escarffe@fiu.edu

This course explores the topic of ethics. We begin the course with topics in ethical theory and applied ethics, and conclude by considering the role of ethics in politics, law, and science. As the title suggest, one goal of this course is to introduce students to formal philosophy. In service of this goal, students can expect to be introduced to some of the major figures and ideas in the field of ethics, and to read articles and exerts from primary text. That said, another (equally important) goal of this course is to show students how engaging in ethics and philosophical thought is an unavoidable part of life. In service of this goal, students can expect engage with topics such as: meat eating; gender, sex, and identity; biomedical enhancement and disabillites; and constitutional interpretation.

What are rights? Do we have a right to rights? This course examines the development of these questions, and answers to them, through the history of political thought. Students will examine the relationships between power and authority, law and justice, sovereignty and legitimacy, as well as white supremacy, patriarchy and the law. Students can expect to gain a solid foundation in the history of political thought, and to apply this knowledge to contemporary political debates.

This course surveys ethical issues that arise in connection with medicine and emerging biotechnologies. It examines topics such as the right to healthcare, research on human subjects, euthanasia, abortion, cloning, genetic selection, disabilities, race, and the biomedical enhancement of human capacities. Students can expect to gain not only training in the concepts and methods of moral philosophy, but also the resources needed for assessing ethically difficult questions faced by healthcare professionals every day.

What's the difference between asking 'what the law is?' and asking 'what is law?' Is there a relationship between these questions? If so, does anything important turn on what this relationship is or might be? This course is bookended by a contemporary case to help make these questions salient to students, and help bring out their meaning. Past cases have included Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), Dobbs v. Jackson (2022), and 303 Creative v. Elenis (2023).  The course begins by having students read through the case, noting the parts that may have surprised you as well as features of the opinion's reasoning. Next, we take a step back to consider a number of philosophical approaches to answering the above questions, including work from natural law theorists, legal positivists, feminists, and critical race theorists. Finally, the course returns to the case law: reading through the precedent most relevant to the case selected. On the final day of class, students will be asked to read the original case again, and see how (if at all) their impressions of the case have changed by the end of the course.

In this course, students will learn about human rights and consider the relationship(s) between ethics, politics, society, and law. The course consists of three parts. In the first part, students will learn about international human rights law as it is. Students will learn what makes international human rights law, ‘law,’ and investigate the similarities and dissimilarities between human rights and other issue areas in international law (such as international business transactions and trade law). In the second part, students will consider whether international human rights law as it is, is morally justifiable. Students will undertake a moral evaluation of the institutions and practices that make up the international legal system, and consider how the system might be changed in light of criticisms from feminists, critical race theorists, and other non-western groups. Finally, the last part of this course asks students to consider the relationship ethics has (or ought to have) to law and politics.

What is international law? Is it law? Does it matter if it's not? In this course, we examine some of the literature by legal scholars and philosophers that has sought to answer these questions. The first part of the course considers what the practice of international looks like: providing students with a general understanding and knowledge of the international legal landscape.

The second part of the course moves from a description of what is commonly accepted as international law, to justificatory and other philosophical questions about its nature. In particular, we investigate whether and to what extent our theories of State law resemble (or ought to resemble) those we offer for international law. In pursuit of this goal, we focus on two core questions: (i) what are the sources of international law, and do these sources prevent international law from effectively proliferating into certain issue areas (e.g., humanitarian intervention)?; and (ii) what is state sovereignty, and how does our understanding of it change the relevant success conditions for theories of law (be it state-based law, international law, or transnational law)?