Students are required to submit a 1000-word (minimum) final paper, which will count for 20% of their final course grade. The student will present a situation requiring an ethical choice made by an individual drawn from the real world (i.e. a news story), consider the possible choices available and their consequences, take a position on the situation (i.e. state what choice they would make in the same situation), and justify that choice. The student must incorporate significant references to at least two thinkers discussed in the course so far as part of their evaluation of the situation requiring an ethical choice. The paper will be graded according to the attached rubric. The student should do the following (please note—this is not an outline):
Choose a news story involving an individual faced with an ethical decision. Include a link to the news story at the top of your first page.
Summarize the situation, the available choices, and the consequences of those choices. Based on your chosen news story, identify the person making a choice, the options that person had available to them, and the potential consequences of those possible choices. You should also make it clear what choice the person actually made and what the consequences of that choice have been.
Take a position. In other words, make a choice. Explain what you would have done in that person’s position. You are free to agree or disagree with the choice that was actually made.
Justify that choice with rational arguments. In other words, explain why you would make that choice.
Include significant references to at least two thinkers discussed in class (from Unit 1 or Unit 2). These references can be used in any part of the paper and should demonstrate thoughtful engagement with the philosophers and ideas encountered in this course. In other words, this should be more than using two random quotes from philosophers. You could use references to different philosophers to explain your choice (For example, “I would have chosen to do _________ because I agree with Plato that __________.”). You could use these references when you outline the possible choices a person could have made (For example, “The person in this news story could have taken an Epicurean approach and done_________”, or, “Someone following virtue theory would choose to _________ because…”).
Secondary sources are not required but are allowed. If students refer to any of the course readings, they should use parenthetical citations and do not need to include a ‘Works Cited’ page. [Example: As Epictetus said, “Some things are in our power and others are not.” (Reading 2.3).] If students use secondary sources, they should include a ‘Works Cited’ page.
