Ethical Reasoning
February 10, 2014

Developing a sense of right and wrong in the context of community is an important part in functioning in the social world of life and work. But we often take the complexity of the ethical dimensions of our lives for granted. For example, what if one’s sense of right and wrong contradicts the values of one’s society, or one’s ethnic or religious community, or one’s bosses, or family, or friends? Do such conflicts mean that there are no ethical truths, or that there are many? If there are no ethical truths, then what can it mean to be rational about ethics? Or is ethical truth perhaps a more complex and subtle type of truth, and, if so, how do we approach it rationally? In this workshop, we’ll discuss and explore the various shades of meaning related to the idea that ethics is or can be rational, and the way this is expressed in the Drexel Student Learning Priority associated with “Ethical Reasoning.”

Some questions for discussion during our session:

• What are the main roles or functions that ethics plays in our lives?
• What is the purpose or intention of studying ethics through Philosophy of Literature?
• In what sense are there ethical truths to be learned from reasoning?

You will leave the session with a more focused understanding of the meaning of “ethics,” how it is related to “reason” and “rationality,” what its main functions or purposes are, and how developing the aptitudes and attitudes associated with ethical reasoning enhances your life both in your career and as a human being.

Event Details

• Date:Monday, February 10, 2014
• Time: 5–6 p.m.
• Location: MacAlister 2019, 3250-60 Chestnut Street Philadelphia PA 19104
• Event Catagory:Drexel Student Learning Priorities. This is the fifth DSLP event from a series of twelve DSLP events.
• Presenter: Dr. Peter Amato, Director, Programs in Philosophy and Teaching Professor of Philosophy.

Refreshments will be served. Promotional materials will be distributed to all students that attend the event.

Winning Question:

Please discuss the purposes or functions of ethics. Please incorporate the DSLP Ethical Reasoning definition in your answer.

Please email your response to dslp@drexel.edu. The winner will be announced at the end of the month.