20 Mar Moral issues

Each student must write a position paper on a case study. Students may choose from any of the case studies that are part of the course materials, and which are also assigned readings in Weeks 6, 7, and 8.

The paper must be a minimum of 1750 words and should adequately treat the case by drawing upon class readings. See the Instructions below and in the Case Study Assignment and Rubric handout.

Your paper must be submitted through TurnItIn

Papers should do the following:

• Present a brief summary of the main points of the case.
• Identify and highlight the moral issues at stake in the case. You should identify the main moral question(s) that the case raises.
• Explore how multiple readings from the class would lead one to think about the case.
  • Here you may reference Sandel’s book. For instance, how might any of the following philosophers respond to your case: Bentham, Mill, Nozick, Kant, Rawls, Aristotle, Sandel, etc.
  • You may also reference any of the PDFs we read the last three weeks of the class.
  • You should reference three different philosophers or readings from our course. I recommend 300 to 400 words on each.
• Articulate your conclusion about how the case is best resolved or treated and why. This is your chance to explain your own view on the case. What do you think should be done and why? You might consider explaining which of the three philosophers, ethical theories, or readings you agree with. This portion of your paper should not be more than one fifth of the paper.
• Cases come with questions at the end. Students need not directly answer these questions, but the questions may point toward relevant moral issues in the case, so they should be used as aids in the student’s thought about the case.

Papers should have an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement. They should have a concluding paragraph where you wrap it up and share concluding thoughts. They should be free of grammatical and spelling errors. Papers must provide specific examples and explanations from the assigned readings and/or videos. No additional research is required. If you want to use any additional sources, you must get the instructor’s permission in advance.

You should quote from the assigned readings. However, limit the amount and length of your quotes. You must properly cite all quotations and anything you paraphrase from the text. Anything you copy word-for-word from the text must be surrounded by quotation marks. Following the quotation marks, you must provide the page number.