Introduction to Ethics
Overview
This unit teaches an appreciation of the historical roots of different ethical doctrines, showing how these are related to ideas about the good life, freeing people to identify, understand and choose between traditions of ethical thought. It helps students to develop an understanding of the relationship between ethics, communities, institutions, society and the environment required to enable people to make judgements about how to act and how to live if the conditions for communities are to be sustained. It also helps students understand the limitations and defects of prevailing ethical thought and enables students to identify, criticise and provide alternatives to the assumptions of social, economic and political programs that are undermining our global eco-systems.
Requisites
Rules:
Equivalent
PHI20008 Practical and Environmental Ethics
PHI20008 Practical and Environmental Ethics
02-November-2025
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Identify and examine the relationships between ethics, communities, institutions, societies and the environment in ways which enable them to evaluate how to best live in these contexts.
- Critically examine the historical roots of different ethical doctrines and show how these are related to ideas about the good life and nature.
- Critically engage with work by leading ethics’ theorists to reveal the limitations and defects of dominant ethics’ theory and reveal the sources of these defective doctrines in order to act to develop more adequate ways of thinking about ethics and life.
- Critique and provide alternatives to the ethical assumptions of social, economic and political programmes that are undermining democracy and our essential ecosystems.
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-campus Lecture | 1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| On-campus Class | 2.00 | 12 weeks | 24 |
| Specified Activities Various | 3.00 | 12 weeks | 36 |
| Unspecified Activities Independent Learning | 6.50 | 12 weeks | 78 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Essay | Individual | 50% | 1,2,3,4 |
| Minor Essay | Individual | 30% | 1,2,3,4 |
| Tutorial Presentation | Individual | 20% | 1,2,3,4 |
Content
- How to make judgements, how to act and how to live in a way that augments rather than undermines the social and ecological conditions of human existence
- Modern and classical philosophies of ethics, their achievements and limitations, and recent efforts to revive and further develop classical philosophies, all within their historical contexts
- How ethics cannot be abstracted from politics and an understanding one’s roles in multiple communities
- How to cultivate the virtues required to sustain these communities and the forms of life they facilitate
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.