Bindu Madhok
John W. Porter Endowed Professor
B.A., 1983, University of Calcutta; Ph.D., 1990, Brown University.
E-mail: [email protected]
Office: Vulgamore Hall, Room 215
Phone: (517) 629-0338
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Bindu Madhok has teaching and research interests in ethical theory and its application to globalization, leadership, public policy, and science (the environment, medicine, and neuroscience). She has also done extensive work in cross-cultural ethics. She is a member of the American Philosophical Association (APA) and the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE).
Publications and Presentations
She has published articles in meta-ethics and ethical theory on topics such as Frankfurt’s compatibilism, moral realism, and supervenience, as well as in cross-cultural ethics on topics such as abortion, environmental ethics, and human rights in journals such as the Journal of Philosophical Research, the International Journal of Applied Philosophy, the Journal of Human Rights, Papers of the International Wittgenstein Symposium, and the Journal of Third World Studies.
She has also presented her research findings at several national conferences such as the Annual Meetings of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, the Richard R. Baker Philosophy Colloquium on Human Rights and Global Justice, the International Leadership Association Annual Global Conference, the International Association of Asian Studies, and the Annual Conference on South Asia; as well as at several international conferences such as the International Wittgenstein Symposium in Austria, the European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies in Holland, and the International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities in Greece.
Courses Taught
PHIL 101 Introduction to Philosophy
Textual Analysis Mode
Description:
The main objectives of this course are to introduce some significant philosophical problems, and to enable students to develop skills for careful critical thinking and reasoning about these philosophical problems. The particular issues studied will be: skepticism and human knowledge; the mind-body problem; the problem of personal identity; free will, determinism, and moral responsibility; moral relativism, and the justification of ethical standards.
Evaluation:
Two papers; a mid-term and a final exam.
Texts:
J. Feinberg, Reason and Responsibility; Cornman, Lehrer and Pappas, Philosophical Problems and Arguments.
PHIL 102 Philosophy East and West
Global Studies Category
Description:
Philosophy East and West will compare different schools of eastern philosophy with those of western philosophy in their approaches to important epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues.
Topics:
These issues include, for example, the nature of the mind and its relation to the physical world, personal identity, determinism and free will, and moral responsibility. Students will be made aware of both similarities and differences in the philosophical questions asked, arguments given, and methodologies adopted by eastern and western philosophers.
Evaluation:
Two papers; a mid-term and a final exam.
Text:
J. Feinberg, Reason and Responsibility; R. Billington,
Understanding Eastern Philosophy; course pack.
PHIL 201 Ethics
Textual Analysis Mode
Description:
In this course we will undertake a pluralistic approach to moral theory. We will examine a wide variety of ethical issues and theories such as the following: Ethical Relativism; Ethical Egoism; Utilitarianism; Kantian and Deontological Systems; Virtue-Based Ethical Systems; Theories of Justice; Right-Based Ethical Systems; The Ethics of Diversity; Ethical Realism. We will discuss contemporary moral problems in light of these approaches.
Evaluation:
Two papers; class presentations; a mid-term and a final exam.
Texts:
Required: L. Pojman, Ethical Theory: Classical and Contemporary Readings; L. Hinman, Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory.
PHIL 206 Contemporary Moral Problems
Textual Analysis Mode
Description:
The main objectives of this course are to introduce some of the complexities of some important moral problems, to help students develop skills for careful critical thinking and reasoning about these moral problems, and to give the students a greater understanding of major alternative ethical standards. The particular issues studied will be: abortion; euthanasia and assisted suicide; punishment and responsibility; hunger and welfare.
Evaluation:
Two papers; class presentations; a mid-term and a final exam.
Texts:
J. Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy; J. White, Contemporary Moral Problems. (Latest editions of both)
PHIL 301 Environmental Ethics
Environmental Studies Category
Description:
Environmental Ethics will enable students to develop both theoretical and practical perspectives on ethical issues in relation to the environment. The theoretical issues range from whether we should assign moral value to species other than the human (and if so, on the basis of what criteria) to whether we have moral obligations to preserve the environment for future generations (and if so, what this would imply for the present generations). The practical issues range from creating incentives for restricting population growth without abdicating responsibilities towards the world’s hungry, to the issue of what short and long-term policies and practices need to be adopted to deal effectively with reducing pollution and hazardous waste while working towards a recycling, sustainable global society.
Evaluation:
Two papers; class presentations; a mid-term and a final exam.
Texts:
L. Pojman, Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application; J. Rachels, Elements of Moral Philosophy. (Latest editions of both)
PHIL 302 Leadership Ethics
Textual Analysis Mode
Description: In this course we examine the ethical foundations of leadership. This involves an in-depth discussion of foremost leadership theories and their applications to different contexts. We critically examine the morally distinct aspects of leadership by looking at the relationships among power, self-interest, and morality, and analyze leadership from within the ethical frameworks of virtue, duty, and utility. We also discuss the ethical challenges of diversity (cultural relativism, race, and gender) to traditional leadership ethics.
Evaluation:
Three papers; class presentations, class exams.
Texts:
W. Bennis and R. Thomas, Geeks and Geezers; J. Ciulla, The Ethics of Leadership; C. Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership
PHIL 303 Business Ethics
Description:
This course is an examination of selected moral problems posed by corporate conduct–e.g., profit-maximization vs. social responsibility, corporate crime and the criminal justice system, business vs. environmental concerns, preferential hiring vs. reverse discrimination, employee autonomy vs. corporate loyalty, deception vs. honesty in advertising, and corporate vs. government regulation. Class discussions will include clarification and critical examination of different ethical perspectives for resolving these moral dilemmas.
Evaluation:
Two papers; class presentations; a mid-term and a final exam.
