University of Kansas, Fall 2003
Philosophy 160: Introduction to Ethics
Ben Eggleston—eggleston@ku.edu

Normative-ethics writing assignment

The second part of our course was devoted to an examination of the following normative-ethical theories:

• ethical egoism
• utilitarianism
• Kantianism
• contractarianism
• ethics of care
• virtue ethics
• multiple-strategies utilitarianism

Your assignment is select two of these theories and to write a paper contrasting them by subjecting each of them to the standard method for evaluating normative-ethical theories—that is, the method of testing theories’ prescriptions for particular cases against the prescriptions of common-sense morality. To be more precise, your paper should offer the following things, in the following order:

1. an introductory paragraph indicating (a) which two theories you are going to contrast (see items 2 and 3 below) and (b) the kind of particular cases you will use in order to contrast them (see item 4 below), and (c) which theory you will claim is superior
2. a paragraph or two explaining the main idea of one of the two theories your paper is about
3. a paragraph or two explaining the main idea of the other of the two theories your paper is about
   • After this step, you should be somewhere on p. 2 of your paper, perhaps near the end of p. 2.
4. a paragraph explaining a particular case or issue to focus on
   • Some examples of such cases are the trolley problem, the transplant case, and the case of the inquiring murderer.
   • Do not use any theory-case pair that can be found in the Rachels book, or any theory-case pair that was discussed in lecture. That is,
     • if one of the two theories you’re discussing is utilitarianism, you cannot use the trolley problem or the transplant case; otherwise, you can
     • if one of the two theories you’re discussing is Kant’s moral theory, you cannot use the case of the inquiring murderer; otherwise, you can
     • if one of the two theories you’re discussing is utilitarianism or contractarianism or the ethics of care, you cannot use the issue of animal rights
   • You are encouraged to make up your own case, or introduce an issue that Rachels does not discuss and that has not been discussed in lecture. (You can use an issue that has been mentioned in lecture, as long as it has not been specifically addressed from the point of view of either of the two theories you are examining in your paper.)
   • Be sure that you choose a case or issue about which the two theories you’re discussing render contrary prescriptions—don’t pick a case or issue on which they agree.
   • Don’t take up too much space describing something too elaborate—you should keep this to half a page or so, and when you’re done you should be around the top or middle of p. 3 of your paper.
5. a paragraph explaining what the first of the two theories you’re examining would say about this case or issue
6. a paragraph explaining what the second of the two theories you’re examining would say about this case or issue
   • After this step, you should be around the top or middle of p. 4 of your paper.
7. a paragraph indicating which theory would be judged better according to the standard method for evaluating normative-ethical theories
   • This will require you to say what, in your view, the opinion of common-sense morality is on the case or issue in question.
   • This should take you to the bottom of p. 4 or the top of p. 5 or so
8. a paragraph indicating your opinion as to whether common-sense morality is right, or whether you have a contrary opinion
   • If you think that common-sense morality is right, give reasons in support of your (and common-sense morality’s) opinion.
   • If you think that common-sense morality is wrong and needs to be revised, give reasons in support of your opinion.
   • This should take you to the middle or end of p. 5 or so.

You would be well-advised to pick your two theories, and the case or issue you want to discuss, with the later tasks—7 and 8—in mind. Some combinations of theories and cases are easier to work with, and to comment on, than others.

No paragraph should be involved in more than one of the eight tasks listed above, though some tasks may require more than one paragraph to execute. Whenever a paragraph break is also the beginning of the execution of one of the tasks on this list, begin the next paragraph with the number of the task you’re beginning, like this. (That will help keep you on track and aid your teaching assistant in seeing what you’re up to at any point in your paper.)

1.    In this paper, I will contrast ethical egoism and utilitarianism by examining their differing responses to the issue of whether it is morally permissible to . . .

Your paper should have the same header information as specified for the emotivism writing assignment, except that you can skip line 5 (where you indicated which question you’re answering). The other remarks on formatting, style, and content apply here as well, except where obviously inapplicable due the different nature of this assignment. The rules regarding academic misconduct are also the same as before: you are free to get all sorts of help on this assignment, as long as you (1) do all the writing yourself and (2) cite whatever help you get. This means, among other things, the following:

• When formulating your ideas, you are free to consult whatever sources you want to consult. You must, however, indicate all of the sources (books, journal articles, World Wide Web pages, television programs, other people, or whatever) that helped you to develop your ideas for the paper. You will not be penalized for borrowing others’ good ideas instead of thinking of your own; the ideas in your paper will be judged on their quality and how well you adapt them to the purpose of your paper, not on whether they are original with you.
• When writing your paper, do the writing yourself. Any language not your own—whether a sentence from a published source or just a clever phrase or metaphor suggested by another person in conversation—must be attributed to its source. Again, you will not be penalized for borrowing others’ good ways of expressing certain ideas, unless you borrow so much that the paper ceases to be legitimately yours. But as long as the paper is not flooded with quotations (i.e., as long as it’s plainly a piece of your writing), the writing will be judged on its quality (especially its clarity), and not on whether it’s all original with you.
• To cite a source of ideas or language you are borrowing, use a clear system of citations, such as footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical references like those recommended in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. There is no particular format for citations to which it is necessary to conform exactly, as long as your citations are clear and exhibit a consistent form throughout your paper.

Your paper should be no longer than five pages long, double-spaced, and it will be due in class on Monday, November 17. It will determine 11 percent of your overall course grade.