DO NOT DELETE THIS SECTION
Introduction to Ethics
PHIL102 | 3 Credits
Ethics is all about thinking critically about right and wrong and understanding the rules that guide our decisions. In Introduction to Ethics, you’ll explore major ethical theories, develop your own moral reasoning, and learn how to apply these ideas to real situations.
Professor:
About Introduction to Ethics
What You’ll Learn
Ethics is the human exercise of ordering, questioning, and investigating moral rules. According to philosopher Nina Rosenstand, ethics “questions and justifies the rules we live by, and, if ethics can find no rational justification for those rules, it may ask us to abandon them.
- Demonstrate awareness of and ability to recognize ethical thinking.
- Demonstrate knowledge of philosophical doctrines around ethics.
- Develop and demonstrate competency in academic standards for the humanities.
- Participate in global citizenship.
- Develop competency in global philosophical models.
- Perform applied ethics through the practice of academic integrity within academic writing.
- Perform applied ethics through the development of original ethical analyses.
StraighterLine Courses Include:
-
Self-paced workload
-
Digital Textbooks
-
Transcript Delivery
-
Grade Improvement Opportunities
-
Interactive Modules
-
Video Lessons
-
24/7 Tutoring & Support
-
Access on Desktop and Mobile
Transfer Credit in 3 Easy Steps
Pick Your Course & Enroll
Getting started is simple — no applications, waitlists, or deadlines. Just create an account, choose your course, and start learning right away.
Every course is self-paced and fully online, so you can fit learning into your life — not the other way around. With support resources included and no hidden fees, you're in control from day one.
Go at Your Own Pace
No rigid schedules, no stress. Just real online college courses you can start anytime, anywhere, and finish on your own terms.
StraighterLine courses offer interactive lessons and assignments that help you understand and retain the material, and come with everything you need to stay on track and succeed — including digital textbooks, tutoring, and real people to support you on your journey to your degree.
Transfer Your Credits, Save Thousands on Tuition
Complete your course with a 70% or higher to make your credits eligible for transfer. Then head to your Student Dashboard, select “Request Transcript,” and tell us where to send it — we’ll take it from there at no additional cost.
Not sure whether your school accepts StraighterLine courses? Our Enrollment Specialists can find out for you!
Does My School Accept This Course?
We’ll find out for you. Students have successfully transferred StraighterLine course credits to 3,000+ schools. Our Enrollment Specialists will contact your college directly to confirm your credits will transfer, so you don’t have to.
WANT US TO CHECK?Course Details
Students in our Introduction to Ethics online course will learn established approaches within ethics and will directly participate in the human exercise of ordering, questioning, and investigating moral rules through original ethical analysis. The curriculum emphasizes applied ethics, citizenship, and global diversity.
ACE-Recommended
ACE Code:
OOSL-0123
Flexible Schedule
28-day Average Course Completion
Transferred 4,300 Times
$4,800,000 Saved on Tuition
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for Introduction to Ethics.
Course Text
The required eTextbook for this course is included with your course purchase at no additional cost.
- Rosenstand, Nina. The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics. 2024 Release. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2024. ISBN: 9781266549366
Course Checkpoints
Checkpoint 1: Thinking About Values
- Good and Evil
- Debating Moral Issues from Religion to Neurobiology and Storytelling
Checkpoint 2: Learning Moral Lessons from Stories
- Didactic Stories
- The New Interest in Stories Across the Professions
- The Value of Stories Across Time and Space
- Are Stories Harmful? A New and Ancient Debate
Checkpoint 3: Ethical Relativism
- How to Deal with Moral Differences
- The Lessons of Anthropology
- Problems with Ethical Relativism
- Refuting Ethical Relativism
- James Rachels and Soft Universalism
- Ethical Relativism and Cultural Diversity
Checkpoint 4: Myself or Others?
- Psychological Egoism: What About the Heroes?
