Books:

Aristotle, Nicomachean ethics. (Martin Ostwald, Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1962.

Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (Mary Gregor, Ed.; 2nd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Jean Piaget, The moral judgment of the child (Marjorie Gabain, Trans.). New York: Free Press, 1997.

Jonathan Haidt, The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. New York: Pantheon, 2012.

Carol Gilligan, Janie Victoria Ward, Jill McLean Taylor, and Betty Bardige, Mapping the moral domain. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988.

Course Description:

The focus of this course is descriptive moral psychology. Moral psychologists study moral reasoning, moral judgment, moral character, even moral action—and the ways in which human beings develop them. Moral development is a life-span issue: precursors of moral activity can be seen in toddlers, and moral development extends throughout adutlhood. Moral psychology does not seek to discover what we ought to do, or how we ought to live; it asks how human beings acquire their conceptions of what to do, or how to live.

Even though moral psychology doesn't prescribe how to live, it's difficult to do reseach in moral psychology without making some assumptions about what morality consists of and about what is good for human beings. Consequently, we will devote some of our time to two orientations in moral philosophy that have led to very different conceptions of moral psychology. No background in moral philosophy is being required or presupposed; we are reading Aristotle and Immanuel Kant to get some exposure to significant and influential thinking about ethics, and students who have no previous experience in philosophy are welcome to participate in this course.

Every 400-level course in Psychology includes a significant written assignment. In this course, everyone will write a research paper (10 pages) on a topic in moral development. Both theoretical discussions and reviews of the empirical literature are welcome. Please pay special attention to the relevant due dates. The final version is due on the last day of class (Thursday April 28).

Course Attendance, Tests, and Grading: It's wisest to attend all classes; there is a lot in a course like this that you will not learn just by reading the textbook. Moreover, this is a relatively small class and your contributions to class discussion will be important, so staying current with the readings and participating regularly will benefit you as well as your fellow students. I will assume, however, that responsible adults do not need an attendance policy. If I haven't arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled time for a class, you are free to leave.

There will be three tests, two papers, and a final exam. Each test (incuding the final) will consist of essay and short answer questions. A list of possible essay topics will be circulated during the class about a week before each test. Paper topics will be assigned two weeks in advance; the papers will be 5 pages, double-spaced. One will respond to issues we have been discussing in class; the second will allow you to explore another point of view about moral development.

In real emergency situations (illness, death of a family member, etc.) you may be excused from taking a test when scheduled. However, to be excused from taking a test on schedule, you must arrange the time and location of the makeup test with me before the time normally scheduled for the test.

Your grade will be based on this simple formula:

Extra credit: You are encouraged to participate in any research studies that might be going on in the psychology department during the semester. You will earn 1/4 point extra credit toward your final grade for each 15 minutes that you participate in. The maximum is 5 points (for 20 units of up to 15 minutes each). Please keep track of your participation using the department subject pool website. If you would prefer not to participate in research studies, you also have the option of writing an 5-page paper on a topic in moral psychology (not the same topic as your other two; please check with me for topic guidelines and due dates if you are interested in writing a paper like this.

Cheating: Tests and papers in this course are meant to be your individual work. Providing information to others (or obtaining it from them) during a test—or using unauthorized notes on such occasions—constitutes cheating. You are welcome to discuss your final project with others, but the drafts and the final version must be your work alone. If you decide to cheat, I will take action against you according to University policy.

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