Program overview
Ethics, simply put, is the study of "how we should live." It doesn't give you standard answers but teaches you a set of tools for analyzing moral issues—like utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. Core courses include Principles of Ethics, History of Chinese Ethical Thought, History of Western Ethical Thought, and Applied Ethics (e.g., bioethics, environmental ethics, business ethics). In Chinese universities, ethics places special emphasis on exploring traditional ethical resources such as Confucianism and Taoism. For instance, Renmin University and Peking University have strong research teams in Chinese ethics. If you love asking "why," have a natural curiosity about fairness, justice, and happiness, or want to understand the moral logic behind different cultures, this major will suit you well.