ETHICAL ISSUES

Ethical issues

This assignment requires that you write an essay of 5-7 pages (around 1500 words) in which you use the work of two philosophers whose ideas weve examined in the first half of the class to analyze an ethical problem drawn from your own experience or observation of the world.

Start by explaining an ethical problem that youve encountered in some way in your own life. You can use a situation that you found yourself in, or you can point to a situation you were aware of but didnt necessarily play a direct role in. The key thing is that you should describe a situation youre familiar with in which some kind of ethical judgment was called for.

Once youve set up the situation you intend to analyze, offer brief summaries of the ideas of two of the writers weve looked at in World Ethics, our course textbook. When youve outlined what you believe are the most relevant parts of the philosophers thought, show how you think you might apply the two thinkers ideas to the case youre examining. What guidance does the work of each philosopher offer for figuring out how to solve the ethical problem at hand?

Next, comment on what you see as the value, both practical and ethical, of the philosophical ideas youve brought to bear on a real-world ethical problem. That is, talk about how the abstract theoretical approaches youve studied affected your view of the problem you applied them to.

The essay should:

Show a good understanding of the ideas of two philosophers weve read in World Ethics.
Be well organized, with each of the elements listed above addressed fully.
Feature an introduction and conclusion, with logical paragraph development throughout.
Be word-processed, double-spaced, and carefully proofread.