Learning objectives: In this module, we’ll be exploring three influential ethical approaches, each through the lens of a key thinker: Aristotle (virtue ethics), John Stuart Mill (utilitarianism), and Immanuel Kant (deontology). We’ll look at the core ideas behind these approaches and ask what they might offer when it comes to tackling a concrete ethical problem. Each of these traditions gives us a distinctive way of viewing everyday dilemmas. Our focus, then, isn’t so much on offering a foundational survey of ethical theory, but rather on what these perspectives can bring to bear on real-world situations.

Method: Using a film that presents a concrete ethical issue, we’ll introduce and unpack the three major ethical traditions. Thought-provoking questions will help us tie these ideas back to everyday life. Exercises will allow you to check your own understanding as you go. Each exploration of a tradition concludes with a question about academic or professional practice.