This course is concerned with some leading contemporary theories in normative ethics.

2 lectures per week for 9 weeks, plus 4 seminars. The course may not run every year. Options running this year are available on MyCampus.

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Two essays, equally weighted, each with a word limit of 2500 words.

This course aims to:

■ introduce students to issues in contemporary normative theory

■ foster an appreciation of the relation between an inquiry into practical moral wisdom and philosophical normative theory.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

■ Analyse and critically evaluate recent versions of consequentialism, virtue ethics, and their competitors and variants;

■ Explain and evaluate the bearing of epistemological issues on ethics;

■ Engage critically with recent writers on these issues.

Assessment for this course is at Masters Level

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.