Professional Ethics:
Syllabus




Spring 2024 - Dr. Keith Korcz


Course Details:

PHIL 316 Professional Ethics Section 003
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 102 or 115 with a grade of “C” or better.
Meeting times: MWF 10:00 - 10:50
Meeting Place: H. L. Griffin Hall, HLG 522


How To Contact Professor Korcz:
You are supposed to have questions! Ask them! In addition to class, here are some good times to do so: My office is in H. L. Griffin Hall, rm. 563. My office hours are MW 11:00 – 12:00, 1:00 – 3:00, Th 12:00 – 3:00, and F 11:00 – 12:00. We can also meet at other times by arrangement - just ask. Another good way to contact me (or ask questions) is by e-mail at keithk@louisiana.edu. My office phone number is (337) 482-6806.  
 
Required Text:

1. "Professional Ethics" Course Pack - available only via Moodle - (https://moodle.louisiana.edu/).

2. Online articles linked from the online syllabus at: https://userweb.ucs.louisiana.edu/~kak7409/316_Syllabus.html


Your Course Objectives:

This course is designed to give you an opportunity to acquire, at an introductory level, an understanding of:
(1) the subject matter of philosophy, and how philosophy is done,
(2) some fundamental logic, critical thinking, and research skills,
(3) the nature of morality, problems with some naive views of morality, and familiarity with a few more sophisticated moral theories,
(4) the fundamental values that guide decision-making in the workplace,
(5) selected moral failures that can occur in economies such as ours, and to
(6) help you develop more advanced reading and note-taking skills.


Achieving Your Course Objectives:
Exams: There will be three required in-class exams, the two during the semester each worth 30% of your course grade, and the cumulative final exam worth 40% of your course grade. The exams will consist primarily of short answer and multiple-choice questions. However, all make-up exams will be primarily essay. The exams will cover both lectures and assigned readings (material in lectures and assigned readings will not always overlap). I will hand out a study guide prior to each exam. All exams are closed book/closed note. The exams are designed to help you achieve all six course objectives.

Required Extra-Credit Assignment: You will complete an appeal to experts argument and document your findings, as described in class. Worth up to 30 points. Details will be given later on a separate handout This assignment is designed to help you achieve course objective (2).

Reading and Note Taking: Though not separately counted for points, these are essential to achieving objectives 1 – 5, and especially objective 6. You should complete each of the readings before they are discussed in class. Some of the readings are difficult, and you may find that you need to re-read them after they have been discussed in class in order to fully understand them.

Grading:
 
The course grades will initially be determined according to the standard scale, i.e., 90-100% = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, 59% and below = F, and then may be modified as follows: Course grades might be curved, but, if so, the curve would not be such that any student's grade is lowered. Such factors as improvement over the length of the course, active participation, attendance, etc., may be taken into consideration, especially when doing so may improve a borderline grade. You must complete all course assignments (namely all exams and the required extra-credit assignment) to receive a passing grade (i.e., a grade other than F, NC, or U).


Class Policies (i.e., this class requires that you have Gotten Yourself Together!):
Missing Class: If you must miss class, for whatever reason, it is your responsibility to get class notes from another student. If you wish your absence to be excused, promptly provide me with an appropriate excuse, e.g., illness requiring medical attention, participation in certain university-sanctioned events, dangerous weather, etc. We cover something important every day, so for every five unexcused absences or partial absences, your course grade will be dropped by a letter grade. Skip class, and you won’t pass!

Tardiness: It’s important to show up to class on time, so for every five times you arrive unexcused after I have begun calling roll, you will lose a letter grade in the course. On those very rare occasions where you absolutely must arrive late to class, see me at the end of class so I can mark you present.

Cell Phones: Cell phones, earbuds, etc., must be turned off and remain out of sight.

Missing Assignments: If you miss an assignment due date, you must notify me within one week of either the due date or the cessation of a medically documented persistent vegetative state in order to make up the assignment. Missed assignments can be made up for full credit only if an appropriate excuse is promptly provided. An unexcused late assignment will be dropped 2/3 of a letter grade per day it is late.

