PHIL 302L - Moral Cognition

3 Credit(s)

Liberal Arts
The focus of this course is upon the implications of multidisciplinary research in cognitive science for our understanding of humans as moral agents. The course builds upon both the Foundations in Cognitive Science course as well as research in the different disciplines that comprise the field of cognitive science. Students are introduced to experimental and theoretical issues unique to the growing study of moral cognition, as well as related issues in moral philosophy and neuroethics. Among the topics that may be covered are the nature of moral judgment and decision-making, the role of rational and emotional cognitive processing in making moral judgments, egoism versus altruism, the stability of moral character across contexts, racial cognition and implicit bias, the mechanisms of self-control, and moral responsibility. The implications of work on moral cognition for both the plausibility of some prominent philosophical ethical theories will also be examined along the way.

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 101L