Law Schedule of Classes

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215.4 sec. 001 - Foundations of Moral Philosophy (Fall 2023)

Instructor: Christopher Lee Kutz  (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
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Units: 3
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person

Meeting:

W 10:00 AM - 12:40 PM
Location: 2240 Piedmont 102
From August 23, 2023
To November 29, 2023

Course Start: August 23, 2023
Course End: November 29, 2023
Class Number: 32106

Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 13
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 15
As of: 02/07 02:03 PM


This course aims to provide a graduate level introduction to foundational issues in contemporary moral philosophy, with special emphasis on Kantian and utilitarian/consequentialist theory, although we will also consider issues in moral psychology. We will choose as our theme arguments about the nature of rights, encompassing both moral and legal rights. In the first part of the course, we will consider two familiar kinds of rights: rights against torture and rights of free speech. This will provide us with a context for understanding some of the general, philosophical problems related to the foundations and structure of rights claims, which will occupy the second part of the course. Here we will consider both Kantian and consequentialist theories of rights, and the problems each has in accommodating the intuitions that support the other. We will then return to consider more specific examples of rights, to be determined by seminar interest. Every student in this Option 2-A class will be required to write a 30-page paper.


Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped.


Requirements Satisfaction:

This class may fulfill Option 2 of the J.D. writing requirement with instructor approval. In order to qualify for Option 2, all students in the class must be writing a paper of 30 or more pages. Those students who wish to use this paper for the writing requirement must get instructor approval and submit their drafts for comment and revision.

Option 2 form needed:
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Writing_Requirement_2017.pdf


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Exam Notes: (P) Final paper  
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP)
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Social Justice and Public Interest

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