Moral Analysis Writing Assignment PHIL 1103, Ethics
In your writing assignment you will analyze a moral question from the perspectives of the four families of moral values. Your first step is to select a moral question from Section 1 (The Personal, pages 1-61), or Section 2 (The Public, pages 62-115), or Section 3 (The Political, pages 116-165) of George’s What Should I Do? Be sure to just choose ONE question total to work on (not one question from each section of George). The questions are those in italics. For example, on page 1 at the top there is the italicized question that begins “My five-year-old daughter…”—that is one question (followed by commentary by a philosopher). On page 3 there is the italicized question that begins “My daughter, who is 14, wants to have a boyfriend…”—that is another question, followed by commentary. That pattern is repeated throughout Sections 1-3 of the book; on page 45 there is the italicized question that begins “If by my death I could save…”—that is another question, and so on. You are to select one italicized question to work on for this writing assignment (but selected only from Section 1 or Section 2 or Section 3—do not select a question from Section 4). Once you have selected a moral question, you must prepare an analysis of that question that consists of six sections. The sections of your analysis must be completed in the following way. Section One In Section One you must first state the moral question you are working with and then give a summary of what the philosopher or philosophers say about that question in George, What Should I Do?. Also include a brief commentary on the philosophers’ response, that is, say what you found to be most important in the philosophers’ response and why, and say what you found most controversial in the philosophers’ response and why. Write at least two pages for Section One (and please do not write more than four pages). Sections Two, Three, Four, and Five In the next four sections you must analyze the question from four different moral points of view: Section Two: Kant’s Categorical Imperative (pp. 137-142 of Weston) Section Three: Utilitarianism (pp. 181-188 of Weston) Section Four: Aristotle’s conception of virtue (pp. 217-221 of Weston; focus on Aristotle’s conception but you also may find other material on virtue in that chapter that will be helpful) Section Five: Ethics of Care (pp. 245-260 of Weston) Your analysis in each case must consist of the following two components. First, you must explain how moral questions are framed and answered from within that perspective. Second, you must say how the moral question you are working with would be answered from that perspective and explain why. Sections Two, Three, Four and Five should each be at least two pages long double-spaced—that is, at least two pages for Section Two, at least two pages for Section Three, and so on (and please do not write more than four pages for each section).
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Section Six Section Six is your conclusion in which you state your own considered answer to the moral question. Be sure to explain in detail why you believe that your answer is the correct answer. Your answer may be that you are not sure what the correct answer to the question is, along with an explanation of why different moral values or perspectives seem to be pulling you in different directions on that question.
Format Requirements
You must use a bold heading for each section (Section One, Section Two, etc.). Your name and the words “Ethics, PHIL 1103” must appear at the top of your submission. You must number the pages and double-space. Your submission must be prepared as an MS Word or pdf file. You must submit your writing assignment to the appropriate folder under Assignments in D2L by the deadline (the deadline is given in the Course Calendar document).
Plagiarism A proper citation is necessary for all direct quotation and for paraphrase from any source used (a paraphrase is when you use your own words to express an idea found in a source). Instructor’s Notes, course texts, as well as any and all outside sources must be properly cited. A proper citation consists of two elements. First there must be an in-text or footnote indication of the source and the page. An in-text indication will be put in parentheses directly following the quote or paraphrase, for example “(Instructor’s Notes Wk 3)” or “(Weston p. 35)”. A Footnote may be formatted as “Weston p. 35”. Second, there must be a list of works cited at the end of your examination; this list must include the author (if known), the title, and a URL if applicable. These are the only requirements for citation formatting; if you want you may use enhanced formatting if you are familiar with APA or MLA citation formatting but neither of those formats is required. Failure to give a proper citation is plagiarism; be sure you understand policy in the Course Syllabus concerning consequences of plagiarism. Your submission will be examined by Normandale’s sophisticated suite of plagiarism detection software platforms and compared with very large databases (which include previous submissions to this and other colleges and universities, material submitted by other students, as well as internet, electronic, and print sources). Use of materials without proper citations is plagiarism, and all instances of plagiarism detected will be permanently documented as part of your course record and will be subject to the penalties described in the Course Syllabus. That permanent documentation may also be forwarded to the Dean of Students.
Tips for good philosophical writing Clarity of expression is of maximum importance in this sort of writing; clarity is the chief stylistic aim. One strategy for writing clearly is to write as simply as possible: write short sentences in the active voice, avoid rhetorical questions, patiently explain each move your thinking is taking, and spend time making your strange or controversial claims sound plausible. Reading your paper aloud to yourself will help to expose places where explanation would be helpful. Remember that the goal is not just to express your ideas, but to express your ideas in a way that can be understood by others. Drawing distinctions is one of the most important tasks of philosophical writing about ethics. There are many different kinds of rights and virtues, many different ways to understand what
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‘happiness’ and ‘care’ mean. Always ask yourself “what are some different senses here” of any concept or notion that plays an important role in your work. I am happy to read a draft of your writing assignment before you submit it. I require at least four days to read and comment on drafts, and drafts are read in the order that I receive them. The deadline for submitting drafts is given on the Course Calendar. Drafts are not required. Drafts are to be submitted as an attachment to an email message to me. I read drafts only for completeness, clarity, detail, and imagination; it is your responsibility to correct grammatical errors and errors of spelling and punctuation. Contact the Writing Center at Normandale to learn about the availability of online help with your writing skills.
Standards of Evaluation In grading your submission, attention will be given to the following: use of English (grammar, spelling, punctuation), whether each of the required tasks in each section was attempted, clarity of expression, the detail in which the ideas are explored, and imagination.