Phil 4000: Moral Sentimentalism

University of Minnesota – Morris
Spring 2009
Professor Collier
M&W 3:30-5:10 (Imholte 202)

Course Description: This course provides a survey of one of the most influential positions in the history of ethics: “moral sentimentalism”. Moral sentimentalists argue against those like Hobbes and Mandeville who maintain that human motivation can always be reduced to calculations of self-interest; they also challenge those who maintain that morality can be derived from pure reason. Rather, the sentimentalists assert that altruism and morality are made possible by the fact that human beings are passionate creatures who genuinely care about the welfare of others. We will carefully examine the writings of central figures in the sentimentalist movement. This includes classical thinkers like Shaftesbury, Mandeville, Clarke, Butler, Hutcheson, Hume, and Smith, as well as contemporary philosophers such as Greene and Nichols. We will also consider recent approaches in cognitive science which promise to shed light on these traditional questions.

Requirements: Four short argument summaries (3-4 pages each) and one final research paper (10-12 pages).

1. JUSTICE: NATURAL OR ARTIFICIAL?

January 21: Hobbes I

Leviathan (1660): Chapters 13-15.

January 26: Hobbes II

Hampton: "What is the cause of conflict in the state of nature?" from Hobbes and the Social Contract Tradition, pp. 58-63 and 74-79 (e-reserve).

January 28: Hobbes III

Hampton: "What is the cause of conflict in the state of nature?" from Hobbes and the Social Contract Tradition, pp. 63-73 (e-reserve).

February 2: Locke I

The Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690): Chapters 2-3.

February 4: Locke II

Locke: "Of the Beginning of Political Societies"
Hume: "Of the Original Contract"

February 9: Hume I

Hume: Treatise 3.2.2 "Of the origin of justice and property" (87-99)
Sugden: "Spontaneous Order"
*Special visit* - Pete Wykoff (UMM Biology): "Animal Conflict in the Serenghetti"

February 11: NO CLASS

February 16: Hume II

Hume: Treatise 3.2.7 "Of the origin of government" (123-126)
Hume: Treatise 3.2.8 "Of the source of allegiance" (126-134)
Hardin: "From Power to Order, From Hobbes to Hume"

February 18: Hume III

Hume: Treatise 3.2.12 "Of chastity and modesty" (148-150)
Hume: Second Enquiry "Of Political Society" (213-217)
Collier: "Hume's Natural History of Justice"

Febuary 23: NO CLASS (NYU TALK)

2. EGOISM VS. ALTRUISM

February 25: Hobbes

Hobbes: Human Nature, Chs. 7-9 (e-reserve)
Kavka: "Human Nature", Hobbesian Moral and Political Theory, pp. 35-51 (e-reserve)

March 2: Butler

Butler: Sermon I "Upon Human Nature, the Social Nature of Man"
Butler: Sermon IV: "Upon the Love of our Neighbor"

March 4: Evolutionary Approaches I

Wilson and Sober: "The Evolution of Psychological Altruism" (e-reserve)

March 9: Stich: Evolutionary Approaches II

Stich: "Evolution, Altruism, and Cognitive Architecture"

March 11: Hume

Hobbes versus Butler on Compassion (pdf)
Hume: "Of the love of fame" (28-34)
Hume: "Of our esteem for the rich and powerful" & "Of compassion" (pdf)
Hume: "Self-Love" (275-280)

SPRING BREAK

March 23: Psychological Approaches

Batson: "Evidence for Altruism: Towards a Pluralism of Prosocial Motives"
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Moral Psychology: Empirical Approaches (Section 5.3-5.5)

March 25: The Philosophy of Laughter

Hobbes: Human Nature 11.13 (pdf)
Hutcheson: "Reflections on Laughter" (e-reserve)

3. MORAL RATIONALISM AND ITS CRITICS

March 30: Evolution and Morality

Joyce: "Darwinian Ethics and Error" (pdf)

April 1: Samuel Clarke's Moral Rationalism

Clarke: "Discourse Upon Natural Religion", pp. 191-206 (e-reserve)

April 6: Hutcheson's Challenge

Hutcheson: Illustration Upon the Moral Sense, Sections I and II, pp. 137- 160 (e-book)

April 8: Hume's Challenge

Hume: Treatise T 2.3.3; 3.1.1 (pp. 60-77); Second Enquiry, Appendix 1 (268- 274)

April 13: The Humean Challenge

Shafer Landau: “Humean Motivational Internalism” (e-reserve)

April 15: The Case of Psychopathy

Nichols: "How Psychopaths Threaten Moral Rationalism"

4. MORAL SENTIMENTALISM

April 20: Moral Intuitions

Haight and Graham: "When morality opposes justice"

April 22: Hutcheson

Hutcheson: Treatise II, An Inquiry Concerning Moral Good and Evil, pp. 85-100, 162-175 (e-book).

April 27: Hume

Hume: Moral Philosophy, 77-81, 151-163, 181-184.

April 29: Adam Smith

Smith: Theory of Moral Sentiments 1.1.1 (pp. 9-13); 1.1.3 (pp. 16-19); 4.2.2 (pp. 187-193) and 7.3.3 (pp. 321-327) (e-book)

May 4: Contemporary Sentimentalism

Prinz: "Emotionism" (e-reserve)

May 6: The Problem of Moral Diversity

Hutcheson: Inquiry II.4 "All Mankind Agree..." (pp. 135-146) (e-book)
Hume: “A Dialogue” (297-310)
Prinz: "Dining with Cannibals" (pp. 187-195)