Students

PHIL1032 – Happiness, Goodness and Justice

2022 – Session 3, Online-flexible

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, tutor
Ludo Beau De Roo
ludo-beau.de-roo@mq.edu.au
Convenor, tutor
Fayna Fuentes Lopez
esther.fuentes-lopez@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit provides an introduction to major topics in ethics, moral theory and contemporary political philosophy. The first section focuses on the nature of happiness. Is pleasure essential to happiness? Or does the pursuit of pleasure harm our chances of lasting fulfilment? Must we be virtuous in order to be happy? What is the relationship between happiness and duty? The second section explores the nature of moral goodness. Is morality based ultimately in self-interest? What is the relationship between morality and religion? Are there moral principles that everyone is bound by reason to recognise? Or is the validity of moral standards relative to specific societies and cultures? In the third section we turn to questions of applied political philosophy, focusing on questions such as: What principles should govern the distribution of economic and social resources within a society? What are the obligations of wealthy nations to those less fortunate, including immigrants and refugees? And what issues of justice are raised by climate change?

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate elementary understanding of key moral and political theories.
  • ULO2: Evaluate, in an elementary way, contemporary social issues that concern happiness, goodness, and justice, using philosophical ideas and methods.
  • ULO3: Summarise and explain a philosophical text and its key features at an elementary level.
  • ULO4: Reflect critically on philosophical theories and arguments at an elementary level.
  • ULO5: Formulate and defend your own ideas with clarity and rigour, in a logical, structured argument, at an elementary level.
  • ULO6: Engage constructively and respectfully with the views of others, even if you disagree with them.

General Assessment Information

*Note that this is an intensive (accelerated) unit, and the course load is identical to the standard 13-week session in which one topic is studied per week. There is no difference in the requirements between an ordinary unit and an intensive unit, except for the shortened time frame.

There are five quizzes and ten forums for forum discussion (in lieu of tutorial participation). Each quiz and each forum will be open for one week (Monday to Sunday). Due to the accelerated session, you will need to complete one quiz and two forums each week. These are timed assessments and no extensions will be granted. This is because the quiz feedback is released when the quiz closes, and the forum discussions are interactive. 

Submission of Assessments

All written assessments are to be submitted via the unit's iLearn site. There is no need for a coversheet, and we request that you omit your name from the document. A link to the Turnitin submission page will be provided on iLearn in the Assessments section. Written assessments will be run through the Turnitin software which detects unoriginal work.

The online quizzes will be available on iLearn. Each quiz can only be undertaken once and has a time limit.

Assessing Active Participation

Active participation is assessed by a student's engagement in contributions to online discussion forums facilitated by the tutor. Participation is expected to be well considered and relevant to the topic of study. There are no tutorials.

There will be two forums each week, addressing the material for two topics. Each forum will contain two or three discussions, which you should participate in over the week.

Extensions and Penalties

All work must be submitted on time unless an extension has been granted. You can find all relevant information about extensions here. Submit your request to ask.mq.edu.au.

Applications must be made within 5 days of illness/misadventure. Extensions will not be given unless good reasons and appropriate evidence (e.g., medical certificates, counsellor's letters) are presented at the earliest opportunity. Please note that work due concurrently in other subjects is NOT an exceptional circumstance and does not constitute a legitimate reason for an extension.

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – five (5) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

To obtain an extension, you must submit a Special Consideration application. See below for details on how to do that.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Reflection about Happiness 20% No 04/01/2023 23:55
Tutorial Participation 20% No 23.55pm Sunday, weekly
Critical Essay 40% No 24/01/2023 23:55
Online quizzes 20% No 23.55pm Sunday, weekly

Reflection about Happiness

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 04/01/2023 23:55
Weighting: 20%

 

A short reflective exercise.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate elementary understanding of key moral and political theories.
  • Evaluate, in an elementary way, contemporary social issues that concern happiness, goodness, and justice, using philosophical ideas and methods.
  • Summarise and explain a philosophical text and its key features at an elementary level.

