Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

HON 282 - Evolution, Morality, and Ethics


Prerequisite, acceptance to the University Honors Program. This course challenges the current and common belief that morality and ethics remains purely in the realm of theology, philosophy, and metaphysics. Morality and ethics are not only woven into the very fabric of life, they are also, in part, a product of evolution itself. The topics of evolutionary biology, evolutionary ethics, and different social and political systems and theories will be considered concurrently with the ethical theories of Divine Command Theory (Augustine), Deontology (Kant), Moral Emotions/Sentiments (Hume and Smith), Utilitarianism (Bentham and Mills), Virtue Ethics (Aristotle), Egoism (Rand), Ethical Relativism (Benedict), and Social Contract Theory (Rawls), in light of recent developments that attempt to integrate facts and values, science and ethics. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits