PHIL210 PHILOSOPHY OF VALUE
| Course Code: | 2410210 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (3.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 5.0 |
| Department: | Philosophy |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | |
| Offered Semester: | Fall and Spring Semesters. |
Course Objectives
The course aims to help students critically engage with questions about the origins, structure, and significance of values, explore how values inform ethical judgment and moral motivation, and connect these discussions to broader issues in public life and contemporary applied philosophy, especially the ethics of artificial intelligence.
Course Content
This course examines how values shape ethical theory and moral reasoning. Students explore key metaethical debates on the nature and function of values, engaging wİth positions such as realism, constructivism, and expressivism to achieve a conceptual ground for ethical reasoning. It also introduces normative theories (utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics) and applies them to real-world issues, including academic and professional settings. The course concludes with an analysis of ethical concerns in. artificial intelligence, including bias and value alignment.
Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
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Explain and critically analyze foundational metaethical questions (objectivity of values, meaning of “good,” sources of value).
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Distinguish and evaluate major positions such as realism, anti-realism, and constructivism.
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Describe key developments in the history of value theory, including social contract traditions.
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Compare and assess normative ethical theories (utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics).
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Apply philosophical reasoning to contemporary debates in AI ethics, including bias, alignment, and machine values.
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Engage in critical discussion, argumentation, and collaborative learning about ethical concepts.