A New Assignment

An introductory ethics “survey” assignment. DUE Monday Feb 4, in class and via Turnitin.

This is an assignment to get you thinking about some of the issues we will discuss in this class. Since our class will focus on finding and evaluating arguments, I’d like you to start thinking about the reasons or premises that people give, or would give, in favor of various conclusions. Toward that end, please provide at least three to five reasons or responses to fill in these blanks below. Try to just reflect on your observations on what you’ve ever heard people say to answer these questions; you can also ask other people and/or search the internet if you’d like. We will use these lists of reasons as the basis for our discussions of these issues: we will try to figure out what reasons are good reasons, or part of sound arguments, and which would be part of unsound arguments, and so bad reasons.

Suppose someone said the following. How might they fill in these blanks, or what reasons might they give?

TOPIC: HOMOSEXUALITY

1. “Homosexuality is morally wrong because ____________________”

TOPIC: DRUGS

2. “It is wrong to use drugs, such as marijuana, because ____________________”
3. “It is not wrong to use drugs, such as marijuana, because ____________________”

TOPIC: ABORTION

4. “If a married woman who did not any (more) children became pregnant, could raise another child but does not want to, it would it be wrong for her to have an abortion because ____________________.”
5. “If a married woman who did not any (more) children became pregnant, could raise another child but does not want to, it would it be permissible for her to have an abortion because ____________________”

TOPIC: DEATH PENALTY

6. “The death penalty is (typically or always) wrong because ____________________”
7. “The death penalty is sometimes morally permissible because ____________________”

TOPIC: EATING MEAT

8.  “It is morally wrong to raise and kill animals, like chickens, pigs and cows, to eat them because __________________”
9. “It is not morally wrong to raise and kill animals to eat them because __________________”