Some of the greatest philosophers of all time lived and wrote in places such as London, Greece and Germany. We will travel not only to study their lives but to explore what they revealed to us through their insight into the world and philosophy.

In settings that gave rise to the moral theories that we discuss in class, students will have the advantage of examining these seminal thinkers in the environment that shaped them. Traveling to the locations where the moral theories under examination originated will offer students an opportunity to explore the cultural conditions in which these moral theories arose. Being able to draw on the social, cultural, and historical dimensions that birthed the moral theories will enrich the learning and study for the student. As such, students will have the opportunity to relate theoretical content to concrete social, historical and cultural conditions that are dramatically different from those in the classroom.

Course objectives include:

• Understand the themes, issues, and central concepts of significant Western moral theories, and how their own understanding of ethics and morality emerges from these traditions.
• Develop more active and critical habits of reading, writing, and oral communication.
• Cultivate the ability to state a position that is coherent, clear, and developed.
• Examine moral issues from multiple perspectives, paying special attention to the various assumptions behind and consequences of ideas.
• Practice philosophy as a way of living where you learn to enter into the act of philosophy as it might extend to your other interests.

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