- Psychological Egoism: From Glaucon to Hobbes
- Three Major Problems with Psychological Egoism
- The Selfish-Gene Theory and Its Critics
- Ethical Egoism and Ayn Rand's Objectivism
- Being Selfless: Levinas's Ideal Altruism Versus Singer's Reciprocal Altruism
- A Natural Fellow-Feeling? Hume and de Waal
Checkpoint 5: Using Your Reason
- Jeremy Bentham and the Hedonistic Calculus
- Advantages and Problems of Sheet Numbers: From Animal Welfare to the Question of Torture
- John Stuart Mill: A Different Kind of Utilitarian
- Mill's Harm Principle
- Act and Rule Utilitarianism
- Consequences Don't Count–Having a Good Will Does
- The Categorical Imperative
- Rational Beings Are Ends in Themselves
- Beings Who Are Things
- The Kingdom of Ends
Checkpoint 6: Personhood, Rights, and Justice
- What Is a Human Being?
- The Expansion of the Concept "Human"
- Personhood: The Key to Rights
- Science and Moral Responsibility: Genetic Engineering, Stem Cell Research, and Cloning
- Questions of Rights and Equality
- Distributive Justice: From Rawls to Affirmative Action
- Criminal Justice: Restorative Versus Retributive Justice
Checkpoint 7: Virtue Ethics from Philosophy
- What is Virtue? What is Character?
- Non-Western Virtue Ethics: Africa and Indigenous America
- Virtue Ethics in the West
- The Good Teacher: Socrates' Legacy, Plato's Works
- The Good Life
- The Virtuous Person: The Tripartite Soul
- Plato's Theory of Forms
- Plato's Influence on Christianity
- Empirical Knowledge and the Realm of the Senses
- Aristotle the Scientist
- Aristotle's Virtue Theory: Teleology and the Golden Mean
- Aristotle's Influence on Aquinas
- Some Objections to Greek Virtue Theory
Checkpoint 8: Virtue Ethics and Authenticity
- Ethics and the Morality of Virtue as Political Concepts
- Have Virtue, and Then Go Ahead: Mayo, Foot, and Sommers
- The Quest for Authenticity: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, and Levinas
Checkpoint 9: Case Studies in Virtue
- Courage of the Physical and Moral Kind
- Compassion: From Hume to Huck Finn
- Gratitude: Asian Tradition and Western Modernity
- Virtue and Conduct: The Option of Soft Universalism
- Diversity, Politics, and Common Ground? A Personal View
Checkpoint 10: Different Gender, Different Ethics?
- Feminism and Virtue Theory
- What Is Gender Equality?
- Women's Historical Role in the Public Sphere
- The Rise of Modern Feminism
- Classical, Difference, and Radical Feminism
Checkpoint 11: Applied Ethics
- The Question of Abortion and Personhood
- Euthanasia as a Right to Choose?
- Media Ethics and Media Bias
- Business Ethics: The Rules of the Game
- Just War Theory
- Gun Rights or Gun Control?
- Animal Welfare and Animal Rights
- Ethics of the Environment: Think Globally, Act Locally
- The Death Penalty
- The Ethics of Self-Improvement: Narrative Identity
- A Final Word
Assignments & Grading
Your score provides a percentage score and letter grade for each course. A passing percentage is 70% or higher.
Assignments for this course include:
- 4 Benchmarks
- 2 Capstones
- 11 Checkpoints
What You’ll Need
- A reliable computer or laptop
- Stable internet connection
- Web browser
- Basic computer skills
- Any required course materials
Your Academic Team
Your Faculty Team
We’re not just a platform — we’re a team of professional educators committed to your success. Our courses are built by academic professionals who are leaders in higher education, and your assignments are graded by real people who provide meaningful feedback so you can keep progressing.
Support Team
At StraighterLine, there are real people working behind the scenes to guide you through every course, quiz, and “I’m stuck” moment.
- Enrollment Services
- On-Demand Tutors
- Academic Advisors
- Tech Support
Course Professor
Tutoring & Career Resources
Your StraighterLine membership comes with the tools and guidance you need to thrive academically and take confident steps toward your career.
24/7 live, on-demand tutoring, access via chat or video
Exam and certification prep tools
Faculty Connect portal
24/7 live, on-demand tutoring, access via chat or video
Real, human feedback to help you ace your assignments
Exam and certification prep tools
Real, human feedback to help you ace your assignments
Professional development assistance
Resume-building resources
Professional development assistance
Faculty Connect portal
Resume-building resources
Students who enrolled also took:
Introduction to Communication
1st attempt pass rate: 96%
Avg Days to Complete: 29
3 credits
TRY FOR FREE
Start Your Free Preview
Explore course content, your Student Dashboard, and all the features StraighterLine offers to support your success. No credit card, no commitment — see how easy it is to use StraighterLine.
