Philosophy 20: Ethics 

Pierce College

Department of Philosophy & Sociology 

Summer Session A, 2019

First Essay Prompt

Due Thursday, June 20 by 11:59PM, via email both as an attachment and pasted into the body of your email.  

This assignment amounts to 28.3% of your course grade (unless it gets dropped as the lowest one of the four essays you write). 

In five pages (that is, in no fewer than five pages, and no more than five and a half pages): 

1) provide about a one-page explanation of Heilbroner's point about the limits of rationality with regards to the future and the environment, from his "What has Posterity Ever Done for Me?";

2) provide about a one-page explanation of Kant's Categorical Imperative, including its first and second formulations, from the assigned Kant excerpt;

3) provide about a one-page explanation of Mill's Happiness Principle, including the explicit distinction between base and intellectual pleasures and pains, and the implicit distintion between short- and long-term consequences, from the assigned Mill excerpt;

4) argue for the one ethical theory (from above) that you think would best persuade one of your friends to agree with the parts of Heilbroner that you've explained above; and

5) defend your argument in 4) against a naysayer to either your argument in 4) or your explanation in 1), 2), or 3).

If you submit someone else's ideas, words, or phrases, you must cite those individuals: plagiarism of any kind will not be accepted.  If you submit ideas, words, or phrases from a previous essay of your own, explicitly state as much.  Please do not just represent, word for word, old material.  Go to http://libguides.piercecollege.edu/citation for excellent information on citing.

Use one-inch margins all around, double-spacing throughout, and Times New Roman font, size 12 only–and no title pages or page numbers please. Also, you should get into the habit of naming your attachments so that they indicate it is from you, and what the attachment includes.  For me, name your essay attachments as follows: First name space last name course number and essay number.  For example, if Kweego Benahoot wants to turn in the first essay in Philosophy 20, the attachment name would be:  Kweego BenahootP20E1.docx .