I've just been reading a blog by a philosophy professor who discusses the attitude with which he approaches his Intro to Ethics course. The practical upshot of the course should be to get students to reflect on the issues of morality in their own life in a systematic way, opening up reflection. There are two distinct approaches possible, and they will depend on the teacher, the college and the student body it recruits. For some Intro to Ethics courses, this course will be a "primer for higher courses" in applied ethics or delving deeper into ethical theory. If a given department views the course in this way, the instructor has to concern himself with harmony within the curriculum. Is A in fact leading toward BCD etc.? On the other hand, and especially given a "core curriculum," an Intro course may be taught with the presumption it is the only ethics (or perhaps the only philosophy) course that various of its students will ever take. In that case of cours...
