Four
Criteria for a good Moral Reasoning or Philosophy Paper:
- Does the paper take a position on the issue and offer a
thoughtful defense of that position?
-
Does the paper demonstrate an understanding of the relevant
philosophical theories and concepts?
-
Are the reasoning and writing clear and effective? Does it conform to
college writing standards?
-
Does the paper anticipate and reply to the most important objections
to its thesis?
First Option
I want you to critically think
about, read about, and talk about ethical issues in an area of your
life that is important to you. You will
Investigate a complex ethical question.
The question can be professional, personal, or
social. It can be stated
directly as a question, such as, “If a nurse feels strongly that a
physician is misadvising a patient, what should he/she do about it?”
Or it can be based on a situation, such as a parent finding
incriminating evidence about her/his child.
What then, should the parent do?
I suggest that you check with me on the wording of
your question.
The paper should include the following:
- A
precise statement of the question.
- An
explanation of why the question is complex. What ethical conflicts or quandaries are present?
Are there recent national or local events that highlight the
complexity? Are there laws, professional codes of ethics, or
cultural norms that must be taken into account?
- Consideration
of a variety of perspectives and viewpoints. Demonstrate that you
understand how this issue may have been handled in the past (-
in other words, show that you understand the history of this issue).
Although you must conduct traditional research, I also expect you to interview at
least a couple of people who can comment on your question from a
personal or professional perspective.
In the case of a social question (should health insurance
companies be allowed to exclude or increase the rates of someone who
tests H.I.V. positive?), it may be more difficult to conduct
interviews. If you’re not sure how to proceed, ask me.
- A
thorough explanation of your own position. How did you arrive at your position? Why did you accept
some of the ideas advanced in the preceding section and discount
others?
- An
analysis of what your position reveals about your approach to
ethical decisions. Did
you embrace a particular ethical perspective, such as utilitarianism
or of care? Did you weigh some values more heavily that others? Was it difficult or painful for you to arrive at a
position? Do you still
have doubts? What did you learn about yourself as a moral
decision-maker? Are you
pleased with this self-discovery?
- The
body of the paper should be a minimum of
six pages. (Papers generally run from six to ten pages) Font
should be Times New Roman , Arial, or something similar, 12-point
in size. The content should be similar to the oral
report.
If you are unsure of a topic, you may
want to query a professional in the field. Speak with a professor in
your major and asking, "What ethical issues are of great importance
to you in your field? How are these issues addressed? What do you
see being done about these issues? How would you ideally and practically
like to see these resolved?
Time will
be provided for you to discuss this information in class.
Oral Report:
Your are free to do either a group or an individual
presentation. Suggested length is eight minutes (as the
college speech contest requires an 8-minute presentation).
I have the privilege of nominating students for Three River's speech
contest.
Tips on oral presentations can be found here.
Second
Option:
Web Paper
Write about a couple of related cases in our text, Ethical
Issues in the Courts. submit these to me both as a hard copy
and via email.
This should be written as a web paper
to be placed on the class web page. It will consist of four
sections:
-
Section l: Create a bulleted summary of the case as
presented in Ethical
Issues in the Courts similar to the sample
I have created. Bullet titles can be similar to
those listed on page 166 of our text.
-
Section II: Explain
the court decision by answering relevant questions on page
166: parties, facts, legal history, issue, holding, reasoning,
concurring opinions, and dissent.
-
Section
III:
* Discuss the relationship between the cases.
* Discuss the cases from a variety of perspectives and viewpoints.
* Explain and support your own position. How did you arrive at your position? Why did you accept
some of the ideas advanced in the preceding section and discount
others?
What does your position reveal about your approach to
ethical decisions. Did
you embrace a particular ethical perspective, such as utilitarianism
or of care? Did you weigh some values more heavily that others? Was it difficult or painful for you to arrive at a
position? Do you still
have doubts? What did you learn about yourself as a moral
decision-maker? Are you
pleased with this self-discovery?
-
Include additional links for interested
readers
Third Option
Guidelines
for the Paper Requiring Ethical Analysis and Reflection
1. This assignment asks you to think about
how you and others arrive at decisions on complex ethical issues. The
end product is a paper that includes three parts:
Part I: Your
own evolution on an ethical issue:
In this part, you are to select an ethical issue
discussed in the course and explain
your position on the issue prior to reading about it or
discussing it in class. If
your position was unclear or unformed, you may state that.
Be sure to explain the reasons for your position (or difficulty
in forming a position).
Then you are to explain how your position evolved
as a result of reading and classroom dialogue.
Perhaps you retained your original position, but for different or
additional reasons. Perhaps
you modified your original position or even changed it significantly. Perhaps the entire issue became murkier and your position
less certain. Be sure to
explain why your position evolved as it did and refer specifically to
the text or class discussion.
Finally you are to engage in additional
research and explain whether your position evolved further.
In this section, you should quote or paraphrase from at least two
published sources, one of which may be a primary reading within the text
(as long as the reading is not assigned to the entire class).
Naturally you are free to discuss the issue
with people outside of class and refer to that as well.
Part II:
Your analysis of a difficult ethical decision made by someone
else.
The
decision should be one that truly troubled the other person and produced
considerable ambivalence.
This part of the paper should begin with the
background and context of the decision. Who made it (although you may
respect a request for anonymity)? What
was the decision? What made the decision so difficult? How did the
person arrive at the decision? Did the decision evolve over time?
