First Assignment: Due Monday October 9th

Write a paper of approximately 750 words on one of the following topics.

Note re length: This is a short paper, so dont waste words. Get to the point swiftly and be
concise. In general, you can assume that the "approximately" allows you a leeway of around
10%. Once you get more than 10% over the limit, your preceptor may choose to stop reading.
(The word count does not include footnotes or bibliography, but the footnotes should not be
substantial.)

How to submit your paper: This assignment is worth 10% of your grade in this course, and is
due at 5pm on Monday October 9th. Most students now email their papers to their preceptors,
but your preceptor may instruct you to submit the paper by some other method.
If you use email, please attach your paper in either Word or Rich Text Format, as this will make
it easier for your preceptor to write comments.
Your preceptor will acknowledge receipt of your paper within 24 hours. If you do not receive
acknowledgement of receipt, contact your preceptor to make sure your email has not gone
astray.
If you are handing in hard copy, make sure it is double-spaced and leave a wide (e.g. 2 inch)
margin for comments.

Penalty for lateness: Assignments handed in late will be liable to a penalty of one-third of a
grade per day, or part of a day, unless you have, before the deadline has passed, been given an
extension by your preceptor. (One-third of a grade means, for example, a reduction from B+ to
B.)

What is required: You should see this assignment as a way of checking that you are on the
right track and understand how to discuss ethical questions. Its only worth 10% of your final
grade, so be bold, and try out your ideas and methods of arguing. If you get it wrong, your
preceptor will advise you how to do better next time.

Please read the Guidelines for Writing an Ethics Paper," that follow these instructions. In
particular, whether the paper is very short, like this one, or a longer paper, avoid the trap of
feeling that to write a good paper, you must survey a lot of the literature on your topic. That
makes it difficult for your essay to get deeply enough into the issue to rise above the level of
mere competence. Some of the best essays have quite a narrow focus, perhaps looking at just
one central argument as presented in one article, and subjecting it to rigorous critical analysis.
At the same time, your paper must engage with at least some of the reading. If you simply
write down how you feel about an issue, without demonstrating your awareness of what you
have read and/or discussed in class, you are likely to receive a poor grade.

Academic integrity: You should be familiar with the university policy on academic integrity and
the importance of acknowledging your sources. Full information is available here:
http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/intro/index.htm
When you refer to or draw on the work of others, you should state this in a footnote or
endnote. You may discuss your topic with others, but if you use their ideas, this should also be
noted. If you are using someone elses actual words, these must be enclosed within quote
makrs, or (for longer passages) set separate indented text, and footnoted.

To avoid accidentally plagiarizing something you have read, develop good study habits. Never
copy and paste text into your study notes, without clearly marking it as a passage from
someone elses work, and noting the author, title and page.

The essay should conclude with a short bibliography or list of works that you discuss or that
have influenced your thought on the topic. For a short paper, 3 or 4 is probably enough there
is no need to list every work you have read.

Your paper should include the usual statement that you have observed the Honor Code.

Topics

1. We dont argue about matters of taste. If moral judgments were subjective, we would
not spend so much time arguing about moral issues. Is this a sound argument against
the subjectivity of moral judgments?

2. What is the point of Parfits example of the person with Future Tuesday Indifference?
Does he succeed in showing that Hume was wrong about practical reason?

3. Why does Bernard Williams think that utilitarianism gives us the wrong answers in his
examples of Jim and the villagers and George and the chemical weapons factory. Is he
right?

4. If it is right to save the lives of five people by throwing a switch that diverts a runaway
trolley, is it also right to save the five by pushing a heavy person off a footbridge so that
the trolley stops before hitting the five, although the heavy person will be killed? If not,
what is the morally significant difference between the two cases? (See the lecture slides
for lecture 4, available on Blackboard/Course Materials.)

5. Does John Finnis succeed in showing that there are some acts that are always wrong, no
matter what the consequences?
Guidelines for Writing an Ethics Paper

1) Choose Your Topic Carefully. A topic that is too broad will lead to a superficial
essay. Make sure that your topic is sufficiently narrow for you to be able to say
something worthwhile about it in the number of words you have available.
Choose a topic on which you feel you have something to say that is your own. If
you choose a topic on which you have nothing to add to what your professor has
said in class, you cant expect to get a really good grade. On the other hand, if
you really disagree with your professor about something and can give sound
reasons for your disagreement that may be a good topic to write on. The same
may be true if you disagree with the arguments in one or more of the readings,
as long as the reasons you give for disagreeing are, at least to some degree, your
own.

2. Answer the question. A large part of your grade depends on how well you
answer the question posed in the paper topic. Don't forget to say which topic
you are writing about.

3. Defend your answer. You must do more than just state your opinion. You need
to offer an argument for your position. Here are a few ways you can support
your view:

a) Point out weaknesses with alternative views. You could do this by arguing that
the opposing views have implausible consequences. You might also look for
flaws in the arguments for these views. Be fair to those who put forward views
you disagree with. Make sure that your representation of your opponent's
position is accurate! You will do better by tackling your opponents position at
its strongest than by defeating a travesty of it.

b) Raise objections to your view and respond to them.

c) Try to spell out intuitions or principles that motivate your position. But also
reflect on whether these are intuitions and principles that some might reject.

d) Show that your view fits better than alternative views with agreed upon
assumptions, or with practices that we would not want to change.

4. Refer to at least some of the readings you have been assigned and/or lectures
you have attended. A paper that you could have written without having taken
the course, based on what you feel about an issue, or perhaps on what you
have read in a newspaper, is not satisfactory. You need to demonstrate that you
have engaged with the materials used in the course. Your paper should include
footnotes or endnotes citing works that you quote or closely paraphrase, and a
bibliography listing the works you discuss or that have influenced you. But it is
depth, rather than breadth, of reading that is important. (There is no need to list
everything you have read.)

5. Be clear and explicit. Lack of clarity is one of the most common problems
found in student papers. Here are a few hints:

a) Explain yourself as fully as possible, within the word limits.

b) Make sure the structure of your paper is clear. At the beginning of your paper,
state briefly what you intend to accomplish: say which questions you're
addressing and what position you plan to argue for. Throughout the paper, give
"road signs" that say what you're trying to do. Some examples of road signs:
"There are two objections one might raise against my position. The first is..." Or:
"We've just seen why Bloggs thinks that we ought to do X. Bloggs argument fails
for the following reason..."

c) Define any technical terms. Write as if your reader is unfamiliar with the
material.

d) Illustrate your points with examples.

e) Make your assumptions explicit.

f) Use simple prose. Clarity is more important than displaying your wide
vocabulary or your ability to construct long sentences.

6. Helpful hints:
You are encouraged to discuss your work with your friends, but if you get a
central idea from someone else, you should acknowledge this in a note.
Some people find it helpful to read their work to themselves out loud in that
way they pick up ungrammatical sentences, or arguments that do not follow.
It is also a good idea to write a draft, and let it sit for a day or two before going
back to it afresh. That gives you some distance from which you can be more self-
critical about what you have written. But for that, you have to start writing well
before the deadline always a good idea in any case.