Philosophy Toolkit

I must admit that even though the majority of my interest in philosophy is in ethics and morality, I don't have a very good sense of the differences (or lack thereof) between the terms "ethics" and "morality". I tend to use them interchangeably, and typically choose one over the other simply because of which sounds best in the sentence I'm constructing. The toolkit mentions that some philosophers do use them interchangeably, and still others draw distinctions between the two. It goes on to say that "Where usage varies so much within a discipline, not to mention in everyday speech, it is especially important to pay close attention to how a particular writer or speaker is using these terms." I think it's fascinating how these two words can take on different connotative meanings, and thus mean different things to different people. For example, the word "moral" might be a little more familiar to someone than the word "ethics"; the terms "moral compass" and "moral support" can come up fairly frequently in everyday conversation, whereas the word "ethics" might not appear so easily. I think this shows how important word choice can be, which is certainly something we'll be discussing later on in the semester as we continue our discussion of literature and philosophy.

Welcome

Hello, my name is Shelby Giaccarini (jack-a-REE-nee) and I am a Philosophy and English (literature) double major. This is my ultimate undergraduate semester, and I mean that in both senses of the word. After commencement, I'll either be taking a year to work or volunteer or read or enjoy life or detest life (or some strange combination of the five), or I'll be heading over to the UK to enter a graduate program in Classics. Though the future is uncertain, I could not be more excited to be here in this class, which will provide the perfect keystone for my two majors.