Contemporary Moral Issues We will examine a selection of pressing moral problems of our day, seeking to understand the substance of the issues and learning how moral arguments work. We will focus on developing our analytical skills, which we can then use to present and criticize arguments on difficult moral issues. Selected topics may include world poverty, animal rights, abortion, euthanasia, human rights, just and unjust wars, capital punishment, and racial and gender issues. You will be encouraged to question your own beliefs on these issues, and in the process to explore the limit and extent to which ethical theory can play a role in everyday ethical decision making. 2 hrs.lect./1 hr. disc.

Philosophy of Law In this course we shall consider a number of questions concerning law and its institution in human society. What is the origin and authority of law? What is legal obligation? What is the connection between law and coercion, between law and morality, and law and rights? Are laws merely conventions or is there a law of nature? What is the role of law in judicial decisions and the effect of these on the law? We shall also consider and evaluate various theories of law: natural law theories, utilitarian theories, analytical philosophy of law, critical legal studies, feminist theories.

Ethics: Lawyers and the Law In this course we will investigate conceptual questions about the nature of law, including whether the law has moral aims. We will also investigate different ethical challenges that arise for lawyers, judges, and legal organizations. Students will contact legal professionals to interview them about the kinds of ethical challenges that they face in their careers. Students will need to think critically about the moral challenges that arise for those practicing in the legal profession. The goal of this course is to gain a deeper understanding of the law by thinking critically about the ethical challenges that arise for those involved in the legal profession. This course includes a college-funded, week-long trip to the Middlebury in DC offices in Washington, DC. Travel takes place the last week of Winter term. Students should contact Professor Viner directly for approval to register for the course.

Justice and the State In the first part of this course, we will examine historical conceptions of political legitimacy. Political legitimacy is often thought to entail a State’s authority to coerce its citizens and a citizen’s obligation to obey the law. Authors will include Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. In the second part, we will analyze contemporary justifications and criticisms of political legitimacy. In the third part, we will examine different State "punishment" practices when a citizen is accused of committing a crime..Throughout the course, students will be engaged with questions concerning the moral relationship between citizen and state, and students in this course will research and develop positions on specific criminal justice reforms from a moral point of view. 3hrs. Lect.

The Philosophy of Human Rights What is a human right?  If there are human rights, what moral obligations, if any, follow from them, and who bears those obligations?  In this course, we will investigate the philosophical origins and development of the concept of human rights.  We will critically analyze both historical and contemporary moral perspectives concerning the existence and nature of human rights.  What does it mean to say one possesses a human right?  We will also take a close look at the issue of human rights as they relate to world poverty and humanitarian intervention.  Authors will include Hobbes, Bentham, Rorty, Nickel, and Pogge.  (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1317).

Morality & War Are there any Just Wars? What would make a war a Just War? In the first part of this course we will investigate the historical origins of Just War Theory. In the second part, we will analyze contemporary moral perspectives on whether war can be morally justified and if so, what actions in war are morally justified or prohibited. In the final part, we will read articles concerning war and humanitarian intervention and on what actions, e.g. punishment, are morally permissible or demanded after war. Authors will include Augustine, Grotius, Nagel, Walzer, Luban.

Global Justice In this course, we will investigate questions of justice that arise in global affairs. We will inquire into whether there are moral principles that constrain the actions of states and how these principles support a conception of global justice. Also, we will seek to understand what global responsibilities are entailed by global justice. Specific topics that will be considered include global distributive justice, world poverty, human rights, humanitarian intervention, and the relationship between global justice and nationalistic moral concerns. Authors will include Beitz, Nussbaum, O'Neill, Pogge, Rawls, Singer, Miller, and Walzer.

Conflict Transformation: Approaches and Skills This course will introduce to students to a variety of approaches to conflict transformation (CT), including intercultural competence, mediation, restorative practices, and structured dialogue. CT skills enrich classroom learning and prepare students to be effective citizens in a polarized public square. To transform conflict, we must first understand the nature of conflict and then develop tools to build healthy relationships and communities – locally, nationally, and globally. Students will learn about the drivers of conflict and then practice CT skills in the course. This course is part of a Middlebury-wide CT initiative, and this course foundational for students who wish to pursue practicum or research opportunities in other CT programs.

The Philosophy of Human Rights What are human rights?  What duties, if any, flow from them, and who is morally obligated to bear those duties?  In this course, we will investigate the philosophical origins and development of the concept of human rights.  We will critically analyze both historical and contemporary moral perspectives on the existence and nature of human rights.  What does it mean to say that one possesses a human right?  In addition to examining the existence and nature of human rights, we will take a closer look at the issue of human rights related to world poverty and humanitarian intervention.

Liberalism and Its Critics Liberal political thought is widely touted and accepted in Western societies. In this course, we will take a close look at what liberalism is by investigating the origins of liberalism in the writings of John Locke and John Stuart Mill and by evaluating the thought of contemporary liberal political philosophers, e.g. John Rawls and Will Kymlicka. We will also analyze the arguments of those like Michael Sandel and Yael Tamir who have criticized liberalism as misguided or incomplete. We seek to gain an understanding of the political and moral principles that give priority to liberty and related values or concepts like toleration, autonomy, and fairness. (One course in philosophy or waiver) 3hrs.

Steven Viner

Reviews and ratings for Steven Viner at Middlebury College.Steven Viner teaches Contemporary Moral Issues, Philosophy of Law, Ethics: Lawyers and the Law and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Steven Viner good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

Viner was very passionate when it came to teaching in this course. He was always full of energy and made the lectures interesting. He runs the class in a fashion that makes it very manageable and the course was overall not difficult. It was a bit difficult because this was a new course and gave us a lot of freedom in choosing what we wanted to talk about as a class. 

Viner is the best. Great professor, takes time to get to know the students, and his classroom environment feels like a discussion at the dinner table. This was the first semester that he ran this course, so there were definitely some growing pains, but I would love to take another course with him down the road.

Contemporary Moral Issues is a thoughtful and engaging introduction to moral philosophy that offers students both intellectual challenge and personal reflection. The professor creates a genuinely open classroom environment, one that encourages every student to articulate their moral intuitions and defend them through reasoned argument. Rather than lecturing abstractly, the professor actively listens to students’ perspectives, asks clarifying questions, and takes the time to understand why each person holds a particular view. This approach makes philosophical debate feel collaborative rather than confrontational.