Ethics (PHIL 202)

Ethics (PHIL 202)

Lecturer: Y. Sandy Berkovski
Spring 2026
Contact details
sandy.berkovski@gmail.com
Office hours
H147, Wed 1330-1530, and by appointment

Readings

Readings for this course consist of articles and book selections. There is only one source: the electronic collection provided by the lecturer.

[Ber26]
Y. S. Berkovski. Ethics: Course reader. The link to the .pdf file forwarded at the beginning of the semester. Note that only hard copies will be allowed to use in class.

Preliminary term schedule

Abbreviations: `Author[i]' designates item #i in [Ber26]. Starred items demand especially close scrutiny, either because of the significance of their arguments, or because of their sophistication, or both. Items with a dagger will be discussed only in passing (but remember that every item on the list is a required reading).
Introduction
Week 1
Both walked quickly: Chekhov[0], †Strawson[1]
Moral psychology
Week 1
Heinz's drug: Kohlberg[2], Rawls[3]
Week 2
Dogs and tails: *Haidt[4]
Week 3
Brains and jokes: Greene[5], †Kagan[6]
Freedom
Week 4
From Paris to Tahiti: †Williams[7], *Nagel[8],
Week 5
Your money or your life: *Nozick[9], †Frankfurt[10]
Week 6
Pour me a cup of coffee: *Feinberg[11]
Week 7
It all depends: Wertheimer[12]
Week 7
Midterm essay I
Realisms
Week 8
But is it good: *Moore[13]
Week 9
Dehydrated tourists: *Railton[14]
Week 10
In all robust seriousness: Enoch[15]
Debunking
Week 11
Sailing to Bermuda: *Street[16]
Week 12
Oxford over Harvard: *White[17]
Week 13
Coin in the head: *White[17]
Week 14
Beyond the pre-established harmony: †Enoch[18], FitzPatrick[19]
Week 14
Midterm essay II

Requirements

Midterm essay I
An in-class open-book assignment. It will consist of three-four short essays.
Midterm essay II
An in-class open-book assignment. It will consist of three-four short essays.
Quizzes
Four closed-book quizzes (fifteen minutes each) will be administered in the course of the semester. Their dates will not be announced in advance. They will typically require commenting on a short fragment of the text.
Participation
Discussing assigned readings is an essential activity of the course. There is a reading assignment for each lecture. The readings are often short but tend to require close study. You should complete at least parts of the assigned readings before each lecture, as many lectures will presuppose some familiarity with the material in the texts. Occasionally, lectures will contain material not in the readings (or handouts), so attendance at each and every lecture is crucial if you want to do well in the course.
Etiquette
Please note that latecomers will not be allowed into class, including those that are late from the break. This rule will be strictly enforced throughout the semester. No electronic devices (=laptops, tablets, mobile phones) are allowed in class without an explicit leave by the lecturer. Toilet breaks, while not strictly prohibited, are actively discouraged. The failure to respect the rules of etiquette is liable to interrupt the normal flow of the class and result in unpleasant scenes.

Grading

Midterm essay I                     44%
Midterm essay II                     44%
Quizzes                     12%
Participation                     10%
All your grades will take the following values: 100, 99, 90, 84, 70, 59, 10, 0. These values roughly correspond to the Bilkent percentage scale:

Numerical scale (%)                     Letter scale
95 - 100                     A
90 - 94                     A-
86 - 89                     B+
82 - 85                     B
78 - 81                     B-
74 - 77                     C+
70 - 73                     C
67 - 69                     C-
63 - 66                     D+
59 - 62                     D
00 - 58                     F


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 4.15.