Ethics

Objectives: This course is designed to provide students with a fundamental exploration of ethics and its practical applications in diverse contexts. Students will get introduced to the genealogy of the subject and will be able to understand and analyze moral dilemmas and contemporary issues using ethical reasoning and decision-making skills. The course content has been designed to enable learners examine their personal values, cultivate ethical qualities, and foster social responsibility in both personal and professional spheres.

Contents: 1. What is Ethics? - Definitions and significance of ethics. - Difference and inter-play between ethics, morality and virtue. 2. Types of Ethics: - Theoretical ethics: Normative ethics, Descriptive ethics, Meta-ethics. - Applied ethics: Business ethics, Environmental ethics, Biomedical ethics, Media ethics, Subject related ethics. 3. Major Theories of Ethics - Ethical Decision Making: - Virtue ethics. - Egoism. - Utilitarianism. - Deontological ethics. 4. Moral Sensitivity: - Ethics of difference and alterity. - Normative and informational biases. - Decision heuristics (stereotypical imaging etc.). - Ethical dilemmas. 5. Applied Ethics: - Ethics and media and new media. - Ethics and artificial intelligence. - Ethics and the environment.