The Psychology of Good and Evil Psychology 291

Chuck Huff	M,T,W,TH 9:00 - 10:00 AM and 10:40-12:00 AM in Chapel 109	current as of 1/5/04
Holland Hall 314, 646.3169		Mail to the Prof
Office Hours: call Darla Frandrup (x3142) for an appointment, but sheesh, you see me every day!		Mail to the class

Required Texts
Ervin Staub	The roots of evil: The origins of genocide and other group violence
Franz DeWaal	Good natured: The origins of right and wrong in humans and other primates
Colby & Damon	Some do care: Contemporary lives of moral commitment
Morgan	Classics of moral and political theory (for readings of Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Rousseau, Hobbes, Kant)
Boulton & Kennedy	From Christ to the world: Introductory readings in Christian ethics. (for readings of Rauschenbush, Neibuhr(s), Gustafson, Luther)
Plus many readings of current psycholgical articles (see selections for each day)

We have not succeeded in answering all of your problems. The answers we have found only serve to raise a whole set of new questions. In some ways we feel we are as confused as ever, but we believe we are confused on a higher level and about more important things

-- Anonymous quote taken from the radio show Car Talk

Welcome to the first Ethics class in the Psychology curriculum. This has been some time in the making, and is the course I feel like I have been reading for most of my career. Still, that means I am constantly changing my mind about what the course ought to be about. After 20 years of studying this stuff, I am still confused about what the emotions have to do with morals, how vengance works, why moral heroes think they had no choice, how our evolutionary heritage affects our moral judgments and action, and how religious claims can be reconciled with empirical claims. I hope to help you become confused (on a higher level) about these things too, and to have some idea about why you are confused.

Readings

It will be to your advantage to do the reading for the assigned day. First, this will mean you will be able to follow the discussion for the day. Secondly, it means you will be able to write the daily papers.

Daily Papers

There will be daily papers for the readings. These will be keyed to the reading for the day and will ask you to react to them. This means you will need actually to read them and to reflect on them. I will drop the lowest two grades for these papers and so you can decide to skip two (or do them all to make sure you can get the best grade). Late daily papers will not be accepted.

There will be two set questions for each day, and you may choose which question you will answer in your daily paper. Daily papers should be typed and no more than one page in length. In order to help my aging memory, please place a picture of yourself on your paper. This puts the pressure on me to learn your name.

Final Papers

Final papers are due on the day of the final. They will be directed papers based your choice from a set of basic questions that we will address throughout the term. These are to be no more than 5 pages, double spaced, not including references. They should refer to both the normative and descriptive literature. They should contain logical and coherent argument along with reference to what we know about the facts.

Final Exam

The final exam will be an in-class blue-book exam based on a set of basic questions with whose answers you should be familiar by the end of the class. I will draw three to five (3 - 5) questions from this set of questions for the final exam. Answers to each question. should be no more than 10 sentences long. You will be allowed to bring a note sheet to the final exam. This sheet should consist of a set of 10 words or less, for each potential question, to remind you of your answer to that question. When you write down your answer, you will be expected to number the sentences in each answer.

In Class-Presentations

Two days will be set aside in the schedule for presentations of particular cases of good (5) and evil (5). Teams of two to three will take turns presenting these cases to the class and connecting them to the themes and readings. Each team's task will be (1) to present the information about the case to the class in a coherent manner (with a summary handout) (2) to answer questions about the case and serve as in-class experts on the case and (3) to propose a short in-class discussion based on the case (e.g. was X unavoidable?, should Y have done X?) and to referee that discussion.

Grading

Late Policy

In a fast paced course such as this, promptness is crucial. Late papers will not be accepted.

Disability Accomodation

If you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please contact me to discuss your needs. Additionally, you will need to register with Student Disability Services located at the Academic Support Center in Room 1 of the Old Main Annex. All such discussions will be confidential.

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Schedule

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