Tutorial Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 23.55pm Sunday, weekly
Weighting: 20%

 

Demonstrate engagement with course materials by responding to questions and contributing to tutorial discussions.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Reflect critically on philosophical theories and arguments at an elementary level.
  • Formulate and defend your own ideas with clarity and rigour, in a logical, structured argument, at an elementary level.
  • Engage constructively and respectfully with the views of others, even if you disagree with them.

Critical Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: 24/01/2023 23:55
Weighting: 40%

 

A critical discussion of a set question where you demonstrate the critical questioning and philosophical knowledge that you have learned over the unit.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate elementary understanding of key moral and political theories.
  • Summarise and explain a philosophical text and its key features at an elementary level.
  • Reflect critically on philosophical theories and arguments at an elementary level.
  • Formulate and defend your own ideas with clarity and rigour, in a logical, structured argument, at an elementary level.

Online quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 23.55pm Sunday, weekly
Weighting: 20%

 

A weekly online quiz on the topic covered that week. There are 10 quizzes in total.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate elementary understanding of key moral and political theories.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Delivery and Resources Required and recommended texts and/or materials

We will be using two textbooks for this unit. Both are authored by Professor Russ Shafer-Landau:

(1) The Fundamentals of Ethics (5th Edition)

(2) Ethical Theory: An Anthology (Accessible via the Macquarie University library)

NOTE: Students must take responsibility to source The Fundamentals of Ethics (5th Edition), either as an electronic version or a hard copy. It can be rented for 6 months (or for 1 year): VitalSource. If you have trouble sourcing this book, please get in contact with the unit convenors.

Technologies used

This unit has an online presence in iLearn where activities are set and subject materials distributed. Students will require access to reliable broadband and a computer. Some assessments are conducted through this site, and written tasks will be submitted using Turnitin, a plagiarism scanning program. All lectures will be provided as recordings via Echo, on iLearn.

Much of this unit (lectures, assessment instructions, additional reading material, etc.) is delivered online through iLearn (http://ilearn.mq.edu.au). PC and Internet access are required. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement. Please consult the teaching staff for any further, more specific requirements.  

Unit Schedule

Week

Topic

Forum

Quiz

Assessment

1: 12 Dec – 18 Dec

1. Introduction

No forum

 

 

2. Ethics and Religion (Euthyphro)

1 - Euthyphro

 

 

3. Theorising Value (Axiology)

2 - Axiology

1 – Week 1: topics 2 and 3

-Forum participation topics 2 and 3. Due Sunday 18/12, 23:55

-Quiz 1. Due Sunday 18/12, 23:55

2: 19 Dec – 26 Dec

4. The consequences of our actions (Consequentialism)

3 - Consequentialism

 

 
5. Duties and Ethics (Deontology) 4. Deontology    

6. Being virtuous (Virtue Ethics)

5. Virtue Ethics

2 – Week 2: Topics 4, 5 and 6

-Forum participation topics 4, 5 and 6. Due Monday 26/12, 23:55

-Quiz 2. Due Monday 26/12, 23:55
Recess

3: 3 Jan (Tuesday) – 08 Jan

7. Social Contract Theory

6. Social Contract Theory

 

Reflection about Happiness/The Good Life due Wednesday 04/01, 23:55
8. Gender, Morality and Justice (Care Ethics)

7 – Care Ethics

3 - Week 3: Topics 7 and 8

-Forum participation topics 7 and 8. Due Sunday 08/01, 23:55

-Quiz 3. Due Sunday 08/01, 23:55

4: 9 Jan – 15 Jan

9. Responding to Global Poverty 

8 - Global Poverty

  

 

10. Institutionalised Injustice

9 - Institutionalised Injustice

4 – Week 4: Topics 9 and 10

-Forum participation topics 9 and 10. Due Sunday 15/01, 23:55

-Quiz 4. Due Sunday 15/01, 23:55

5: 16 Jan – 22 Jan

11. Climate Justice

10 - Climate Justice

 

 

12. War and refugees

 No forum

5 – Week 5: Topics 11 and 12

-Forum participation topic 11. Due Sunday 22/01, 23:55

-Quiz 5. Due Sunday 22/01, 23:55

 

 

 

 

Critical Essay due Tuesday 24 Jan, 23:55

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
01/12/2022 Clarification of due dates.

Unit information based on version 2022.04 of the Handbook