Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

General Ethics

General Ethics
6
14587
2
First semester
OB
Main language of instruction: Catalan

Other languages of instruction: English, Spanish

If the student is enrolled for the English track then classes for that subject will be taught in the same language and also in Spanish.

Teaching staff


Dra. BOSCH RABELL, Magdalena - mbosch@uic.es

For any inquiries, please feel free to approach the professor after class or request an appointment by e-mail at wmramirez@uic.es

Introduction

Professional activity, like our personal life, involves morality and personal responsibility. Ethics seeks to reflect on this by providing concepts and a framework for moral behaviour. Formally, ethics is the branch of philosophy that considers what is good and bad in human life and which actions are right or wrong. In a more general sense, ethics tries to determine how we ought to live.

In this course we will firstly explore the history of ethical thought. Secondly, we will discuss some key ethical concepts and issues that can help to shape sound moral reasoning and correct behaviour in professional life. Thirdly, we will study a branch of ethics termed “areteology”, in which the central claim is that certain traits of character (virtues) are essential for good behaviour. We also discuss how character has an influence on business leadership.

Pre-course requirements

There are no previous requirements.

Objectives

1) To provide students with theoretical tools for analysing human behaviour.
2) To introduce students to the use of the basic elements of moral thought and the main concepts in ethics.

Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme

  • 50 - To acquire the ability to relate concepts, analyse and synthesise.
  • 51 - To develop decision making skills.
  • 52 - To develop interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a team.
  • 54 - To be able to express one’s ideas and formulate arguments in a logical and coherent way, both verbally and in writing.
  • 56 - To be able to create arguments which are conducive to critical and self-critical thinking.
  • 57 - To acquire skills which favour reading comprehension.
  • 60 - To acquire knowledge that promotes respect for other cultures and habits.
  • 62 - To acquire mechanisms that facilitate the adoption of ethical commitments.
  • 63 - To be able to analyse business related behaviour and decisions and evaluate them from an economic, social and ethical point of view.

Learning outcomes of the subject

Students who take this course will learn ethical concepts, increase their sensitivity to the role of moral character in professional activity, and develop their capacity to identify values and ethical issues, and to exercise ethical judgements in particular situations.

Syllabus

Introduction to Ethics.

Lesson 1. What is ethics

Lesson 2. The Good

Lesson 3. The Ends

Lesson 4. Freedom

Lesson 5. Virtues

Lesson 6. Practical Virtues

Lesson 7. Justice

 

Teaching and learning activities

In person



TRAINING ACTIVITY ECTS CREDITS
Lectures. In lectures, lecturers/professors not only transmit content or knowledge, but also, and above all else, attitudes, motivation, skills and values, etc. They also ensure that participants can express their opinions and arguments to the other students. 3
Seminar. This activity will consist of taking an in-depth look at specific up-to-date topics in a monographic manner-in some cases these topics will have been debated socially-, via active work in small groups. 1
Practical workshop. A highly practical working activity, where students can acquire skills that are practical or also theoretical (intellectual skills, logical skills, critical skills, intellectual learning skills, study skills, quoting skills, etc). 2

Evaluation systems and criteria

In person



During the course students will turn in about 5 workshops which will constitute one grade. ("workshops" part)

At the end of the course, they will take a final exam of all the theoretical content of the course, which will constitute another grade. ("theoretical" part)

If a student failed the workshop's average, they can take a "practical part" of the exam as well to make up for it.

 Exercises that cannot be repeated will be replaced by others. 

Students must have at least a 5 in each part in order to pass the course (or else, the highest total grade achievable will be 4.75)

The exam will constitue 60% of the final grade, and the workshop average the remaining 40%.

The evaluation criteria for the second sitting is the same as for the first sitting. To pass the second call students will be evaluated again ONLY of the parts they have failed.

Note on academic honesty: All work you submit for this course must be entirely your own. The words or ideas of others must not in your written work without giving proper acknowledgement. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in any form. In the event that the professor detects plagiarized work or a student copying during an exam, they will notify the Faculty Board, which will take the relevant measures. That will include automatically obtaining a grade of 0.0 for that subject, moving directly to the next exam.

 

Bibliography and resources

ARENDT, H., The human condition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1998
ARISTÓTELES, Ética a Nicómaco. Ed. bilingüe, Instituto de Estudios Políticos, Madrid, 1970.

BASTONS, M.; La toma de decisiones en la organización, Ariel, Barcelona 2000

BOSCH, M.; La ética amable, EUNSA, Pamplona 2015

CICERO, On Dities; On friendship; On old age

GRISEZ, G., y SHAW, R., Ser persona. Curso de Ética, Rialp, Madrid, 1993.

LLANO, A.; La vida lograda, Ariel, Barcelona 2006
MACINTYRE, A., After Virtue. A study in moral theory. Notre Dame University Press, Nostre Dame (Indiana) 3rd edition 2007

MARÍAS, J. La felicidad humana, Alianza, Madrid, 1989.

MENSCH, J., Ethics and Selfhood. Alterity and the Phenomenology of Obligation, State University of New York Press, NY, 2003.

PIEPER, J. The four cardinal virtues, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, 2014
RODRÍGUEZ LUÑO, A. Ética, Eunsa, Pamplona, 1986.

SENECA, Sobre la felicidad, Alianza, Madrid 1997
SPAEMANN, R., Happines and benevolence, University of Notre Dame Press, Nostre Dame 2000

TAYLOR, Ch.; La ética de la autenticidad, Paidós, Barcelona 1994

TRIGO, T.; En busca de una ética universal: un nuevo modo de ver la ley natural. Eunsa. Pamplona 2011 
YEPES STORK, R. Fundamentos de antropología. Un ideal de la existencia humana. Eunsa. Pamplona. 1996.

 

 

           

Teaching and learning material



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