History of Ethics - 1st semester
Code
722031048
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Filosofia
Credits
10
Teacher in charge
Nuno da Rosa Ferro
Weekly hours
3 letivas + 1 tutorial
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
The syllabus of History of Ethics does not consist in a succession of ethical theories, but in an observation of constellations that have been raising around some couples of notions, like good/evil, theory/practice, natural/rational, as well as the antinomies that arose from those constellations. On the focus of attention there will always be the self as a moral subject and his limit situation between nature and rationality.
The curricular unit is therefore focused on an exploration of several approaches to the idea of «happy life», «good life», «excellence», comparing them with the ambiguities presented in the notion of happiness. Through the approach to the notion of «happy life» the problem of the evil «radical evil» or «banality of evil» ? and the finitude of human condition will emerge.
Prerequisites
None
Subject matter
The intention is to initially analyse the idea of \"ethical\", as expounded at certain points of Kierkegaard´s works. To this end the course will start with a studying of the meaning of the concept of \"stage\", with all the boundaries that it implies, the properties of the \"stage\" in which we find ourselves immediately by birth and the phenomena showing its failure. There will then be an analysis of the structure of the transition movement towards the ethical stage: the concepts of choice, decision, risk, freedom, etc. Finally there will be an identification, as precisely as possible, of the periods of the ethical as such and its relationship with the occurrence of the \"human universal concept\" (law, nature, conscience).
Bibliography
KIERKEGAARD, S., (1962-1964) Samlede Vaerker, Kobenhavn: Gyldendal.
HONG, H., HONG, E. (1978) Kierkegaard´s Writings, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
TISSEAU, P.-H. (1977) S. Kierkegaard, Oeuvres Complètes, Paris: L´Orante
Teaching method
There will be a combination of presentation and theoretical expounding of questions, with students participating in the analysis of the questions posed.
Evaluation method
Evaluation: Written paper (70%); discussion of the paper with the professor (30%)