Get Started FreeStudent Reviews
Easy to Follow, Easy to Succeed
I had a great experience with StraighterLine. The courses were well-structured, easy to follow, and perfect for self-paced learning. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to complete college credits flexibly and affordably.
An Affordable Path for Busy Parents
College is so expensive, and as a mom of four kids with two part-time jobs, I would not have had the chance to go to college without StraighterLine. I saved so much money with StraighterLine, and I get to spend more time with my kids!
Saved a Lot of Money
I liked how you can work at your own pace. It saves you sooo much money! I saved over $1000 doing this course!
Getting Started is Simple
The StraighterLine Advantage
Full flexibility, no timelines or deadlines ever.
Your own support team to get you to the finish line.
Unlimited course access so you can take as many courses as you need.
Transfer guaranteed to one of our 180+ partner schools, and accepted by 3,000+ schools nationwide.
How to Enroll in Introduction to Ethics
Select your course and click “Enroll Today”.
Create your account and finalize course purchase.
Start earning affordable college credits!
You’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Answers
Why is StraighterLine so affordable?
StraighterLine offers a completely online learning experience, free from the high costs of traditional colleges and universities. By cutting out the institutional overhead, we pass the savings onto you (instead of extra costs) — providing top-quality courses at a price that fits with your budget
What is included in the price?
StraighterLine membership gives you access to over 75 self-paced online courses at a fraction of the price you’d pay through your school — meaning you’ll save up to 90% per course. But that’s not all — membership also comes with valuable extras at no extra cost, including academic advising, 24/7 on-demand tutoring, and free transcript delivery to your school
What is ACE, and why does it matter for transfer credits?
StraighterLine courses are recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE), a respected organization that helps colleges evaluate nontraditional learning for credit. If your school accepts ACE Credit recommendations, there’s a strong chance they’ll accept StraighterLine courses. Always check with your school’s registrar to confirm how transfer credits apply to your degree.
How do I transfer StraighterLine credit?
Transferring your StraighterLine credits is easy:
- Check with your school: If you’re enrolled at one of our 180+ partner colleges, your credits are guaranteed to transfer based on which of our courses your school has agreed to directly accept credit for. Plus, StraighterLine credits have also been accepted by over 3,000 colleges and universities, but it’s always a good idea to confirm your school’s transfer policies before enrolling in a course.
- Request your transcript: Once you complete a course with a 70% or higher, log into your StraighterLine account to request an official transcript. We’ll send it directly to your school at no extra cost.
- Apply your credit: Your school will review your transcript and apply eligibility credits toward your degree, helping you move forward on your academic journey.
Helpful Resources
SUPPORT
Need Help Enrolling?
Our Enrollment Specialists are here to help you get started.
BLOG ARTICLE
How Do StraighterLine Online Courses Work?
Find out what your online learning experience with StraighterLine will be like.
BLOG ARTICLE
Where Can You Transfer StraighterLine Credit?
An easy-to-understand guide on how to transfer StraighterLine credits.
BLOG ARTICLE
How StraighterLine Reduces Tuition Costs
See how StraighterLine has helped students save thousands on tuition.
Ethics & Your Career in Decision Making
Introduction to Ethics doesn’t just explore questions of right and wrong — it also helps you develop skills that are valuable in any career. By studying ethical theories and dilemmas, you’ll strengthen your ability to think critically, evaluate complex situations, communicate clearly, and make better decisions. These skills are essential for fields like business, healthcare, law, education, and public service where integrity is of the highest importance.
Why it matters:
- Students save an average of 90% per course on general education courses with StraighterLine.
- Humanities courses teach skills that are meaningful, socially relevant, and uniquely human.
How this course sets you up for success:
Communications Specialist, UX Researcher, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Human Resources Specialist, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Policy Analyst, Community Outreach Coordinator, Ethics Consultant, Compliance Officer, and Public Health Educator
How this course sets you up for success:
Critical thinking and decision making skills that are highly valued by employers. Get experience learning to navigate complex moral questions so you’re ready to navigate your professional life.
SCRIPT HERE DO NOT DELETE