A Woman's Right to Have an Abortion.Explain

Phil 104: Ethics – first paper assignment Choose one of the following topics. Write a paper of 1200-1600 words (about 3-5 pages double-spaced) expressing an opinion on that topic, giving an argument in support of that opinion, identifying possible counterarguments, and replying to those counterarguments. Submit your paper to the Dropbox on the course D2L site by 11:59pm on Friday, October 9. Be sure to read the “Papers” and “Academic Integrity” sections of the syllabus before you begin. The main goal of the paper is to show original thought. Topic options – choose one: 1. In your opinion, does it make sense to treat a woman’s decision of whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy as a personal decision in which she should follow her own conscience, or is it appropriate for others to try to stop her from making a mistake? Explain your answer. (Also, explain how some people might argue against your answer, and how you would respond to them.) 2. In your opinion, when we teach our children that cheating is wrong, is “cheating is wrong” best understood as a logical truth like “the number eleven is prime,” an objective fact about the world like “Denali is the tallest mountain in North America,” a culturally-relative truth like “belching after a meal is impolite,” or a subjective personal opinion like “autumn is the most pleasant season”? Explain your answer. (Also, explain how some people might argue against your answer, and how you would respond to them.) 3. In your opinion, would the world be a better place if more people obeyed the moral teachings of their various religions, or would it be better if more people thought for themselves and rejected religious rules in cases where they did not see a good reason for those rules? Explain your answer. (Also, explain how some people might argue against your answer, and how you would respond to them.) Paper Grading Criteria In general, to get an “A” on the take-home papers you must do the following: 1. Take a position on one of the topics. I am not interested in reading about how there can be reasonable people on all sides; I am interested in reading about which side you choose to identify with. Try to articulate general principles that let me see not just what you think about the particularly cases you address, but also what you would say about related cases that others writing on the topic might bring up. 2. Organize your ideas. It should be obvious to me what role each paragraph, and ideally each sentence, is playing in your paper: how it contributes to your overall position, how that contribution differs from every other paragraph’s (or sentence’s) contribution, and why you presented it in the order that you did. (Do not just convert your lecture notes into paragraph form: show me that you understand the class material well enough to separate ethical ideas that are useful to you from ones that are not.) 3. Give an argument for your position, of the sort that might convince an undecided person to join the side you have chosen. (For example, you might try to show how your position is consistent with common sense judgments about right and wrong, or how alternative positions have unacceptable implications.) 4. Show original thought. Do something to make your paper stand out as unique. (For example, you might illustrate your view and/or its strengths with original examples drawn from other courses, from your personal life, from a favorite book or TV show, or even from your imagination.) I want to see that you are thinking about the course material and putting your own personal stamp on it, not just regurgitating the lectures and readings. 5. Recognize possible counterarguments. Tell me what objections you think people who disagreed with you might raise against your argument, and what response you would offer to them. (Think of your paper as summarizing your side of an entire conversation, not just your opening remarks.) 6. Express yourself clearly. Your paper should be free of distracting spelling or grammar errors. Informal language is okay as long as it’s clear—a good paper is one that would sound natural if read aloud, not one full of stilted academese