Subject: Ethics
What is tolerance? What is justice? What is criticism? Are we allowed to eat animals? Are we allowed to do anything simply because we can? What is a human being? What do we mean when we talk about a fulfilling life? These are typical questions in ethics and, at the same time, examples of the titles of our seminars at the Institute of Philosophy.
Studying ethics
The aim of the Ethics programme is to enable students, through a systematic and methodological grounding, to recognise, describe and discuss contemporary phenomena in everyday life as philosophical issues, and to gain a deeper understanding of them through a philosophical lens.
Our seminars are problem-oriented and provide an overview of the broad spectrum of ethical challenges and positions from antiquity to the present day.
The course content covers both the subject-specific discipline (models and methods of ethical argumentation, philosophical theories and current discourses) and the didactics of the subject (as a theoretical-conceptual, empirical-critical and methodological-practical discipline).
Degree programmes
Course content
Bachelor's degree
| Module | Contents |
|---|---|
| Fundamentals of Ethics | Introduction to Ethics Fundamental Problems in Philosophy History of Philosophy and Ethics |
| An in-depth introduction to normative and applied ethics | Basic Types of Ethics and their Justifications Introduction to Applied Ethics Philosophy and Dealing with Plurality |
| Methodological Foundations of Ethics Education | Ethical reasoning / Philosophical modes of thought Reading philosophical and ethical texts Introduction to the Pedagogy of Ethics Basic practical teaching skills |
| Advanced philosophical and ethical studies | Philosophy of Life Philosophy of culture Selected Issues in Applied Ethics |
| Current ethical discourses | Selected Issues in Contemporary Ethics Bioethics / Ethics of Health Practical Problems in Ethics / Moral Psychology |
| Social Philosophy and Political Philosophy | Philosophical Questions Concerning Personal Relationships and Ways of Life (Friendship, Love, Loss, Death, etc.) Politics and Philosophy / Political Ethics |
Master’s degree
| Module | Contents |
|---|---|
| Studies in Ethics Education | Concepts of Ethics Teaching Ethics pedagogy in the knowledge society / Philosophical modes of thought / Epistemology and |
| Research in Ethics Education | Accompanying course for the ISP (Selected Issues and Problems in Ethics Education) Empirical Research on Ethics Teaching |
| Philosophical and Ethical Studies | New Technologies and Ethics Identity Formation and Culture Culture of sustainability / environmental ethics Ethics and Anthropology |
Departmental Council
also known as FaVe or the student representative committee
You can find more detailed information about our meetings – including when and where they take place – on the noticeboard at the Institute of Philosophy (to the left of room 2.A020).
You can find us on Stud.IP under “Ethics Department Representative Committee” and contact us at fave.ethik(at)ph-karlsruhe.de.
Updated on 3 September 2026 by Central Web Editorial Office