Phil 237: Contemporary Moral Issues

Winter 2023, McGill University

Prof. Stephanie Leary

SYLLABUS

Time and place: M/W/F(ish) 12:35-1:25pm, ADAMS AUD

Course Description
At the heart of three current social and political movements—the Movement for Black Lives (MBL),
the #MeToo movement, and the ethical food movement—are moral issues related to race, gender,
and species.

The primary moral issues that motivate MBL and #MeToo are obvious and uncontroversial: Black
lives deserve equal moral consideration, racism and sexism (at both the individual and institutional
level) are morally wrong, and engaging in sexual activities with someone without their consent is
seriously morally wrong. But there are some moral issues within the vicinity of these two movements
that are quite controversial and it’s these issues that this course aims to discuss. For example, in relation
to MBL, we will ask what is racism exactly, does having implicit racial biases make one racist, and
should we adopt affirmative action policies and reparations as a way of counteracting racism? And in
relation to #MeToo, we will ask how should we respond to accusations of sexual assault, and what
conditions must be met in order for someone to genuinely consent to sex?

Finally, we will then discuss the primary moral issues that motivate the ethical food movement, which
are more controversial than those that motivate MBL and #MeToo but are interestingly related: do
nonhuman animals deserve equal moral consideration, is our practice of farming animals speciesist (akin
to racism and sexism), and is it morally wrong to consume meat and other animal products?

Our discussion of these ethical issues will be primarily informed by reading contemporary
philosophical articles, but these readings will be supplemented by podcasts, newspaper articles, and
documentaries.

(CONTENT WARNING: This course discusses some sensitive subject matters including racial and
sexual violence and students should take proper care while engaging with these materials.)

Course Goals
The primary goals of this course are to improve your ability to think carefully and critically about
ethical issues happening in our current political and cultural climate. In this course, you will (1) explain
different views or arguments concerning these ethical issues, (2) critically evaluate those views and
arguments, and (3) explain and defend your own views in a clear, well-reasoned way.

Lectures
Regularly attending lectures is critical for success in this course and we will use McGill’s web-based
polling system, Slido, during lecture to gauge student understanding and prompt discussion.
Participating in polling will earn you extra credit (see Assignments and Grades section below).
The lecture slides will be posted to myCourses (under Content) and lectures will also be recorded and
automatically uploaded to myCourses (under Lecture Recordings). I strongly encourage taking

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handwritten notes! If you insist on using an electronic device, please sit towards the back or
near the edges of the room and do not use your device for purposes unrelated to this class.

*INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARTICIPATING IN POLLING:

• During lecture, you will respond to polling questions from the instructor from a personal
device (smartphone, tablet, or laptop).
• Students should come to class with their devices charged and connected to the Internet.
• Polling will be available through www.mcgill.ca/polling.
• To participate in a Polling session, you will be provided with a QR code that can be scanned
or a Slido code that can be entered here. If you are asked to Login with SSO (Single Sign-On),
enter your McGill credentials and follow any Two-Factor Authentication prompts. For more
information, please visit the Getting Started for Students section at www.mcgill.ca/polling.
• For any technical problems with polling, please contact the IT Service Desk.
• If you do not have a phone, tablet, or laptop to use to respond to polling questions, please
contact the instructor immediately in order for appropriate arrangements to be made.
• To maintain a safe and respectful classroom environment, please ensure that any polling and
Q & A responses you submit are appropriate and relevant to the question asked. Please note
that unless the poll is labelled as anonymous, your responses are identifiable to the instructor.
Please see the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures.

Conferences
Every student must register for a conference for this course—conferences will begin in the second
week of classes (replacing Friday lectures). You will be assigned into teams in conferences and
take brief multiple-choice quizzes both individually and as a team at the beginning of each conference.
These quizzes will be about the reading and lecture material covered that week. This means that you
must come to conferences on time, having done the readings and paid attention during lecture so that
you are a valuable contributor to your team. (*Exception: conferences immediately before the midterm
paper and the final paper due dates will be TA office hours instead of conferences, and so, there will
be no quizzes on these days.) The conferences schedule is as follows:

