In this course, we engaged with material from a broad range of perspectives to think about the humanities and ethical issues involving race, gender, class, ethnicity, etc.
PHIL 123 Writing assignment 2 20 points total.
Up to 5 points for each question/prompt
Humanities reflection
In this course, we engaged with material from a broad range of perspectives to think about the humanities and ethical issues involving race, gender, class, ethnicity, etc.
Topics included voting rights, migrant workers and exploitation/autonomy, cultural views of female genital surgery, African views on the death penalty, and moral considerations for other animals. We learned about the 2 most influential ethical theories, utilitarianism (Mill) and deontology (Kant) to help us ethically frame the topics we discussed.
Please reflect on your engagement in the course.
1. What did you find the be the most interesting issues? Explain. (up to 5 points)
2. How can learning about these issues contribute to your understanding of ethics in your own life? How might the principle of utility or the categorical imperative (never treat others as mere means) help you with ethical situations that arise in your own life? (up to 5 points)
3. How can learning about these issues help to make you a better member of your own community, and a better global citizen of the world? (up to 5 points)
4. Identify the ways in which having engaged with these issues connect to your major, career aspirations, and your lifelong pursuits. (up to 5 points)
In a separate paper document, label paragraphs 1-4 and answer the prompts. Do NOT include the question prompts or instructions. Paper must be 700-800 words. Single spaced, 12 point font. INCLUDE A WORD COUNT that excludes your name, and the designation “word count.” Do not include the question prompts, but The paper should be a word document.
In the top left corner include:
Last Name, First Name
Word count
The above highlighted material should be excluded from the word count. Any title should also be excluded from the word count.
Any paper that does not meet the instructions for 700 word minimum will receive a zero. Any paper not successfully submitted by the deadline will receive a zero.
The grading rubric I will use is on the next page.
Writing Assignment 2 Rubric 123-
any paper that does not meet the instructions for 700 word minimum will receive a zero. Any paper not successfully submitted by the deadline will receive a zero.
Objectives
0 does not address
1 poor
3 satisfactory
5 excellent
Identifies explains most interesting issues
Vague, cursory, identification/explanation
Substantive, thoughtful
Very substantive and thoughtful,
Contribution of ethics to own life
Vague, cursory, identification/explanation
Substantive, thoughtful, uses examples
Very substantive and thoughtful, detailed examples and application
Better community member and global citizen
Vague, cursory, identification/explanation
Substantive, thoughtful, uses examples
Very substantive and thoughtful, detailed examples and application
Connection to major, career, lifelong aspirations
Vague, cursory, identification/explanation
Substantive, thoughtful, uses examples
Very substantive and thoughtful, detailed examples and application
THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY
The principle of utility states that actions or behaviors are right in so far as they promote happiness or pleasure, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness or pain. Hence, utility is a teleological principle. This once again raises some of the same basic issues of associated with hedonism, as discussed in the earlier section on Teleological Theories.
Recall that a hedonist believes that the good life consists solely in the pursuit and experience of pleasure or happiness. The feelings of pleasure and pain are biological events involving our central nervous system, which are controlled by our cerebral cortex.
We obviously experience pleasure when we perform certain acts that fulfill biological functions such as eating, drinking, and having sex. We also experience pleasure when we perform certain intellectual activities, such as reading a philosophy textbook, playing guitar, or drawing a picture. We sometimes, but not always, experience pleasure when we do the right thing. Conversely, we experience pain when these functions are left unfulfilled.
Many utilitarians believe that pleasure and pain are objective states and can be, more or less, quantified. Hedonistic terms like intensity, duration, fecundity, and likelihood, imply that pleasure can be measured quantitatively, perhaps on a scale from 1-10, as part of a hedonistic calculus.
If you are a hedonist, the most important question is: “Whose pleasure counts the most?” Classical utilitarians are altruists to the extent that they believe that the standard of right or wrong is not the agent’s own greatest happiness, but the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
Therefore, the “Good” increases the number of persons experiencing pleasure among members of a specific group. The “Bad” increases the number of persons experiencing pain. There are several interesting problems here.