PHIL203

The Rights and Wrongs of Killing People

Credit only granted for: PHIL209J or PHIL203. Formerly: PHIL209J. Virtually everyone thinks it's permissible to kill people only in special circumstances. But why is killing usually wrong? Is it ever acceptable to kill an innocent human being intentionally? This course raises these and related questions and examines cases such as terrorism, suicide, abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, war. Except for a brief discussion of animals, all the controversies considered deal with killing and causing death to human beings.

Spring 2026

26 reviews
Average rating: 3.23

Winter 2026

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

Fall 2025

26 reviews
Average rating: 3.23

Spring 2025

26 reviews
Average rating: 3.23

Past Semesters

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

26 reviews
Average rating: 3.23

26 reviews
Average rating: 3.23

26 reviews
Average rating: 3.23

26 reviews
Average rating: 3.23

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

26 reviews
Average rating: 3.23

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

26 reviews
Average rating: 3.23

26 reviews
Average rating: 3.23

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

During the Spring 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, students could choose to take some of their courses pass-fail mid-semester which skews grade data aggregated across multiple semesters.

Average GPA of 3.19 between 1,618 students*

PHIL203 Grade Distribution+-05101520253035404550% of studentsABCDFWother
A-: 22.37%
A: 18.6%
A+: 8.03%
B-: 8.59%
B: 12.92%
B+: 14.83%
C-: 1.61%
C: 2.47%
C+: 3.03%
D-: 0.56%
D: 0.37%
D+: 0.93%
F: 2.04%
W: 3.09%
other: 0.56%
* "W"s are considered to be 0.0 quality points. "Other" grades are not factored into GPA calculation. Grade data not guaranteed to be correct.