Essay 1 Assignment minimum 350 words 

Topics for your Essay, Choose one :

Topic A: You try to live strictly by the moral  rules contained in your religion’s moral code. The two most important  rules are “Be merciful” (don’t give people what they deserve) and “Be  just” (give people exactly what they deserve). Now suppose a man is  arrested for stealing food from your house, and the police leave it up  to you whether he should be prosecuted for his crime or set free. Should  you be merciful and set him free, or be just and make sure he is  appropriately punished? How do you resolve this conflict of rules? Can  your moral code resolve it? To what moral principles or theories do you  appeal?

Topic B: Why do you think  people are tempted to use the straw man fallacy in disagreements on  moral issues? How do you feel when someone uses this fallacy against  you? To demonstrate your understanding and to teach the idea to the rest  of the class, provide a relevant real-life example of  the logical mistake. (You MAY use an outside source to help you present  your example; be sure to summarize or paraphrase, cite, and use  announcing verbs.) Choose carefullyconsider whether your example does a  good job of illustrating a Straw Man. Compare it to similar fallacies,  and show why your example is a Straw Man rather than another fallacy  like an Appeal to the Person. Your discussion of your example should be  detailed so that readers can evaluate the fallacy. Argue the case for  why your example is an example of Straw Man.