Department

of Philosophy
School of Humanities
Ateneo de Manila University

Course Syllabus

Course Number: PH 104
Course Title: Foundations of Moral Value
Section: X (English)
Y (Filipino)
Credit 3 units
Term: First Semester 2018-19
Instructor: Remmon E. Barbaza, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy
Schedule and Venue: Section X (English): M-W-F 1400-1500, BEL-213
Section Y (Filipino): M-W-F 1500-1600, BEL-213

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A. Course Description

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The course introduces the student to the major ethical theories, viz., virtue ethics (Aristotle), deontology

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(Kant), and utilitarianism (Mill), by way of a rigorous and systematic discussion of their basic concepts and

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fundamental principles. It will proceed to a study of the modern concept of human rights, along with the
controversies surrounding the claim to its universal validity, especially in view of the current situation in

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the Philippines. The course concludes by consideration of key works of Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin
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Heidegger that may suggest other, more radical, ways of thinking and doing ethics. It concludes with a
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consideration of ethics from the perspective of woman, specifically Simone de Beauvoir, which challenges
the entire tradition that is predominantly male.
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B. Learning Outcomes
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By the end of the course, the students are expected to:

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1. Explain and differentiate the three major Western ethical theories, viz., virtue ethics (Aristotle),
deontology (Kant), and utilitarianism (Mill) .
2. Explain and critique the concept of human rights, based primarily on the Universal Declaration of
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Human Rights, and in consideration of the ensuing controversies and problematics.

3. Compare the major ethical theories with other ways of thinking that can point to a more radical
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understanding of ethics itself, as well as a more radical basis of our way of living.
4. Write an academic, philosophical paper on any of the key concepts listed in this syllabus and
actually discussed in class.
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C. Course Methodology
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The course consists mainly of intensive and close reading of texts and the active, critical engagement of
everyone in class discussions. To a large extent, the quality of the discussion depends on the readiness of
the students to engage in listening, questioning and articulating their thoughts. Every participant is thus
expected to have read the text assigned for every session.

D. Course Outline
The course is divided into three parts:
Part I: Three Major Ethical Theories: Virtue (Aristotle), Duty (Kant), Utilitarianism (Mill)
Part II: The Ethics of Human Rights
Part III: Radical Ethics: Nietzsche, Heidegger, De Beauvoir

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 E. Timetable

Week Date Text Key Concepts

I Aug 15 Introduction: Syllabus
Simone Weil, “The Right Use of School Studies with a 1. Attention
View to the Love of God”
II Aug 20, 24 - - - - - -
Part I: Three Major Ethical Theories 1. eudaimonia
Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics, Books I and II 2. areté
1. mesotés
III Aug 27, 29, 31 Aristotle, NE, Book II
2. phronésis
1. deliberation
IV Sep 3, 5, 7 Aristotle, NE, Book III 2. voluntary and involuntary
actions

First Written Exam: Sep 10 1. will

V Sep 10, 12, 14 I. Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Pref- 2. duty
ace, Section I Kant (cont’d), Section I 3. maxim

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1. categorical imperative

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VI Sep 17, 19, 21 Kant, GMM, Section II 2. formula of the universal law

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3. formula of the end in itself

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1. heteronomy and autonomy

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VII Sep 24, 26, 28 Kant (cont’d), Section II
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2. kingdom of ends
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1. utility, utilitarianism
VIII Oct 1, 3, 5 J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism, Chapter 1 2. nobility of character
3. expediency
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Mill, Utilitarianism, Chapter 2

IX Oct 8, 10, 11 1. exceptions to moral laws
Second Written Exam: Oct 11
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1. human rights
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Part II: The Ethics of Human Rights

X Oct 15, 17, 19 2. human dignity
The Universal Declaration of Human rights
3. obligations
1. universality
L. Henkin, "The Universality of the Concept of Human
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XI Oct 22, 24, 26 2. human rights

