Ethics-Humanities 400

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  Humanities 400 - Ethics
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a Humanities course for undergraduate or graduate students by Scott Starr at California State Maritime Academy. The open textbook provides an introductory undergraduate level curriculum for the academic analysis of moral judgements within the western tradition, global perspectives and religious (and non-religious) frameworks. The main motivations to adopt an open textbook were to eliminate cost for students, ensure accessibility from the first day of the semester, and provide them with free resources they may access at any point in the future for personal development. Most students access the open textbook on the Rebus Community website and the Stanford University website.

Course Title and Number - Humanities 400 Ethics
Brief Description of course highlights:  Humanities 400: Ethics fulfills the Area C2 Humanities (upper division) requirement for all majors at Cal Maritime. Students must have successfully complete English 220 before registering for this course. The course examines ethical dilemmas from theoretical perspectives and considers their application to personal to and social issues, with an emphasis on moral reasoning and decision-making. Areas of inquiry include Metaethics, Divine Command Theory, Natural Law Theory, Utilitarianism, Virtue Ethics, Kant’s Categorical Imperative, Social Contract Theory and Free Will within the Libertarian tradition..

Student population:  The Student Population for Humanities 400 includes a well-balanced cross-section of the Cal Maritime Student Body. As the C2 Humanities course is required for all students to graduate, all University majors are represented, and most are in their Junior or Senior year. 
Learning or student outcomes:  Students will: demonstrate ability to read and analyze a wide variety of literary, cultural, or philosophical texts; relate literary or cultural concepts, principles, terms, strategies, and styles to a range of texts analyze the relation between texts and their cultural contexts; demonstrate ability to express ideas clearly and creatively, both in writing and speech; and analyze works of philosophical, literary, aesthetic, and cultural importance.  The main objectives of the course are to identify and define key philosophical terms studied in philosophical tradition and distinguish among the moral theories studied throughout the semester. The goal is to critically apply moral theories to specific contemporary moral issues.

Key challenges faced and how resolved:  The main challenge I faced at the beginning of the semester is that students seemed to have a pre-existing concept that personal opinions or preferences qualify as philosophical arguments. So, from the beginning, I encouraged students to always begin with personal responses to questions and include their hunches and emotional reactions. Then, we worked as a class to identify what was the underlying principle at work. It was important to immediately push past the “it just feels wrong” response to identify the moral claim at work. Once students recognize that their gut feelings correspond to a philosophical tradition, they gain a personal connection with the academic field of study. I encouraged students to team up with like-minded classmates and prepare for their group presentations on a philosopher or school of their choice. This approach helped students forge a connection with the discipline and challenged them to reflect more critically on the view they hold regarding moral decisions. Many students found a new favorite philosopher whom they didn’t know before the semester.

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title:  Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics. 

Brief Description:  Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics critically examines the judgements we make about good, bad, right and wrong actions within the context of real world and hypothetical situations. This textbook fits within the traditional Humanities approach to the academic study of Philosophical Ethics. The structure of this text begins with a chapter on Metaethical categories of thought or simply, how we think about concepts of right and wrong. The subsequent chapters explore schools of thought within the context of religion and virtue. The bulk of the text examine a wide array of specific approaches to ethical decisions such as Utilitarianism, Social Contract Theory and Feminist Ethics.    https://press.rebus.community/intro-to-phil-ethics/

Authors:  George Matthews, Paul Rezkalla, Jeffrey Morgan, Douglas Giles, Ya-Yun Kao, Frank Aragbonfoh Abumere, Joseph Kranak, Kathryn MacKay, and Michael Klenk. 

Student access:  The students access the textbook directly from the Rebus Community website.
Supplemental resources: I used several supplemental free resources including the Stanford online Encyclopedia of Philosophy and short videos on YouTube..

Cost Savings:  The cost savings per student is approximately $75
License: This textbook is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option.   I was motivated to use an open-source textbook for two main reasons. First, I wanted to give every student free access to the materials. Second, I enjoyed customizing study notes with links to specific pages in the textbook reliably work. Electronic versions of textbooks (such as Kindle) are very difficult if not impossible to “link” due to Digital Rights Management (DRM) safeguards.  

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? I consulted with my Library representative and ALS coordinator to find the OER books available. I found several titles that seemed promising, then began to read excerpts from each of the books before deciding on Introduction to Philosophy. I found the organization and presentation clear and logical.

Scott Starr 
Adjunct Faculty - Department of Communication
California State University, Maritime 

Please describe the courses you teach.  I teach English Composition, Ethics, Critical Thinking, Creative Writing, Public Speaking and a variety of special topics within the Humanities. I primarily encourage students to engage with the world through their own experiences and to explore how the Humanistic tradition may inform or broaden their own critical and creative viewpoints.  I foster a learning environment of patience while promoting both rigor and deep reflection.