Grading Criteria:
1. Requirement satisfaction – whether it meets the requirements, follows the instructions, and engages with and answers the chosen prompt
2. Content –the quality of the reasoning
3. Writing quality – the grammar, structure, and flow of the paper
Requirements:
– 1500 words, +/- 10%
– Send via email to: [email protected]
– Paper should be a Word document, 12 point font, double-spaced
Instructions:
– Choose one of the following prompts
– Provide a carefully written and reasoned response to the prompt
– Be sure to include a clear introduction, a well-organized discussion, and a conclusion
– If you want comments on your work, please specify this in the body of your email, otherwise you’ll just receive your final grade for the class
Prompts:
1. Mackie’s argument from queerness says that if moral values were objectively real, then they would be very strange things. So, they must not be objectively real. However, Mackie doesn’t see his argument as threatening our normal moral practices, because he endorses the Independence Thesis – which holds that second-order moral views are independent of first-order moral views. First, briefly enumerate Mackie’s argument from queerness, and be sure to include what it is for something to be objectively real. Then, explain how a commitment to the Independence Thesis protects our normal moral practices from being undermined by this argument. Does this seem right to you? If not, why not? If yes, is there a way you could strengthen the position?
2. The principle of determinism poses a problem for the possibility of free will. Articulate the problem, and be sure to explicate how you’re using ‘determinism’ and ‘free will’. What do you take to be the best response to the problem? Do you take this response to fully answer the problem, or are there remaining concerns that it doesn’t address?
3. First, outline the moral issue surrounding abortion. Then, choose either Kant’s ethics or Utilitarianism and present what it would say is the right action in the case of abortion. Explain why it says this. The right action may depend on context – be sure to discuss this if this is the case.