Rights"
3. obligations
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1. genealogy
Part III: Radical Ethics
XII Oct 29, 31 2. good and evil
F. Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality, excerpts
3. master and slave morality
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1. primordial technology
Final Paper Due: Nov 5
XIII Nov 5, 7, 9 2. modern technology
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M. Heidegger, “The Question Concerning Technology”

3. saving power
1. dwelling
XIV Nov 12, 14, 16 Heidegger, “Building Dwelling Thinking”
2. the fourfold
1. man, woman
S. de Beauvoir, “The Independent Woman,” from The
XV Nov 19, 21, 23 2. masculine, feminine
Second Sex
3. feminism, independence
XVI Nov 26, 28, 30 Conclusion
XVII Dec 7 Study Day
XVIII Dec 10-15 Final Oral Examinations

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 F. Required Readings
ARISTOTLE. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by David Ross, revised and with and introduction and notes by
Lesley Brown. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
DE BEAUVOIR, SIMONE. “The Independent Woman.” The Second Sex. Translated and edited by H.M. Parsh-
ley, 13-28. London: Jonathan Cape, 1953. [Alternative translation: Translated by Constance Borde
and Sheila Malovany Chevallier, 641-672. New York: Vintage Books, 2011].
HEIDEGGER, MARTIN. “Building Dwelling Thinking.” In Poetry, Language, Thought. Translated by Alfred Hof-
stadter. New York: Perennial Library/Harper and Row, 1971.
________. “The Question Concerning Technology.” In The Question Concerning Technology and Other
Essays. Translated and with introduction by William Lovitt. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1977.
HENKIN, LOUIS. "The Universality of the Concept of Human Rights." The Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science 506 (1989): 10-16. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1046650.
KANT, IMMANUEL. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, with On a Supposed Right to Lie Because of
Philanthropic Concerns. Third edition. Translated by James W. Ellington. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub-
lishing Co., 1993.
MILL, JOHN STUART. Utilitarianism. 2nd edition. Edited, with an introduction by George Sher. Indianapolis:
Hackett Publishing Co., 2001.

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MONTGOMERY, JOHN D. "Fifty Years of Human Rights: An Emergent Global Regime." Policy Sciences 32, no. 1

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(1999): 79-94. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4532450.

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NIETZSCHE, FRIEDRICH. Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future. Translated by Judith
Norman, edited by Rolf-Peter Horstmann and Judith Norman. Cambridge: Cambridge University

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Press, 2002.
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________. On the Genealogy of Morality. Translated by Carol Diethe, edited by Keith Ansell-Pearson.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 2015 Web version. Available at
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http://www.un.org/en/udhrbook/pdf/udhr_booklet_en_web.pdf (Accessed 3 August 2016.)

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G. Supplementary Readings
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BARBAZA, REMMON E. “Have We Lost the Instinct for Just Rage?” Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 25, 2015.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/57387/have-we-lost-instinct-and-capacity-for-just-rage.
________. “Duterte and Being Human.” Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 28, 2016.
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http://opinion.inquirer.net/96010/duterte-and-being-human.
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________. “Is Dutertismo Utilitarian?” Philippine Daily Inquirer. April 28.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/112777/is-dutertismo-utilitarian.
________. “ Just Ask June Mar’s Mother.” Philippine Daily Inquirer. July 8, 2018.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/114451/just-ask-june-mars-mother.
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DHALIWAL, SHVETA. "Development of South Asian Human Rights Culture: The Role of South Asian Associa-
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tion for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)." The Indian Journal of Political Science 69, no. 3 (2008): 565-
75. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41856445.
ECO, UMBERTO. Five Moral Pieces. Translated by Alastair McEwen. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Books, 2001.
FRANKLIN, JAMES C. "Shame on You: The Impact of Human Rights Criticism on Political Repression in Latin
America." International Studies Quarterly 52, no. 1 (2008): 187-211.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/29734229.
GENSLER, HARRY J., EARL W. SPURGIN, AND JAMES C. SWINDAL. Ethics: Contemporary Readings. London/New
York: Routledge, 2004.
GOLDER, BEN. “Beyond redemption? Problematising the critique of human rights in contemporary interna-
tional legal thought.” London Review of International Law (2014) 2 (1):77-114.
doi: 10.1093/lril/lru001. First published online: February 24, 2014

