Whenever you read or hear an interesting or questionable argument about an ethical issue, remember or copy it, then write a summary [if it is online, give a URL link] and comment for the Dustbin. Whenever one of your classmates posts an argument or comment that seems interesting or questionable, write a response for the Dustbin.

You should start a thread every other week. You should also respond to one of your classmates' threads every other week. The deadline for submission each week is Friday at 11.59pm.

The best grades will go to posts which:

summarize clearly and accurately
comment or critique incisively
are alert to the complexity of ethical concepts and issues
are sensitive to the nuances, ambiguities and beauties of language
show an understanding of ethical principles and approaches, and an ability to apply them
maintain civility even in disagreement.
A detailed brief and a grading rubric are available in the assessment guide in Modu

Please put into your own words, to make it sound as if I wrote it. I provided an example of what he likes. Last time I turned in my essay from here he said I sounded very sketchy.

Material things, including ones own body are completely subject to physical laws. The immaterial mind can move ones body. Are these two claims compatible? Explain

General instructions            The midterm is in two parts of equal weight: 1 epistemology, and 2 ethics and Utilitarianism. You should write an essay of about 500-1000 words on one topic from each part. You may undertake research and discuss your responses with others, but your essays should be entirely in your own words.

The best answers will show: that you understand and can apply key concepts from the first half of the course; that you can use technical terms correctly; that you are aware of and can express complexities in philosophical reasoning; that you are conscious of your own ethical preferences and biases. The best essays will be clearly organized, precisely and elegantly written, carefully proofread, and attractively presented.

Please submit your midterm as a single Word document.



Part 1 Epistemology

Write an essay of 500-1000 words on one of these three topics:

1         

Write a paper on women in law enforcement. Some main points are: first women in law enforcement, percentage of women in law enforcement from last to present, hardships and benefits of women in law enforcement.

(ALL Sources MUST be come from CSU Online Library from Criminology Collection Database or Ebsohost Database)

Raise an counterexample to the article provided.  A counterexample consists in a well-reasoned challenge to any point discussed in the article. Any counterexample must have a source such that it comes from someones life experiences, which include, but are not limited to, your personal observations, stories you read, conversations you hear, etc.

Raise an counterexample to the article provided.  A counterexample consists in a well-reasoned challenge to any point discussed in the article. Any counterexample must have a source such that it comes from someones life experiences, which include, but are not limited to, your personal observations, stories you read, conversations you hear, etc.

The Problem of God's Foreknowledge
Here's a puzzle we only briefly mentioned in class. We've discussed the assumption that God is omniscient in considering the Problem of Evil earlier. God's omniscience, however, also figures in a further puzzle:

Does God know or does He not know that a certain individual will be good or bad? If thou sayest 'He knows', then it necessarily follows that man is compelled to act as God knew beforehand he would act, otherwise God's knowledge would be imperfect. --Maimonides (1135-1204)

Sometimes called 'theological fatalism', the puzzle arises when we consider that God's omniscience on any plausible account of 'omniscience' presupposes that God knows both everything that has happened in the past and everything that will happen in the future. Yet we human beings are supposed to enjoy freedom of will. We freely choose to do good or bad, and we are held morally praiseworthy or morally blameworthy as a result. That is, moral responsibility is p

Should Batman kill the Joker :
Paragraph 1: Give the consequentialism argument.

Paragraph 2: Give the deontological ethics argument.


Paragraph 3: Give the virtue ethics argument.


Paragraph 4: With reference to the three arguments above, do you believe Batman should kill the Joker? Why or why not?


The claims and counterclaims should be supported with reference to (1) the two sources above; and (2) consequentialism, deontological ethics, and virtue ethics.
The synthesis may adopt a strong position (perhaps a fourth path), or it may concede that three seemingly contradictory positions may be tolerated in parallel, or there may even be recognition of inherent ambiguity and/or impasse.
Avoid taking a debate-like, adversarial approach that culminates in a singular, neatly sewn up, winning argument. Knowledge Questions are open-ended. The idea is not to resolve them. Rather, the reader of the response should be taken on a fascinating journeya

Instructions
Choose one of the following prompts and write a 3-4 page essay in response to it:

1. Does Descartes overcome solipsism in his Meditations on First Philosophy?
2. Does Descartes exonerate God from being the cause of error in human nature, defined as a combination or union of mind and body?
3. Develop a Cartesian analysis of a monster movie.

Everyone usually has some guiding principles which help them navigate life, and this assignment seeks to help you analyze what those principles might be. You are also asked to clearly express the main ideas of a particular philosophical article, and explain how those ideas pertain to your life in the past, present, and/or future.