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Dowling College PHL042A Ethics Fall 2002

 

Paper Topics 2     

 

3 pages (900 words)

 

Your paper should be submitted via Turnitin.com or sent to me by e-mail, to perringc@dowling.edu.  If all else fails, you can give me your paper on disk.  Make sure your name appears at the top of your paper.

 

class ID:

41307

enrollment password:

firealarm

 

Due by midnight on Wednesday November 6, 2002.  Late papers will lose 2% for each day late.  Do not miss class even if your paper is not done: talk with me about it and we can come to some mutually agreeable arrangement.

 

Any quotations from other sources should be very clearly indicated, and you should say exactly what that source is, including page numbers, in parentheses or in a footnote.  It is often a good idea to include short carefully selected pieces of the text you are discussing (not more than a sentence or two) as part of your paper, to illustrate the author’s ideas.  For these questions, it may be helpful for you to do some research into secondary sources such as encyclopedia articles or overviews of philosopher’s ideas, but be very careful in selecting your sources – make sure the author is an expert and make sure that you fully understand what the author is saying.

 

If you want me to comment on a draft of your paper, you must email me a copy by 4pm Thursday Oct 31. 

 

Answer ONE and only ONE of these questions.

 

  1. Kant argues that moral action must be guided by universalizable maxims while Nel Noddings argues that universal principles can play only a limited role in moral reasoning.  Explain as clearly as you can (for at least one page) what their arguments are and where they disagree, and then, using a real example of a difficult moral decision that you have had to make in your life to which you gave serious thought, discuss which approach most closely describes your moral reasoning in that case.
  2. Aristotle places great emphasis on the role of virtue in acting ethically.  Explain as carefully as you can what he means by virtue, what guidance he gives for distinguishing virtues from vices, and how he suggests one can become a virtuous person.  Then discuss (for at least one page) whether you are a virtuous person by Aristotle’s standards.
  3. Set out the arguments of EITHER Margaret Pabst Battin in “The Case for Euthanasia” OR John Hardwig in “Is There a Duty to Die?” and then, focusing on one main point, set out as strong a case as you can against their arguments (for at least one page).