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 KING, SALLIE B. "An Engaged Buddhist Response to John Rawls's "The Law of Peoples"" The Journal of Reli-
gious Ethics 34, no. 4 (2006): 637-61. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40018006.
MARINA, JOSÉ ANTONIO. "Genealogy of Morality and Law." Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 3, no. 3 (2000):
303-25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27504145.
NEUMAYER, ERIC. "Do International Human Rights Treaties Improve Respect for Human Rights?" The Jour-
nal of Conflict Resolution 49, no. 6 (2005): 925-53. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30045143.
NOORANI, A G. "Bashing Human Rights Bodies." Economic and Political Weekly 27, no. 15/16 (1992): 745-
47. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25733575.

H. Course Requirements
Attendance: A student must not incur more than six absences.
Class participation 10 %
Written exams (Sep 10, Oct 11) 30
Term paper (due Nov 5) 30
Final oral exams 30

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Class participation consists in coming to class prepared, actively engaging in discussions, and avoid-

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ing anything that might disrupt the class (see classroom policies below).

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The success and fruitfulness of each session largely depends on the readiness and willingness of stu-

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dents to engage in discussion, which is manifested in recitation and class participation. The class will ob-
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serve the Jesuit practice of prelectio, lectio, and repetitio. Thus, every student is assumed, at the very
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least, to have read and studied beforehand the text assigned for the day. It goes without saying that eve-
ry student comes to class with the text ready at hand, especially since the class will always refer to actual
passages in the text. The teacher will send out of the classroom any student who does not have his own
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copy of the text at hand. This student will thus be marked absent.
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A written examination consists of an essay that discusses a central question from a particular text.
The minimum requirement of a good philosophical essay is objectivity. Concretely this means that it is
able to demonstrate objective understanding of what a philosopher says in a text. For example, did Aris-
totle really say that happiness is not a feeling? If so, what then is it? Where did he say that? Based on the
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text of Kant, is duty an action, a principle, or something else? But objective correctness is just the mini-
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mum requirement of a good philosophical essay. More than objectivity, the student must be able to
show his or subjectivity (which is not the same as subjectivism, let alone relativism) at work. One must be
able to demonstrate one’s own capacity to think on one’s own by offering his or her interpretation or
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critique of the text. It is in one’s subjectivity that a student can demonstrate his or her capacity for genu-
ine and original thinking. But this is not even possible without first getting the objective part of the text
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right.

The term paper is a philosophical engagement with any of the key concepts or questions listed in the
timetable above. As a formal academic work, it must adhere to the common rules, style and format of
academic writing (following specifically Chicago or Turabian citation style). It must contain at least the
following elements: title, main body, footnote references, and a bibliography. It must be submitted on a
size A4 paper, double-spaced, with no more than 1,500 words including references and bibliography (the
number of words must be indicated within parentheses at the end of the paper), stapled (but without
folders or title page), with a one-inch margin on all sides, using Times New Roman, Courier New, or Arial
font, size 12. Students are urged to familiarize themselves with the Chicago or Turabian citation style ear-

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 ly on by themselves. There are several excellent online sites to help you here, notably the Purdue Online
Writing Lab. See the following: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2.

The hard copy must be submitted in class on November 5. A soft copy must be submitted to 1)
Turnitin, in PDF version, as well as 2) via e-mail to barbaza.papers@gmail.com, in Word version, on the
same day, before class. Students are supposed to understand that plagiarism or any form of intellectual
dishonesty is a serious disciplinary offense, and thus must make sure they write and turn in only original
papers, with no more than 20% similarity index based on Turnitin (i.e., citations, whether direct or indi-
rect, should not exceed 20% of the text, while the rest of the text should be one’s own work).