CRN TA Time Location

7932 Ruigang (Paul) Xu F 12:35-1:25 TBA
7933 Ruigang (Paul) Xu F 1:35-2:25 TBA
7934 Tyler Paetkau F 9:35-10:25 TBA
7935 Tyler Paetkau F 10:35-11:25 TBA
7936 Alper Gungor F 11:35-12:25 TBA
7937 Alper Gungor F 12:35-1:25 TBA
7938 Brandon Smith F 11:35-12:25 TBA
7939 Brandon Smith F 12:35-1:25 TBA
7942 Mingqiu Xue F 8:35-9:25 TBA
7943 Mingqiu Xue F 9:35-10:25 TBA

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myCourses
Everything for this course is accessible through myCourses, including the readings (there is no
textbook for the course), the assignments, the lecture recordings and lecture slides, and the instructor
contact information. We will also be using myCourses to post announcements, return feedback on
written work, post grades, etc. It’s your responsibility to make sure that myCourses has your correct
email so that you receive announcements and notifications.

Assignments & Grades

(1) Conference Quizzes (20%): Your cumulative individual quiz score and your cumulative team
quiz score will each contribute toward 10% of your final grade (20% total). Your lowest two
individual and team quiz scores will be dropped from your cumulative quiz scores. (There are no
makeups for missed quizzes.)

(2) Short Writing Assignment (10%): You will complete a short writing assignment (2 pages,
double-spaced), which will help prepare you for writing the midterm and final papers.

(3) Midterm Draft Worksheet & Peer Review in Conferences (10%): In preparation for the
midterm paper, you will complete a draft worksheet which you will submit to myCourses and
bring hardcopies to your conference for a peer review session. (More details on myCourses.)

(4) Midterm Paper & Final Paper (30% each, 60% total): You will submit a midterm and final
paper (each 5 pages, double-spaced), in which you will be required to defend a position on one
of the issues we discuss. You will be expected to provide an argument for your position and
defend it by considering and responding to an objection to your argument. You will be provided
with a selection of paper topics to choose from. You must submit a midterm and final paper
to pass this course. Failure to do so will result in an automatic F.

(5) Lecture polling (extra credit): Polling will be used during lectures to gauge students’
understanding of the material and prompt discussion. You will receive full points for answering
questions, regardless of whether you get them right. Points will begin accumulating on Jan
18th (after the add/drop period). Instructions for how to participate in polling are above and
it’s your responsibility to troubleshoot issues by then. Extra credit points for polling will be
added to your midterm paper grade as follows:

Percent polling questions answered → Extra credit points added to your midterm paper
80%-100% → 6 pts 50-59% → 3 pts
70-79% → 5 pts 40-49% → 2 pts
60-69% → 4 pts Below 40% → 0 pts

Contacting the Professor and TAs

If you have substantive questions about the material or about your work for this course, please come
to our office hours (please don’t email). If you have logistical questions about the course, please ask
during or after class or email your TA (NOT the professor—please and thank you!).

**TA CONTACT INFO COMING SOON**

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 Office
Professor Email Hours Zoom link Instructions
Stephanie Thurs https://mcgill.zoom.us/j/8940773413 Sign up for a
Leary stephanie.leary@mcgill.ca 3pm-5pm 5 time slot here

Written Work Policies

Language Policy
In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right
to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded.

Academic Integrity Policy

McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and
consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct
and Disciplinary Procedures: www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/. Since polling records will be used
to compute a portion of course grades, responding as someone other than yourself is considered
an academic offense. During class, possession of more than one response device or using the
credentials of another student will be interpreted as intent to commit an academic offense.

Late-Work Policy
For the short writing assignment and midterm and final papers, students are given a 72-hour grace
period after the due dates to turn in their assignment without any penalty and no questions asked (note
that this policy does not apply to the Midterm Draft Worksheets!). Written work turned in beyond the
grace period will not be accepted unless the student has a very serious excuse and provides
documentation of their excuse. The writing prompts for the assignments will be posted very early so
that you have plenty of time to complete them and plan around your other courses.

Protocol for contesting grades

(1) You must first meet with the TA who graded your paper to discuss your grade.
(2) If you cannot reach an understanding with the TA, you may appeal your grade to the professor by
emailing the professor a one-page explanation of why your paper deserves a better grade, given the
criteria on the grading rubric.

Meta-policy
In the event of an emergency, especially circumstances related to COVID-19, the course schedule,
assignments, and policies may be revised. I will only do so fairly, for good reasons, and with plenty of
warning.

