First Assignments

The syllabus is here: http://philosophy302.blogspot.com/p/syllabus.html

Assignments will be posted in class, on the calendar http://philosophy302.blogspot.com/p/course-calendar.html, blog, and email list.

First reading and writing assignments:

For next Wednesday (1/23):

o   Rachels, The Right Thing to Do (RTD: Ch. 2, “Some Basic Points About Arguments,” available here for students who don’t yet have the books: http://aphilosopher.googlepages.com/rachels-on-arguments.pdf

Handouts on Overview of Logic & Arguments

http://sites.google.com/site/nobisphilosophy/arguments.pdf

http://sites.google.com/site/nobisphilosophy/validargumentforms.pdf

· Overview of Basic Moral Evaluations: Morally Permissible, Obligatory, Impermissible/Wrong

o See pp. 3, 5-8; also discusses logic and moral theories: https://sites.google.com/site/ethicsandanimals/EthicsandAnimalsLecturesDiscussionQuestionsAssigments.pdf

For the next Friday (1/25):

o   Rachels, The Right Thing to Do: Ch.1 “A Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy,” available here for students don’t yet have the books: http://aphilosopher.googlepages.com/rachels-intro-to-ethics.pdf 

Monday, 1/28:

Writing assignment: WITHOUT READING ANYTHING ABOUT THESE TOPICS – E.G., DO NOT SEARCH THE INTERNET – please write a short (2-3 page) essay that addresses one of these questions:

·         Is the death penalty wrong?

·         Is it morally wrong to eat meat (which is made of animals that have been raised and killed)?  

·         Is homosexuality wrong?

·         Is affirmative action wrong?

·         Is it wrong to use drugs, such as marijuana?

·         Suppose a married woman did not any more children but became pregnant. She could raise another child but does not want to. Would it be wrong for her to have an abortion?

·         Or another moral issue, with approval of the instructor.

Please discuss at least three arguments relevant to the issue.

Please write this essay on the basis of what you already know: again, please do not do any research for this paper (if you do, Turnitin might reveal that and you will be penalized!). This is an assignment to measure where you are at now. If you take it seriously and put in a good effort, your grade will reflect that. J

For Wednesday (1/30) Ch. 1, "What is Morality?" (Elements of Moral Philosophy, EMP):

Writing assignment 1: very detailed summary OR OUTLINE of this chapter, covering every section.