ETHICS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: BUSINESS, POLITICS & TECHNOLOGY

The world has undergone a social and technological revolution in the 21st century. How should we live in this new world? We are employees, entrepreneurs, voters, scientists, caregivers, consumers, family members, and so on — and also human beings. It can be far from obvious what these roles morally demand of us amid rapid and unpredictable change.

In the “Ethics in the 21st Century: Business, Politics, and Technology” course, we will consider urgent moral questions using traditional methods of philosophical inquiry. Questions we will study include: What do businesses morally owe their employees, shareholders, customers, competitors, and society at large? To what extent may we prioritize our fellow citizens over people outside our national borders? How should we address socioeconomic inequality? What obligations do doctors have to their patients, and what should they do when resources are limited? May we alter ourselves, our children, and humanity through genetic engineering? How much historically human work should be done by artificial intelligences and other machines? Is growing meat in labs a good alternative to factory farming? What duties do we have to future generations regarding resource conservation?

This course will prepare students to be more reflective (and, we hope, more ethical) members of society, in addition to equipping them with skills in critical thinking, argumentation, and writing that are highly sought after in the academic, legal, and business world.