A paper (hard or soft copy) that is submitted after the deadline will incur a grade deduction (a grade
lower for each day of delay). The student ID number (not the name) must be clearly written at the top of
the first page, along with the date, course number and title, and name of teacher. The student should
write his or her name by hand at the back of the last sheet, upper right corner. The teacher may refuse to
accept papers that do not conform to any of the foregoing specifications.

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The final oral examination is conducted for about fifteen minutes. A list of topics or thesis state-

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ments will be distributed days before the examination.

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H. Grading System

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Grade Description
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Shows mastery of the basic concepts and fundamental principles of the various theories and the subject matter
A of the course as a whole, with attention to details and nuances, and confidently and convincingly demonstrates
critical and original thinking.
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Shows evidence of an excellent grasp of the basic concepts and fundamental principles of the various theories
B+
and the subject matter of the course as a whole, with emerging signs of critical and original thinking.
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Shows evidence of a very good grasp of the basic concepts and fundamental principles of the various theories
B and the subject matter of the course as a whole, though a confident and convincing articulation is still to be
desired.
Shows evidence of an average grasp of the basic concepts and fundamental principles of the texts, though at
C+
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times lacking in precision and coherence.

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Shows evidence of a satisfactory grasp of the basic concepts and fundamental principles of the various theories,
C
though often lacking in precision and coherence.

Shows evidence of grasping a few of the basic concepts and fundamental principles of the various theories, but
D
often in a rather crude, inaccurate, inconsistent, and thus unconvincing manner.
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Unable to show objectively correct understanding of even the most basic concepts, problems and questions of a
F
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text, and thus unable to proceed to think critically on one’s own.

I. Course Policies
On attendance: The Student Handbook states that “regular attendance in all classes is one of the
most important obligations of students.” In philosophy, attendance is even more crucial, as the success of
the course depends largely on the concrete engagement with texts in class by way of discussion and close
reading. We will adhere to the University rule allowing students to be absent only for a maximum of nine
hours in a three-unit course. There is no distinction between excused and unexcused absences.
On class preparation: Students are expected to have read the text beforehand, to have their own
copies of the text in class, and to actively participate in discussion.

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 On class demeanor: The general environment desired for the class is one that is free but focused, re-
laxed but serious and engaging. Any behavior that may disrupt the class is not allowed, including the fol-
lowing: eating and drinking (except for water), texting and using electronic gadgets for purposes other
than the reading of texts.
On intellectual honesty: Students must take care, especially when writing papers, that they maintain
intellectual honesty, which requires that ideas borrowed must be properly acknowledged, whether they
are used in direct or indirect quotations, paraphrases, or summaries. Students must especially guard
against plagiarism. While there are many definitions of plagiarism with different levels of strictness, pla-
giarism simply means the act of taking ideas from another and passing them off as one’s own. In most
cases this is done by using part of another person’s work without acknowledging the source through the
use of quotation marks and proper citation. Rearranging the sentence structure, or substituting one or
more words with others—even if one acknowledges the source—is not a legitimate paraphrasing and
therefore also constitutes plagiarism. But intellectual honesty goes beyond the issue of plagiarism. At
bottom, intellectual honesty concerns the value and principle of doing one’s own academic work, work-
ing hard on it on one’s own, and not simply relying on other people’s works. Finally, students need to be
reminded that plagiarism, whether deliberate or not (since either is hard to prove), is a major offence and
is punishable by as much as expulsion.

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J. Consultation Hours, E-Group, Contact Numbers, and Address

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Students enrolled in this class are responsible for keeping themselves updated about anything that

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concerns the class, such as important announcements, readings, and requirements, by regularly checking
the e-group.

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Those who wish to see their teacher for consultation must secure an appointment beforehand.
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Consultation Hours: Contact Numbers:
Wednesdays, 16:00-17:00 Hrs. or by appointment Tel. 426 5665; 426 6001 loc. 5360, 5361
Fax. 426 5665
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Address: E-mail:
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Department of Philosophy Correspondence: rbarbaza@ateneo.edu

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2nd Floor, De la Costa Hall Paper submission: barbaza.papers@gmail.com

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