Seminar Schedule
Philosophy 333--Ethical
Theories: Altruism & Egoism
Michael Taber
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, USA
Spring 2026
(revised 30 October 2025)
The Google
folder for this course contains some readings.
dates pages readings
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Utilitarianism |
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Jan. 20 |
42 pp. |
· Come to the first seminar having read MacAskill’s What We Owe the Future,
chs. 1 & 2 · We’ll read excerpts from Jeremy Bentham’s
Principles of Morals and Legislation
(handout provided in seminar). |
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Jan. 22 |
73 pp. |
MacAskill, chs. 3-5 |
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Jan. 27 |
46 pp. |
·
MacAskill, chs. 6 & 7 ·
Taber’s “The Euthyphro Objection to the Divine
Command Theory of Morality” |
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Jan. 29 |
56 pp. |
· MacAskill,
chs. 8 & 9 · Test yourself here about the Euthyphro objection to the
divine command theory of morality. |
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Feb. 03 |
10 pp. |
Young’s “Overconsumption and Procreation: Are They
Morally Equivalent?” |
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Feb. 05 |
24 + 10 pp. |
MacAskill, ch. 10 & Appendices |
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Feb. 10 |
No class, as 3-6-page paper
#1 due at start of class time; tutorials will be scheduled. |
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Deontology |
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Feb. 12 |
11 pp. |
Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals,
First Section; and as needed, my reading notes on
Kant |
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Feb. 17 |
16 pp. |
Kant, Second Section, to Ak. 427 (Stop just
before “The will is thought of as a faculty….”) |
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Feb. 19 |
14 pp. |
Kant, remainder of Second Section |
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Feb. 24 |
13 pp. + 5 pp. |
· Kant,
Third Section · the
supplement “On a Supposed Right to Lie Because of Philanthropic Concerns” |
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Feb. 26 |
7 pp. |
Timmons’ “Why I Am Not a Relativist (and Neither Are
You)” |
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Mar. 03 |
No class, as 4-6-page paper
#2 due at end of class time; tutorials will be scheduled. |
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Virtue Ethics |
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Mar. 05 |
18 pp. |
· Aristotle’s
Nicomachean Ethics, excerpts from Books I & II · A
table of Aristotle’s vices (excesses and defects) and virtues (the mean
between each excess and defect); something like this must have been what he’s
referring to in Book II, chapter 7 when he says, “We may take these cases
from our table.” · Consider
viewing this
9-minute video (with my warning at the linked page) |
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Mar. 10 |
24 pp. |
Aristotle, VIII.1-6 & IX.1-9 |
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Mar. 12 |
22 pp. |
Annas’ “Living Virtuously, Living Happily” |
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Spring Recess |
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Mar. 24 |
No classes, due to all-day academic advising |
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Mar. 26 |
23 pp. |
Noddings’ “Caring” |
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Mar. 31 |
No class, as 4-6-page paper
#3 due at end of class time; tutorials will be scheduled. |
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Altruism & Egoism |
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Apr. 02 |
5 + 27 pp. |
Rand’s The Virtue of Selfishness, Intro &
ch. 1 |
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Apr. 07 |
61 pp. |
Rand, chs. 2-5, 7, 10, 14, & 17 |
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Apr. 09 |
11 pp. |
Rachels’ “Egoism and Moral Scepticism” |
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Apr. 14 |
39 mins. 43 mins. |
On the podcast Radiolab, listen to the episodes
entitled: a.
“The Humpback and
the Killer.” [39 mins.] (What
the heck?! Are these whales altruists?!) b.
“The
Good Show” [63 mins., but I’m assigning only the first 42:30] (1. What’s up with the arc of George
Price’s life? 2. Would you have hopped the bull’s fence, the way Laura
Shrake did? 3. What of risking getting burned to death the way William
Pennell did? 4. Jumping onto the subway track, with your daughter in view,
the way Wesley Autrey did?) |
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Apr. 16 |
18 pp. |
2
chapters from Dostoevsky’s The Brothers
Karamazov: “The Brothers Make Friends” & “Rebellion” |
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Apr. 21 |
19 pp. + 2 pp. |
TBK, “The Grand Inquisitor” Try
filling out the rest of this
matrix as you read (& on the second page is the 3 temptations
of Christ passage from Matthew) |
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Apr. 23 |
42 pp. + 4 pp. |
TBK, “The Russian Monk” And consider these
real-life snippets after you’ve read the Zossima chapters. |
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Apr. 28 |
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TBD |
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Apr. 30 |
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Saturday, May 09 |
Final paper (8+ pp.) due emailed at end of our
scheduled final exam slot (9:00-11:15 a.m., ET) |
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Send me mail: mstaber at smcm dot edu
Go to the home page for this course.
Go to Michael Taber's home page.
Go to the SMCM home page.