Classroom: In class discussions, it is perfectly fine to disagree with your classmates or myself, but you should do so respectfully and with reasoning. Philosophy is all about intellectual controversy! However, disruptive or persistent distracting classroom behavior may result in your being asked to leave (counted as an unexcused absence) or being dropped from the class, at my discretion.

Ethics Policy: All assignments for this class must be completed individually, and any instance of academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating, plagiarism, furnishing false information regarding absences, etc.) will be sufficient to fail the course.

Unauthorized Websites: Neither lectures nor any class materials may be posted on the internet or otherwise published. Students who rely on internet sites (other than my own, listed below) or search engines for class notes, quizzes, study guides, etc., tend to do poorly in my classes. Such sites are often unreliable, and they prevent you from acquiring valuable note taking, study, and learning skills that you will need after you graduate. Do not use them.
University Policies: Be sure you are familiar with all university policies described in the UL Lafayette Undergraduate Bulletin and Code of Student Conduct.


Disability Accommodations:

Students needing academic accommodations for a disability must first be registered with the Office of Disability Services (ODS) to verify the disability and to establish eligibility for accommodations. Students may call 337-482-5252 or visit the ODS office in the Conference Center/Agnes Edwards Hall, room 126 (the ODS website address is: https://disability.louisiana.edu/). Once registered, students should then schedule an appointment with the professor to make appropriate arrangements. If your needs are not being met for any reason, inform the instructor and ODS as soon as possible so that we may rectify the problem.


Some Helpful Tips For A Successful And Happy Course Experience:

1. On class evaluations, students often state that they would tell friends planning to take my classes that good class attendance and good class notes are essential to doing well on the exams.

2. I strongly recommend taking advantage of the following resources I have created for you!
My How To Survive Your First Philosophy Class pages contain useful information about how to study for my exams, reading philosophy, taking notes, doing research in philosophy, etc.
My Philosophy 316 course home page contains links to the on-line syllabus, study aids, and other resources you will find helpful.
All of the above resources are linked from the course home page at: https://userweb.ucs.louisiana.edu/~kak7409/professionalethics.html.
Also, a Moodle page for the course will be activated at the beginning of the semester (https://moodle.louisiana.edu/).
You’ll be able to contact each other and download the course pack here.

3. Philosophy differs from other disciplines, and it’s common to have difficulties figuring it all out. If you are having difficulty with course material or assignments, let me know so I can help you out!


Emergency Evacuation Procedures:

A map of this floor is posted near the elevator marking the evacuation route and the Designated Rescue Area. This is an area where emergency service personnel will go first to look for individuals who need assistance in exiting the building. Students who may need assistance should identify themselves to the teaching faculty.



COURSE CALENDAR & PLANNED READING ASSIGNMENTS


(1) Finding the readings:
Each of the articles below is located in one of two places: either in
(a) the course pack on the course Moodle page (https://moodle.louisiana.edu/),
or
(b) if marked “ONLINE”, linked from the online syllabus at https://userweb.ucs.louisiana.edu/~kak7409/316_Syllabus.html. For online articles, when you click on the link below, it will take you to a page where there will be a link saying to “log in through your institution” or “log in through your school or library”. Click on that and then you will be able to log in through Dupre Library and then you will be taken to the stated article or book chapter. Your UserID and Password will be the same as for ULink.

(2) Follow where we are on the list of topics in class and try to read ahead a bit.

(3) Assignment due dates, topics, readings, and procedures are tentative and may change at my discretion. However, we can negotiate due dates for assignments if most students in the class prefer a change.