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 COURSE SCHEDULE

Main
Topic Date Complete before class Work Due
questions

Intro to Wed
Syllabus
course Jan 4
THEME 1:
13th (Netflix documentary also available here:
The
Fri https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF
Movement
Jan 6 8u8&t=2450s)
for Black
Content Warning: racial and sexual violence
Lives
J. L. A. Garcia's "Current Conceptions of
What is Mon Racism: A Critical Examination of Some
Racism
racism? Jan 9 Recent Social Philosophy" (Sections: Intro, 1, 2,
4, & 6)

Wed
(catch up)
Jan 11

Fri
CONFERENCES BEGIN!
Jan 13

Mon
Tommie Shelby's "Is Racism in the Heart?"
Jan 16

What is (1) Hidden Brain podcast episode, "In the Air

implicit bias We Breathe":
Wed
Implicit Bias and how does https://www.npr.org/transcripts/531587708
Jan 18
it relate to Content warning: police brutality, racial
racism? violence

Sendhil Mullainathan’s “Racial Bias, Even

Mon When We Have Good Intentions” in NYT:
Jan 23 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/upshot
/the-measuring-sticks-of-racial-bias-.html
Should we use
Affirmative affirmative Wed Albert Mosley's "A Defense of Affirmative
Action action Jan 25 Action"
policies?

5
 Short
Fri
Writing
Jan 27
Assignment

Hidden Brain podcast episode, "How They See

Us": https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/how-
Mon
they-see-us/ & Episode of Netflix’s Explained:
Jan 30
“The Racial Wealth Gap”, season 1, May 23,
2018 episode

Shelby Steele's "Affirmative Action: the Price of

Wed
Preference" and excerpt from Michelle
Feb 1
Alexander's The New Jim Crow

Olufemi Taiwo's "Reconsidering Reparations:

Mon
Reparations the Movement for Black Lives and Self-
Feb 6
Determination"
Freakonomics podcast episode “The Pros and
Wed Cons of Reparations”:
Feb 8 https://freakonomics.com/podcast/reparation
s-part-2/
What legal
THEME 2: standards of
Georgi Gardiner's "She-Said, He-Said: Rape
The evidence Mon
Accusations and the Preponderance of
#MeToo should we use Feb 13
Evidence" Content Warning: sexual violence
Movement in sexual
assault cases?
Hidden Brain podcast episode “In the Heat of
the Moment”:
Wed https://www.npr.org/2019/11/27/783495595
Feb 15 /in-the-heat-of-the-moment-how-intense-
emotions-transform-us
Content warning: sexual violence
Midterm
Fri PEER REVIEW SESSION DURING
Draft
Feb 17 CONFERENCES
Worksheet
What should
we believe
Sexual about sexual Miranda Fricker's "Testimonial Injustice" from
Mon
Assault assault Epistemic Injustice: The Power and the Ethics of
Feb 20
Accusations accusations in Knowing
our private
lives?

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 Invisibilia podcast episode "The Callout":
Wed https://www.npr.org/2018/04/13/601971617
Feb 22 /the-callout
Content warning: sexual violence
Fri Midterm
CONFERENCES = OFFICE HOURS!
Feb 24 Paper

Feb 27-
McGill Reading Week
Mar 3

Mon Sarah Stroud's "Epistemic Partiality in

Mar 6 Friendship"

Wed
(catch up)
Mar 8

What does
Sexual sexual Mon
Tom Dougherty's "Sex, Lies, and Consent"
consent consent Mar 13
require?

Wed
Hallie Liberto's "Intention and Sexual Consent"
Mar 15

Mon
(catch up)
Mar 20

THEME 3:
The Do animals
Wed Peter Singer's "All Animals are Equal"
Ethical have equal
Mar 22 Content warning: animal cruelty, ableism
Food moral status?
Movement

Frans de Waal's TED talk, "Moral Behavior in

Mon Animals":
Moral status
Mar 27 https://www.ted.com/talks/frans_de_waal_m
oral_behavior_in_animals?language=en

Is eating meat
and other
Vegetarianis
animal Wed Tristram McPherson’s “Why I Am a Vegan
m&
products Mar 29 (and You Should Be One Too)”
Veganism
morally
wrong?

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 Freakonomics podcast episode “The Future of
Mon
Meat”:
Apr 3
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/meat/

Ethical Wed Terence Cuneo’s “Conscientious Omnivorism”

Omnivorism Apr 5 Content warning: animal cruelty

Wed At the Fork (documentary):

April 12 https://mcgill.kanopy.com/video/fork

Thurs
CONFERENCES = OFFICE HOURS Final Paper
April 13