Course Schedule
Philosophy 120—Intro to Ethics
Michael Taber

St. Mary’s College of Maryland (USA)

Fall 2026

As we go, some occasional supplementary material will be available (from your smcm.edu account) in this Google folder.

* = sessions available for you, in pairs, to lead for 50 minutes

dates          pages                              readings

Aug. 31

32 pp.

A. Introduction, pp. 1-30

B.  Taber’s “The Euthyphro Objection to the Divine Command Theory of Morality”

Sep. 02

23 pp.

remainder of Introduction, pp. 30-52

Sep. 04

7 pp.

A.    Timmons’ “Why I Am Not a Relativist (and Neither Are You)”

B.     Test yourself here about the Euthyphro objection to the divine command theory of morality.

I.                 Sex and Relationships

Sep. 7

 Labor Day: no classes

Sep. 9

11 pp.

1.     Corvino’s “We Shouldn’t Even Be Having This Discussion”

Sep. 11

13 pp.

2.     Dular’s “Boy Bye: A Feminist Defense of Ghosting”

And Malia Wollan’s short NY Times piece “How to Recover from Being Ghosted,” with advice from SMCM’s Professor Freedman

Sep. 13

Sunday: 500-750-word paper #1 (= 2-3 pp. with standard font and margins) due at 5:00 p.m.

Sep. 14

13 pp.

3.  Abbate’s “It’s Not Just a Personal Preference: Racialized Discrimination in the Tinder Context”

Sep. 16

11 pp.

+ 25 mins.

5.  Kelly’s “Sexism in Practice: Feminist Ethics Evaluating the Hookup Culture”

“Just Sex,” a 2017 episode of the NPR podcast Hidden Brain, is a 25-minute discussion between the host Shankar Vedantam and his guest, sociologist Lisa Wade

Sep. 18

10 pp.

6.     Roiphe’s “Date Rape’s Other Victim”

Sep. 21

8 pp.

7.     Dixon’s “Alcohol and Rape”

Sep. 23

13 pp.

8.     McPherson’s “Consent Is Not Enough: A Case against Liberal Sexual Ethics”

II.               Abortion

Sep. 25

13 pp.

9.     Grob & Nobis’ “Defining ‘Abortion’ and Critiquing Common Arguments about Abortion”

& this short video by Trevor Noah

Sep.

28-30

3-4-page paper #2 due on the 28th at noon (or at your tutorial, whichever is earlier); tutorials will be scheduled these days, so no class 9/28 or 9/30.

Oct. 02

15 pp.

10.  Thomson’s “A Defense of Abortion”

Paper #2 will be returned to you by today; commence rewriting.

Oct. 05

9 pp.

11.  Marquis’ “Why Abortion Is Immoral”

Oct. 07

10 pp.

12.  Hursthouse’s “Virtue Theory and Abortion”

Relating to a comment Hursthouse makes, Alex Baia has fun with planning one’s life in “I’ll have kids in a few years, when I’m successful and wealthy and my life is finally perfect.”

III.             Feminism, Trans Identities, and Race

Oct. 09*

12 pp.

13.  Tuvel’s “The Case for Feminism”

Sophie Haigney’s NYT article about BimboTok

Oct. 12

No classes, due to College’s Fall Reading Days, 13th & 14th

Oct. 14*

11 pp.

14.  Eaton’s “A Sensible Antiporn Feminism”

Christine Emba’s NYT article “The Delusion of Porn’s Harmlessness”

Oct. 16*

11 pp.

15.  Chappell’s “How (Not) to Talk about, and to, Trans Women”

Oct. 19-22

Individual oral exams scheduled these days, 20 minutes apiece.

No class on Oct. 19 or 21.

Oct. 23*

12 pp.

16.  Overall’s “Trans Persons, Cisgender Persons, and Gender Identities”

Oct. 26*

10 pp.

18.  Blum’s “Racism: What It Is and What It Isn’t”

IV.             The Internet, Gaming, and Sports

Oct. 28*

12 pp.

23. Vallor’s “New Social Media and Technomoral Virtues”

Oct. 30*

15 pp.

 

+

      4 pp.

24. Surovell’s “The More We Get Together on Social Media the Worse Off We’ll Be (and the Worse Off We’ll Make Our Friends)”

Haidt & Twenge on teenage depression and smartphones

Nov. 02*

8 pp.

25.  Forcehimes’ “Download This Essay: A Defense of Stealing E-Books”

Nov. 04

No classes due to programming for Wellness Day

Nov. 06*

10 pp.

26.  Luck’s “The Gamer’s Dilemma: An Analysis of the Arguments for the Moral Distinction Between Virtual Murder and Virtual Pedophilia”

Nov. 09*

14 pp.

27.  Zema’s “Should Student-Athletes Be Paid?”

Nov. 11*

18 pp.

+ 4 pp.

28.  Leong’s “Against Women’s Sports”

with this 2021 article about women in ultramarathons & this 2025 article “4 Ways Women Are Physically Stronger Than Men”    

V.               Consumer Ethics

Nov. 13*

10 pp.

29.  Doucet’s “Just Say No (for Now): The Ethics of Illegal Drug Use”                                               

Nov. 16*

8 pp.

30.  Singer’s “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”

with his 17-minute TED talk “The Why and How of Effective Altruism”

Nov. 18

Teach Your Family, part I

Nov. 20-24

4-5-page paper #3 due at 3:00 p.m. (or earlier for those with an earlier tutorial) on Nov. 20th; no class on the 20th and 23rd due to tutorials being scheduled Nov. 20, 23, and 24.

Thanksgiving recess

Nov. 30*

11 pp.

31. Norcross’ “Puppies, Pigs, and People: Eating Meat and Marginal Cases”                                    

VI.             Higher Education: Ethics and Policy

Dec. 02**

21pp.

36. Dieterle & Koolage’s “Affording Disaster: Concealed Carry on Campus”

37. Hsiao & Blanchette’s “Guns on Campus: A Defense”                                                                     

VIII. Being a Student (and a Grad)

Dec. 04*

13. pp

42. Bouville’s “Why Is Cheating Wrong?”

Dec. 07*

11 pp.

46. Garner’s “Are You Morally Responsible for Your Student Loans?”

Dec. 09*

11 pp.

47. Crummett’s “You Are Spider-Man”             

Dec. 11

Teach Your Family, part II

Tuesday, Dec 15

Final essay exam in our scheduled final exam slot 9:00-11:15 a.m.; eligible questions will have been circulated to you.

Send me mail:  mstaber at smcm dot edu

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