 

Topic 1: Moral Reasoning and Ethical Theory

a. Cultural Relativism
Ethics: You’re Doing It Wrong!, “Chapter 0. Introduction” and “Chapter 1. Moral Relativism” by Keith Korcz.
Monday, January 15: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - No Classes.
b. Understanding Philosophy & Ethics
Ethics: You’re Doing It Wrong!, “Chapter  2. Philosophy and Moral Reasoning" by Keith Korcz; “Appeals to Experts” by Keith Korcz.
c. The Divine Command Theory & Ethical Egoism
Ethics: You’re Doing It Wrong!, “Chapter 3. The Divine Command Theory” by Keith Korcz.
d. Utilitarianism, Rights & the Origin of Morality
Ethics: You’re Doing It Wrong!, “Chapter 4. Utilitarianism” and “Chapter 6. Moral Rights” by Keith Korcz.
(Note: “Chapter 5. Theories of Value” is included, but is optional reading.)
e. Some Issues In Ethics
Ethics: You’re Doing It Wrong!, “Chapter 7. Where Does Morality Come From?” and “Chapter 8. Why Be Moral?” by Keith Korcz.

Topic 2: Values in the Workplace

a. Work and Well-Being
 “Leisure and Consumption” by Joanne B. Ciulla; “Nonmonetary Incentives and the Implications of Work as a Source of Meaning” by Lea Cassar and Stephan Meier.

EXAM #1: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9.

Monday, February 12 – Wednesday, February 14 – Mardi Gras Holiday – No Classes.
b. Corporations & Social Responsibility
“Corporations and their Social Responsibility” by Guillermo C Jimenez and Elizabeth Pulos; "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits" by Milton Friedman; ONLINE: “A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation” by R. Edward Freeman

Monday, March 11 – Advising for FA24 begins.
c. Some Free Market Values
“How Trust Is Abused In Free Markets: Enron’s ‘Crooked E’” by William K. Black; ONLINE: “Is Inheritance Justified?” by D. W. Haslett. OPTIONAL: ONLINE: “The Ocean’s Hot Dog: The Development of the Fish Stick” by Paul Josephson.


Topic 3: Moral Failures to Avoid in Markets

a. Markets and Desert


b. Market Failure
ONLINE: “Liberalism, Economic Freedom, and the Limits of Markets” by Debra Satz.

c. Worker Abuse
“CSR & Sweatshops” by Guillermo C. Jimenez and Elizabeth Pulos; “What Employers Owe Employees” by Stephen M. Byars, et al.
d. Harming Customers
“The Ethics of Consumer Production and Marketing” by Manuel G. Velasquez; excerpts from The Poison Squad by Deborah Blum; ONLINE: "Information Disclosure in Sales" by David Holley.

e. Undermining Competition
“Corruption in International Business” by Guillermo C. Jimenez and Elizabeth Pulos; “Monopoly, Oligopoly, and Perfect Competition” by J. Zachary Klingensmith.

f. Political Corruption
“The Problem of Monopolies & Corporate Public Corruption” by Zephyr Teachout.
EXAM #2: FRIDAY, MARCH 22.

Monday, March 25 – Monday, April 1 – Spring Break – No Classes.
g. Harms of Advertising
“Marketing Ethics: Selling Controversial Products” by Guillermo C Jimenez and Elizabeth Pulos; "Political Economy" by Mark Twain.

Topic 4: Social Justice

a. Differing Theories Of Social Justice
excerpts from The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer; “A Pluralistic Conception of Justice” by Nicholas Rescher; “The Case For Equality: John Rawls” by Michael Sandel; “The Entitlement Theory” by Robert Nozick.
b. Boycotts
ONLINE: “Boycott Basics: Moral Guidelines for Corporate Decision Making” by Mary Lyn Stoll.

c. Whistleblowing
“Whistleblowing and Employee Loyalty" by Ronald Duska; ONLINE: “Whistleblowing: Professionalism, Personal Life, and Shared Responsibility for Safety in Engineering” by Mike W. Martin.
 


LAST DAY OF CLASSES: FRIDAY, APRIL 26.

STUDY DAY: WEDNESDAY, MAY 1.

FINAL EXAM: FRIDAY, MAY 3, FROM 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM, IN OUR REGULAR CLASSROOM.



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