Ethics essay 2000 words, no plagiarism, will update lecture notes

I. Instruction

You are going to write a paper on a topic in applied ethics. You can choose from one of the topics below:

1. Civil Disobedience

2. Abortion

3. Homosexuality and Marriage

After you have chosen your topic, please choose at least two of the suggested readings(see Section IV below)

under the topic and do either or both of the following:

² You might attempt to defend a specific position by arguing for or against the positions and

arguments in the two (or more) selected readings.

² You might compare the positions in the two (or more) selected readings and decide which one of

them is superior (provided that their positions are different).

Note that your paper should not merely be a report of the selected readings. Your paper should consist

mainly of your own position and arguments. More precisely, the essay should include all of the following:

1. a title that illustrates the key question(s) of the paper;

2. an introduction;

3. a brief summary of the two (or more) selected readings, with a clear articulation of their central

questions and arguments, and the ethical theories they are based on;

4. your positions and your reactions to the central questions and arguments, i.e. whether you agree

or disagree with the authors;

5. at least two clearly stated reasons to support your position (with the support of examples);

6. a consideration of any good counter-arguments against your position;

7. a short conclusion;

8. bibliography.

You are welcome to include additional literatures in your paper and please also note that you are free to

take up any position.

II. Format and Rules of the Final Paper:

1.Please type your report on A4 paper, double-spaced with a font size of 12.

2.Required length of the written report: around 2000 words.

IV. Suggested Readings

1. Civil Disobedience

- Cohen, Carl. (1971) “Seven Arguments Against Civil Disobedience,” Civil Disobedience: Conscience,

Tactics, and the Law, M-Publishing-University of Michigan Library, pp. 129-172.

- Delmas, Candice. (2017) “Disobedience, Civil and Otherwise,” Criminal Law and Philosophy,

Volume 11, Issue 1, 195–211.

- King, Martin Luther, Jr. (1991) “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” Civil Disobedience in Focus, Hugo

A. Bedau ed., NY: Routledge.

- Rawls, John. (1991) “Definition and Justification of Civil Disobedience,” Civil Disobedience in Focus,

Hugo A Bedau ed., NY: Routledge.

- Storing, Herbert. (1991) “The Case Against Civil Disobedience,” Civil Disobedience in Focus, Hugo A.

Bedau ed., NY: Routledge.

2. Abortion

- English, Jane. (1984) “Abortion and the Concept of a Person,” The Problem of Abortion, Joel Feinberg

ed., Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub. Co., 151-161.

- Jarvis, Thomson Judith. (1971) “A Defense of Abortion,” Philosophy and Public Affairs, Volume 1,

No. 1, 47-66.

- Marquis, Dan. (2011) “Why Abortion is Immoral,” Applied Ethics: A Multicultural Approach (5th

Edition), Larry May, Shari Collins-Chobanian and Kai Wong ed., NJ: Prentice Hall, pp. 403-415.

- Nie, Jing-Bao. (1999) “The Problem of Coerced Abortion in China and Related Ethical Issues,”

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 8, 463–479.

- Warren Mary Anne. (2011) “On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion,” Applied Ethics: A

Multicultural Approach (5th Edition), Larry May, Shari Collins-Chobanian and Kai Wong ed., NJ:

Prentice Hall, pp. 397-402.

3. Homosexuality and Marriage

- Rajczi, Alex. (2008) “A Populist Argument for Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage”, The Monist, Volume

91, No. 3 & 4, 475-505.

- Jordon, Jeff. (2011) “Is it Wrong to Discriminate on the Basis of Homosexuality?” Applied Ethics: A

Multicultural Approach (5th Edition), Larry May, Shari Collins-Chobanian and Kai Wong ed., NJ:

Prentice Hall, pp. 236-245.

- Boonin, David. (1999) “Same-Sex Marriage and the Argument from Public Disagreement,” Journal

of Social Philosophy, Volume. 30 No. 2, 251–259.

- Pope, Stephen. (2004) “The Magisterium arguments against Same-Sex Marriage: An Ethical

Analysis and Critique,” Theological Studies, 65, 530-565.

- Kenney, D. James. & Jerry Newcombe. (2004) “The Top Twelve Reasons We’re Opposed to SameSex Marriage”, in What’s Wrong With Same-Sex Marriage, Crossing Book, 53-70.