Texts:
R. Audi, Business Ethics and Ethical Business; A. Crane & D. Matten, Business Ethics
PHIL 304 Ethics and Public Policy
Textual Analysis Mode
Description:
This course draws attention to ethical foundations for policy analysis. Rights, liberty, justice, autonomy, the nature of the good life – should these play a role in determining public policy, and if so, how? Through the philosophical process of analysis and argument, we will discuss the interaction between ethical values and public policy in areas such as health care, law, government, education, media, and foreign policy.
Evaluation:
Two papers; class presentations; a mid-term and a final exam.
Texts:
R. Ellis, Just Results: Ethical Foundations for Policy Analysis; C. Mills, Values and Public Policy.
PHIL 306 Neuroscience and Ethics
Textual Analysis Mode Credit
May be Taken for Neuroscience Concentration
Description:
In Varieties of Moral Personality (1991) Owen Flanagan argues that moral philosophers should adopt a principle requiring them to take psychology seriously: “Make sure when constructing a moral theory or projecting a moral ideal that the character, decision processing, and behavior prescribed are possible, or are perceived to be possible, for creatures like us.” What kind of creature we are, as processors of information, is an empirical question.
Cognitive neuroscience brings to the study of ethics interest in the way the brain processes information and in the kinds of brain states that subserve thought and action–in short, it is answering the question of what kind of information processing creatures we are. The recent dialogue that has developed between cognitive neuroscientists and moral philosophers is particularly exciting and has become a model of careful interdisciplinary scholarship. This course is an entre into that dialogue.
Texts:
J. Jacobs, Dimensions of Moral Theory; W. Casebeer, Natural Ethical Facts; M. Gazzaniga, The Ethical Brain; Judy Illes, Neuroethics; D. Pfaff, The Neuroscience of Fair Play.
Work for the course:
Two papers; Two class-presentations, with written handouts for each; Assignment-related written questions/comments.
PHIL 308 Bio-Medical Ethics
Textual Analysis Mode Credit
Description:
This course is designed to introduce some ethical issues which have arisen in relation to the bio-medical sciences. The particular issues to be examined will include some of the following: autonomy and paternalism; informed consent; abortion; euthanasia; reproductive technology; genetic engineering; social justice and health policy. These ethical problems will be discussed through an understanding of various ethical theories and perspectives.
Evaluation:
Two papers; class presentations; a mid-term and a final exam.
Texts:
R. Munson, Intervention and Reflection; J. Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy.
PHIL 309 International Ethics and Global Development
This course is one of the Core Courses for International Studies.
This course also counts for the GLOBAL Category requirement.
Description:
This course explores the ethics of development in an international context. What should development be? Who all should play a role in bringing about development? We will examine multiple answers to these questions via an understanding of global development ethical theories and approaches such as the basic human needs approach, the human rights approach, the theory of development as freedom, the capabilities approach, theories of justice, as well as utilitarianism and deontological approaches. We will then apply these development ethics frameworks to important international issues such as poverty (including malnutrition, illiteracy, inadequate or no health care), gender inequality, violence and insecurity, over-consumption, and globalization. Issues of ethical objectivism versus subjectivism, ethical pluralism versus relativism will also be discussed in this connection.
Evaluation:
Two papers; class presentations; a mid-term and a final exam.
Texts:
D. Gasper, The Ethics of Development; T. Pogge & D. Moellendorf, Global Justice; Seminal Essays; T. Pogge & Keith Horton, Global Ethics: Seminal Essays.
PHIL 335 Philosophical Issues in Law
Gender Studies Category
Description:
This course provides an understanding of the philosophical foundations of both classical and contemporary theories of law such as natural law theory, legal positivism, critical legal studies, and feminist legal theory. It also critically examines the moral foundations of specific legal concepts such as liberty, equality, rights, privacy, and freedom of expression. The major theme which runs through the course is gender justice, focusing on both the ways in which law has bolstered traditional views concerning women’s status and ways in which law could effectively support gender justice.
Evaluation:
Two papers; class presentations; a mid-term and a final exam.
Texts:
J. Feinbery & J. Coleman (ed.), Philosophy of Law; D. Reidy, On the Philosophy of Law; E. Schneider & S. Wildman (ed.), Women and the Law Stories.
PHIL 382 Morality, Relativism, and Truth
Textual Analysis Mode
Description:
In this seminar we focus on questions such as the following: Are there objective criteria by which we can determine moral beliefs to be true or correct? Is moral truth objective and universal or is it merely relative? Is there any such thing as moral truth? Are moral judgments nothing but expressions of our emotions, or are they descriptions of certain facts holding true independently of us? We explore answers to the above questions from the standpoint of different meta-ethical theories such as naturalism, non-naturalism, emotivism, and prescriptivism.
Evaluation:
Two papers; class presentations; summaries.
Texts:
W.D. Hudson, Modern Moral Philosophy; M. Krausz and J.W. Meiland, Relativism: Cognitive and Moral.
Honors 113H India, Values, and Gender Roles
Description:
This course examines how philosophical, religious, socio-economic, and aesthetic values have over time shaped both women’s and men’s roles in Indian societies. We discuss representations of gender in: (1) classical and medieval religious and philosophical texts (such as the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Manusmriti, the Indian Epics, the Puranas), and practices related to these texts; (2) contemporary socio-economic and political realities such as education, employment, marriage, birth control, political representation; and (3) classical art (music, dance, sculpture), popular media (movies, television), and literary works by Indian writers in India and abroad. Students will be made aware of their own historical and cultural perspectives by comparing and contrasting their values with those of the culture they will be studying in this course.
Evaluation:
Two papers; four written summaries; two presentations; and a book report.
Texts:
David R. Kingsley, Hinduism: A Cultural Perspective; Course-pack.