Second you are to analyze the decision. That is,
you should explain which of the “sources of ethical tension” entered
into the person’s decision and how.
Please think carefully about each of the "sources” and
make sure to explain every one that applies.
Finally you are to discuss the person’s decision
with at least two other thoughtful individuals, one of whom may be a
classmate. What were their
responses to the person’s decisions and why?
Part III: Making Sense of it all
In the final section of the paper, you are to
explain what “your own evolution” and the “difficult decision made
by someone else” tell you about moral decision-making.
Obviously this task requires thought and synthesis.
Look back at the two prior sections of the paper and ask yourself
what themes or patterns (if any) emerge.
Did your own evolution and the other person’s follow a similar
course? Did you approach
the moral decision-making process in the same way? Were other people
influential for either of you? Did
you place emphasis on the same kinds of moral concerns?
Did the fact that you approached your decision as a class
assignment and the other person approached hers as his as a “real
life” problem make a difference?
Then, explain what all of this means for you.
Are you satisfied with the way you approach tough moral
decisions? Are there moral questions that you now wish to give further
attention? Are you considering a reordering of your moral priorities?
What changes, if any, do you plan to make?
2. The body of the paper should be a minimum of six pages
(word processed, double-spaced) and
include proper MLA parenthetical citation. If you wish to use a
different format, let me know, and we’ll discuss it.
Note: the Tutoring Center has information on how to citation,
plus you can access these two links:
3. Beware of unintentional plagiarism.
4. All general standards for evaluating papers will be taken into
account, including fluency & clarity, organization, and mechanics.
At any stage, the instructor is available for
consultation. Feel free to
discuss your ideas or research activities.
If you wish to submit a partial or completed draft, I’ll be
happy to react to it. I can
also provide guidance on proofreading or assist with particular
mechanical difficulties in writing (as can the Tutoring Center).
Project
Alternatives
You may propose a project of your own
devising or work collaboratively with one or more of your classmates.
However, if you wish to propose a different kind of project or
work collaboratively, you must consult with me first.
Movie Listing of
ethical topics
Section 1. Human Life: Beginnings and Endings
In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan (1977) (Brian Keith,
Piper Laurie) Dramatization
of historic court decision
Section 2. Private Lives
Mr. And Mrs. Loving (1996) (Timothy Hutton, Lela Rochon)
Dramatization of Loving v. Virginia
Section 3. War, Peace, and Pacifism
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) (Burt Lancastser, Spencer
Tracey) Nazi war crime trials
Music Box (1989) (Jessica Lange, Armin Mueller-Stahl)
Attorney defends her father against alleged Nazi war crimes
Section 5. Freedom of Expression
Dirty Pictures (2000) (Craig T. Nelson, James Woods)
Dramatization of Mapplethorpe controvery at Cincinnati museum
The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) (Woody Harrelson,
Courtney Love) Pornography peddlar’s first amendment rights
Section 6. Religious Freedom
Inherit the Wind (1960) (Fredric March, Spencer
Tracy)
(1999) (Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott)
Dramatization of Scopes’ "Monkey Trial" about right to
teach evolution
Section 7. Racial Discrimination and Affirmative Action
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) (Barbara
Chaney, Cicely Tyson) A woman’s life from slavery through the early
Civil Rights movement
Section 10. Business Ethics
Barbarians at the Gate (1993) (James Garner, Jonathan Pryce) Maneuvering
behind the RJR-Nabisco corporate takeover
Oral Presentation
Tips on oral presentations can be found here.
Sample Research
Essays
When I was using the text, Current Issue &
enduring questions, one of my students received an award for his essay, Gun
Laws: Illusion of Safety. Other
student essays (some of which have won awards) can be accessed from my English
Composition site in the Student Works
section. Although these essays were not written for ethics, they
follow the guidelines of introduction, supported body and
conclusion. Refer to these essays for format & MLA
style. Keep in mind that the instructions for content were
different.
We would love you include your essays on the Web as
sample essays. Should you be pleased with the results & if it
is "perfect," we will consider publishing it on the Web with
your permission. Future students will find these helpful.
________________________________________________________________________________
Writing Guidelines
I've created three pages to help you with
documentation, grammar, format...
If you don't want to go through the trouble of formatting a Works
Cited page, just visit Bibliography/Works
Cited Help from NoodleTools.com: Type
in your info (author, publisher, title... )& Noodles will create
your bibliography!
Writing
Help from the Tutoring Center
Live and electronic assistance are available through the
new Writing Center in room 106 at the Mohegan Campus..
While the Center closes at 5:00 daily, students can get help from the
Center
after hours by sending their draft papers either as MS Word
attachments or
by cutting and pasting them into regular e-mails and submitting
to:
TRWritingCenter@trcc.commnet.edu
.
They should type "WC draft submission" in the topic line and
include name,
Banner ID number, a description of the assignment, and specific concerns
about the paper. A tutor will respond usually within 24 hours!
This email address can also be used for general information and misc.
questions
The general phone number for the Writing Center desk is 892-5773 (for
appointments, general information, hours, etc...)
Also, Jon Brammer, Writing Center Coordinator, can be reached at
860-892-5769 or jbrammer@trcc.commnet.edu
.
The writing center suggests Hacker's
handbook for documentation
help/examples
http://www.findarticles.com/PI/index.jhtml
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