LDST 390 Good and Evil Empirical Perspectives Fall 2008 Instructor Don Forsyth Office 233 Jepson Hall Email dforsyth richmond edu Phone 289 8461 Office Hours MW AM and online Don completed his undergraduate studies at Florida State University and earned his Ph D in 1978 He has held teaching positions at Virginia Commonwealth University University of Kansas and the University of Richmond Jepson School of Leadership Studies He studies reactions to success and failure individual difference in moral thought applications of social psychology in educational and clinical settings and group dynamics He holds the Leo K and Gaylee Thorsness Chair in Ethical Leadership Class Monday afternoons 2 40 to 5 20 Jepson Room 107 Course description When will an act a thought or a motive be characterized as immoral rather than moral Why do people act in ways that others think are unethical Are ethics based on rational thought emotion or intuition When is an action judged to be evil rather than good and what causes people to act in such negative ways This course rather than offering prescriptive answers to these questions for example a good act is one that is consistent with the highest moral principles or an act is only altruistic if done sole for the purpose of benefiting others takes a descriptive approach to good and evil by exploring the personal and interpersonal factors that influence moral thought action emotion and motivation The analysis will in all cases rely on conceptual approaches that have been supported by empirical research relevant to the moral phenomena of interest We will focus on four essential questions a What is humanity s moral nature b Why do people act morally the good or immorally the evil c What feelings and sentiments do people experience when they consider and act in ways both proper and improper and d How do people see construct judge perceive and react to positive and negative feelings thoughts and behaviors We will however restrict our analysis to moral phenomena that have been investigated empirically that is through the collection of data using scientifically acceptable procedures We will examine questions of human nature egoism and altruism violence murder war values and moral choices communalism and individuality courage and cowardice and genocide and moral inclusion but as phenomena that must be explored through scientific research In keeping with the emphasis on the empirical tradition we will also review ways moral thought and action have been calibrated and assessed Readings will include original articles 2 3 per week and a number of books Leadership 390 1 Fall 2008 Course topics and goals Teaching and learning methods We will examine both positive and negative aspects of human behavior including such topics as violence depravity altruism compassion and the roots of collective aggression We will restrict our analysis to moral phenomena that have been investigated empirically that is through the collection of data using scientifically acceptable procedures Theoretical frameworks for the analysis will include a the cognitive foundations of moral judgment including cognitive developmentalism Kohlberg 1983 Piaget 1934 the cognitive algebra of information integration Anderson 1981 social intuitionism Haidt 2001 b personological explanations of morality including studies of personality Hogan Emler 1995 values Rokeach 1973 virtues and strengths Peterson Seligman 2004 character Lapsley Power 2005 and c biological and psychological explanations such as evolutionary explanations Wright 1995 and psychodynamic views Smith 2004 We will in keeping with the emphasis on the empirical tradition review ways moral thought and action have been calibrated and assessed Beyond the content of the course I hope that you use this course to develop further your already strong scholarly skills including gains in critical thinking ethical thought writing and communication information search and retrieval technological skills scientific skills and study skills You will may also develop enhanced insight into your own moral values and experiences and these insights may help you better understand yourself and your relations with others This is not however a course on moral philosophy and religion or a self development course our focus is on studying scientifically moral phenomena This course will operate as a seminar with all members participating in the discussion and analysis of each day s topic Each member of the group will contribute to the discussion through presentations of particular studies commentaries on issues discussions of one s own personal insights and guided review of the text material Topics for discussion will be drawn from selected readings the primary texts and a number of secondary texts Discussions will provide you the opportunity to express your understanding in your own words and to raise questions that you find personally interesting In addition to discussion we will also spend our classroom time in lecture demonstrations activities and audiovisual events All activities are designed to stimulate critical thinking If you need addition information about a topic mentioned in the text or you have a problem understanding a particular portion of the text just ask This class also uses World Wide Web based instruction extensively In some cases I will email additional materials to you and if class must be cancelled I will hold the session on line instead Some discussions will occur on line as well and so will office hours Many of the activities papers quizzes and supplemental readings will also take advantage of the WWW primarily Blackboard and a wiki page Textbook and readings Research suggests that students acquire as much as 50 of their learning in a course directly from the readings The bulk of the readings will be empirical articles and chapters We will however also read several books including including but not limited to The social psychology of good and evil edited by A G Miller 1 59385 194 4 The Most Dangerous Animal by David Livingston Smith 0 312 34189 X The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo 978 1 4000 6411 3 Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh 978 1 59420 150 9 The reading load for this class will be fairly heavy both in terms of quantity and in terms of level Leadership 390 2 Fall 2008 Activities and assignments Short written assignments activities Many assignments will be given through the semester such as readings reaction papers interviewing people