Core EIS Courses

Although some courses are not offered every year, the Program hopes students will search for similar courses offered in other departments, and/or, schedule their Stanford careers keeping these courses in mind. In addition to the below courses, there are many courses at Stanford that contain an ethical component. Before using such a course to satisfy an Ethics in Society requirement, please consult with the director of the Program and provide him/her with the course syllabus for final approval.

For more information on core and non-core EIS classes, see the Stanford Bulletin.

For more information on the course listings for the current quarter, see Explore Courses.

For a list of additional courses that have ethical components, click here.

If you are a faculty member interested in receiving funds to incorporate an ethical component into an existing or newly created course, contact  Andrea Kuduk.

ETHICSOC 20. Introduction to Moral Philosophy—(Same as PHIL 20.) What is the basis of moral judgment? What makes right actions right and wrong actions wrong? What makes a state of affairs good or worth promoting? What is it to have a good or virtuous character? Answers to classic questions in ethics through the works of traditional and contemporary authors. GER:DB-Hum, EC-EthicReas 5 units.

ETHICSOC 30. Introduction to Political Philosophy—(Same as PHIL 30, POLISCI 3.) State authority, justice, liberty, and equality through major works in political philosophy. Topics include human nature and citizenship, the obligation to obey the law, democracy and economic inequality, equality of opportunity and affirmative action, religion, and politics. GER:DB-Hum, EC-EthicReas 5 units.

ETHICSOC 133. Ethics and Politics in Public Service—(Same as POLISCI 133.) Provides the basis for a connection between an undergraduate's service activities and his or her academic experiences at Stanford; especially for freshmen and sophomores who participate or intend to participate in service activities through the Haas Center or register for courses with service learning components. What does it mean to do public service? Why should or should not citizens do volunteer work? Is public service by definition a good thing? The history, hazards, responsibilities, and dilemmas of doing public service. A historical context of public service work in the U.S., introducing the range of ethical concerns involved with service.
GER: DB-SocSci. 5 units.

ETHICSOC 136R. Introduction to Global Justice—(Same as INTNLREL 136R, POLISCI 136R, POLISCI 336.) Recent work in political theory on global justice. Topics include global poverty, human rights, fair trade, immigration, climate change. Do developed countries have a duty to aid developing countries? Do rich countries have the right to close their borders to economic immigrants? When is humanitarian intervention justified? Readings include Charles Beitz, Thomas Pogge, John Rawls. 5 units.

ETHICSOC 137R. Justice at Home and Abroad: Civil Rights in the 21st Century—(Same as EDUC 261X, POLISCI 137R, POLISCI 337R.) Focus is on theories of justice. How the core ideals of freedom, equality, and security animate theories which John Rawls considers the first virtue of social institutions. Topics include the U.S. Constitution as a legal framework for the operation of these ideals, civil rights legislation and litigation as the arena of tensions between those ideals, and how ideas of justice function both at home and abroad to impact civil liberties in today's war on terror. 5 units.

ETHICSOC 157/257. An interdisciplinary examination of alternative and largely incompatible twentieth century defenses of the morality of capitalism, with a concentration on economic, Objectivist, and Christian arguments, considered historically, economically, politically, and philosophically. GER: DBHum. 5 units.

ETHICSOC 170. Ethical Theory—(Same as PHIL 170/270.) Major strands in contemporary ethical theory. Readings include Bentham, Mill, Kant, and contemporary authors. GER:DB-Hum, EC-EthicReas 4 units.

ETHICSOC 171. Justice—(Same as IPS 208, PHIL 171/271, POLISCI 136S, PUBLPOL 207.) Focus is on the ideal of a just society, and the place of liberty and equality in it, in light of contemporary theories of justice and political controversies. Topics include protecting religious liberty, financing schools and elections, regulating markets, assuring access to health care, and providing affirmative action and group rights. Issues of global justice including human rights and global inequality. GER:DB-Hum, EC-EthicReas 5 units.

ETHICSOC 174A. Moral Limits of the Market—(Same as PHIL 174A, PHIL 274A). Morally controversial uses of markets and market reasoning in areas such as organ sales, procreation, education, and child labor. Would a market for organ donation make saving lives more efficient; if it did, would it thereby be justified? Should a nation be permitted to buy the right to pollute? Readings include Walzer, Arrow, Ralws, Sen, Frey, Titmuss, and empirical cases. GER:DB-Hum. 4 units.

ETHICSOC 185M. Contemporary Moral Problems—Moral problems faced by individuals and societies. Topics include global poverty, access to education, punishment, and abortion. Do affluent individuals have a duty to aid poor foreigners? How might such a duty depend on whether others are doing their share? Can people harm others through inaction? Should society punish successful crimes more severely than failed attempts? Contemporary philosophical writings including Feinberg, Thomson, Unger, Wolff. 4 units.

ETHICSOC 190. Ethics in Society Honors Seminar—(Same as PHIL 178.) For students planning honors in Ethics in Society. Methods of research. Students present issues of public and personal morality; topics chosen with advice of instructor. 3 units.

ETHICSOC 198. Community Engagement Internship—Restricted to Ethics in Society minors with the citizenship option. Opportunities for students to engage in community work via the Haas Center for Public Service. Students work with Haas Center staff to design an internship involving community-based research or supported by a Haas Center fellowship or community service work/study, or to serve for an academic year as a tutor in one of the Haas Center’s several K-12 programs in East Palo Alto. May be repeated for credit. 3-5 units. 

ETHICSOC 199. Independent Studies in Ethics in Society—May be repeated for credit. 1-15 units

ETHICSOC 200A. Ethics in Society Honors Thesis—Limited to Ethics in Society honors students, who must enroll once in A and once in B. 1-5 units.

ETHICSOC 200B. Ethics in Society Honors Thesis—Limited to Ethics in Society honors students, who must enroll once in A and once in B. 1-5 units.