focus on land ethic, animal ethics, sustainability. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved US Diversity course. (020644)
PHIL 339W	Confronting the Animal: Theory, Culture, and Practice (W)		3.0	FS	GE  W
This course is also offered as RELS 339W. Draws on religion, philosophy, ethics, cultural analysis, and science to explore the nature and roles of the animal in religious, cultural, scientific, and ethical beliefs and practices. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. (021362)
PHIL 340W	Social and Political Philosophy (W)		3.0	SP	GE  W
A philosophical examination of the nature and function of the human community and the political state, and of the implications for individual life of alternative conceptions of society and politics. 3 hours seminar. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. (007198)
PHIL 341W	Justice and Global Issues (W)		3.0	FS	GE  GC  W
Inquiry into different theories of justice, and their implications for contemporary political issues. Topics include inequality, crime policy, taxes, immigration, globalization, war, and sustainability. 3 hours seminar. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (021243)
PHIL 382	Sartre and Camus		3.0	S2
Intensive reading and discussion of the writing of Satre & Camus. 3 hours seminar. (007309)
PHIL 420W	Contemporary Moral Theory (W)		3.0	S1	GW  W
Prerequisite: Completion of GE Written Communication (A2) requirement. An analysis of twentieth-century ethical theory. 3 hours seminar. This is an approved Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement course; a grade of C- or higher certifies writing proficiency for majors. This is an approved Writing Course. (007270)
PHIL 435	National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl		3.0	SP
Prerequisite: PHIL 335 or faculty permission. Preparation for the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (NIEB) competition that includes refining skills in moral problem solving, application of theory to moral dilemmas across a wide range of personal , social, and professional environments, and oral presentation of solutions to moral dilemmas. Requires travel to and participation in the NIEB (5-day block during semester). 3 hours lecture. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 9.0 units. (020606)
POLS 112	Law, Politics, and Justice		3.0	FA	GE  USD
An introduction to the structure, composition, and performance of the judicial process and its role in the resolution of societal conflicts. Following an examination into the nature of law, the course focuses on the essential actors in the process and review the performance of their roles. Issues critical to a free society freedom of speech, rights of the accused, equal protection and their impact on certain populations are studied to illustrate the politics of distributing "justice" by means of the courts. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved US Diversity course. (007470)
RELS 247W	Religion, Ethics, and Ecology (W)		3.0	FS	GE  W
An introduction to ways that religious and secular world views and ethics influence attitudes, behaviors, and policies toward the environment, society, and economy. The course considers alternative views of self and society, the relationship between human beings and the natural world, and issues of lifestyle, justice, and sustainability. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. (021720)
RELS 264W	Dying, Death, and Afterlife (W)		3.0	FS	GE  GC  W
A study of the religious, ethical, spiritual, psychological, and socio-cultural dimensions of dying, death, and afterlife. Reading and discussion of issues surrounding dying (dying as one's last career, patient-centered approaches, spirit/body relationships); death (definitions, religious meanings, ritual practices); and afterlife (religious conceptions, relation to the human quest for meaning). 3 hours seminar. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (004443)
RELS 332	World Religions and Global Issues		3.0	FS	GE  GC
An introduction to major religions of the contemporary world (Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Chinese religions) with particular emphasis on their relationship to pressing global issues, including economics and poverty, environmental issues, war and peace, and human rights. Explores a number of religious traditions that are closely identified with specific ethnic groups in this country. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (008190)
RELS 357W	End of the World (W)		3.0	FS	GE  W
This course introduces students to the ways in which historic and contemporary religious communities interpret catastrophes and how religious worlds explain and provide humans with tools to cope with catastrophes and with making meaning out of suffering and death. Focus is on visions of the end of the world (apocalypticism, environmental destruction), interpreting the meaning of disasters (natural, human-induced), and personal and global annihilation (epidemics, nuclear destruction). 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. (008166)
RELS 405	Religion, Politics, and Conflict		3.0	FA
This course considers 1) the relation between religion and power in historical and contemporary settings, and 2) religion as a factor in conflict and peacemaking. Topics include alternative models of the relation between religion and state; religious and secular perspectives on government and political order; the role of religion in both legitimating and critiquing political systems; religious perspectives on war and peace, violence and non-violence; and the relationship between religion and human rights. Special attention is given to the political and ethical diversity within and as well as between religious traditions. 3 hours seminar. (021635)