Select any of the links below to view lecture outlines to accompany course topics:

Stages of moral development--Lawrence Kohlberg proposed that moral thinking develops in stages. Carol Gilligan adds that women and men approach ethical issues in fundamentally different ways.

Key questions in the illegal immigration discussion--What are the important ethical points in the debate over restricting illegal immigration?

Punishment and the death penalty--What are the reasons for punishment? Is the death penalty ever an ethically appropriate response to a criminal act?

Abortion--When does life begin? Who should say when an abortion should take place--the mother, the mother and father, the doctor, the legislature, the courts?

Death and dying--When is a person dead? Who should decide whether a less-than-ideal life is maintained by extraordinary means?

Sexual orientation--Is discrimination against homosexuals fundamentally the same or different than other groups? What are the forms of discrimination? What are the arguments for and against homosexuality?

The nature of poverty in the United States--Who are the poor and how poor are they? What are the models/causes of poverty? What should be the moral response of indivduals, of society to the poor among us?