Writing Prompt: Final Paper
- You don’t need to answer all the questions about the weekly topic. You mayfreely choose to answer 1-3 (or even more) questions to compose the mainstructure of your essay.
- 1500-2000 words, double space, 12 pts, uploaded via blackboard as PDF or Word.
- There’s no specific citation format needed (but welcome to do so in a certain unified format). But if you do cite some external resources other than reading the material, please specify the name of the work and author’s name at least.
(A-1) Briefly explain the main idea behind utilitarianism. What are consequentialist principle and utility principle?
(A-2) What counts as utility for Benthem? Briefly describe his utilitarianism. What is the potential problem of Benthem’s utilitarianism?
(A-3) Briefly explain the difference between hypothetical and categorical imperatives. (B-1)Briefly describe act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. What’s the difference between them (you may make some examples to illustrate the difference)?
(B-2) Briefly describe the respective difficulties of act-utilitarianism and rule- utilitarianism. Do you think these difficulties can be answered?
(B-3) What is the problem of formulating utilitarianism? Can the problem be responded?
(B-4) How does Kant build up his moral theory from maxim to first-order principles? How will his moral theory give a test to our actions (take stealing from others or lying as examples.)
(B-5) What are principle of ends and principle of autonomy? Can they help us to give a test to see whether our actions are morally justifiable?
(C-1) Compare Kant’s deontological system and utilitarianism. Which account is more plausible? Why and why not?