PHIL 480: Seminar
in the History of Philosophy
Building Moral Character: Neo-Confucianism
and Moral Psychology
Spring 2013
Class meeting time: M W 2:30-3:45 pm Instructor:
Dr. JeeLoo Liu
Classroom:
EC 032 Office
location: H-311-I
Telephone: (657) 278-7560 (email
preferred) Office
hours: M W 1:00 - 2:30 pm
E-mail: jeelooliu@fullerton.edu or
by appointment
Text:
(available at Little Professors)
1.
[Required] Moral
Psychology. (Eds.) Thomas
Nadelhoffer, Eddy Nahmias, and Shaun Nichols. Wiley-Blackwell. [schedule
listing MP]
2.
[Required] Lack of
Character. By John M.
Doris. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
[schedule listing LC]
3.
[Optional] Moral
Development, Self and Identity. (Eds.) Daniel K. Lapsley & Darcia
Narvaez. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004. [schedule
listing MSI]
Course Description:
ÒWhy
do some people tend to choose those actions that they consider to be moral
while others do not, or not with the same frequency and consistency?Ó (Augusto
Blasi 1999) This course focuses on the issue of moral character – its
development and its defense against situational challenges. John Doris in Lack of Character: Personality and Moral Behavior (2002) argues
that changes in peopleÕs behavior are due more to situational factors than to
their character traits. He cites
empirical studies to show that there is no such proof for the consistency or
the stability of moral virtues; furthermore, there is no integration of
character traits in moral agents. He
thus recommends that we abandon the vain pursuit of cultivating virtue and
moral character in our ethical discourse, and turn our attention more towards
constructing morality-inducing situations. This view is called situationism. In this course, we will begin with
DorisÕ challenge to moral character, and then we will read various proposals by
contemporary moral psychologists on developing moral character as well as some
historical roots of these views. The
views presented include social cognitivism, moral
intuitionism and moral sentimentalism.
Reading materials are a healthy mixture of philosophy and
psychology. At the end, we will
turn to the views on moral personality presented by several Neo-Confucians
between the 14th and the 17th centuries, and assess the
merit of each view.
Course Objectives:
(1)
Students will learn about current leading
theories in moral philosophy and moral psychology.
(2)
Students will learn about major Neo-Confucian
moral philosophy on character building.
(3)
Students will develop their own stance on the
debate between situationism and character ethicists.
(4)
Students will develop some important philosophical
techniques of argumentation.
(5)
Students will develop the ability to read critically
and to write clearly and succinctly.
Grading:
Mid-term exam
(in class) [No final exam] 20
%
5 two-page response
essays on reading (out of 6) 10 %
Discussion
Forum Postings (20 points = 100) 10
%
Mid-semester
short paper (5 pages) 20
%
1 final paper (8-10 pages) 20
%
Presentation of
course material 10
%
Active class participation 10
%
Full attendance [not a single missed class] 2
points extra credit
To receive a final grade for the course, no
portion of your grade can be a ÒzeroÓ.
Date Content
of discussion Assignments
for this class
M 1/28 Introduction None
[The Challenge of Situationism]
W 1/30 Ross & Nisbett, ÒThe Person and the
SituationÓ MP,
187-95
M 2/4 1. John Doris, Lack of Character, Chap. 1-2 LC,
1-27
Response essay #1
W 2/6 2. John
Doris, Lack of Character, Chap. 3 LC,
28-61
M 2/11 3. John Doris, Lack of
Character, Chaps. 4-5 LC,
62-106
Response essay #2
W 2/13 4. Rachana
Kamtekar. "Situationism and Virtue Ethics MP,
210-23
on the Content of our CharacterÓ
[Character and
Identity: Social-Cognitivist Model]
W 2/20 5. Augusto Blasi, ÒMoral Cognition and Moral
Action: Pdf.
File on Titanium
A
Theoretical Perspective
Student
Presentation #1
M 2/25 6. Lapsley & Narvaez, ÒA Social-Cognitive
Approach MSI,
189-207
to the Moral Personality Response essay #3
W 2/27 7. Lawrence Kohlberg, ÒThe Claim to Moral
Adequacy of MP, 40-47
A
Highest Stage of Moral Judgment
Student
Presentation #2
M 3/4 8. Robert J. Blair, ÒA Cognitive Developmental MP,
48-61
Approach
to Morality: Investigating the Psychopath Response essay #4
W 3/6 9. Augusto Blasi, ÒMoral Identity: Pdf.
File on Titanium
Its
Role in Moral FunctioningÓ
Student Presentation #3
M 3/11 10. Roger Bergman, ÒIdentity as Motivation: MSI,
21-43
Toward
a Theory of the Moral SelfÓ Response essay #5
[Moral
Intuitionism]
W 3/13 11. Jonathan Haidt, ÒThe Emotional Dog and Its
Rational MP, 343-55
Tail: A Social Intuitionist Approach to Moral
Judgment
Student
Presentation #4
M 3/18 12. Joshua Greene, ÒThe Secret Joke of KantÕs SoulÓ MP,
359-70
Response
essay #6
W 3/20 13. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, ÒMoral Intuitionism
Meets MP, 373-84
Empirical
Psychology
[The Moral Sense Theory]
W 3/27 14. Francis Hutcheson, Selections #2 and #3 MP,
21-31
M 4/8 15. David Hume, ÒConcerning Moral SentimentsÓ MP,
32-36
Student Presentation #5
W 4/10 16. Adam
Smith, selections from The Theory of
Moral Sentiments
Mid-term paper due Pdf. File on Titanium
M 4/15 17. Jesse
Prinz, ÒThe Emotional Basis of Moral JudgmentsÓ
Student Presentation #6 Pdf.
File on Titanium
W 4/17 18. Bill
Puka, ÒAltruism and CharacterÓ MSI,
161-86
Student Presentation #7
M 4/22 19.
C. Daniel Batson, ÒHow Social an Animal: MP,
117-23
The
Human Capacity for CaringÓ
Student Presentation #8
W
4/24 20. Robert
L. Trivers, ÒThe Evolution of Reciprocal MP,
124-33
AltruismÓ
Student Presentation #9
M 4/29 21.
Sober & Wilson, ÒThe Evolution and Psychology of MP, 135-47
Unselfish
Behavior
Student Presentation #10
W 5/1 22.
Barry Schwartz, ÒWhy Altruism is ImpossibleÉ and MP, 148-58
Ubiquitous
M 5/6 23.
Zhang ZaiÕs Social-Cognitivist Model Liu,
Manuscript
W 5/8 24. The Cheng BrothersÕ Globalist Virtue Ethics Liu, Manuscript
T 5/13 25. Wang FuzhiÕs Social-Sentimentalism Liu, Manuscript
W 5/15 Last
class: Review and Reflections