Singapore University of Social Sciences

Do we have obligations to help others? Should we do good because we can? This course questions the basis of how we think about right and wrong, our reasons for doing or not doing good, and distinguishes between rights, responsibilities, obligations and types of duties. It will extend these views from the perspective of an ethical theory (e.g., deontological theory; utilitarianism) to a single issue (e.g., gender, racial, and class stereotypes and discrimination; local vs foreign workers). This application of ethical theories to real-world issues will allow students to engage with concerns that have important implications for individuals and societies in the present and the future like fault lines in society, common space, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This course is also a primer for most elective courses in the SUSS Core, which inspect our interaction between individuals and between societies.