This proposal should include an ethical topic (such as euthanasia, or abortion, or animal rights, etc) that you will critique with the use of one or more moral theories that we have learned about (see below). One short paragraph for this part of the proposal is sufficient. Make sure your proposal paragraph has a clear statement of the thesis that you will be defending. It should also include a list of three academic resources that you will use to begin your research on the topic. One of them can be an encyclopedia article. One should be a primary reading. Example: Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. The third one should be an academically, peer-reviewed journal article from the APUS online library. These three resources will form your beginning bibliography. The bibliography should be annotated, which means that you should explain in one or two sentences why each resource is helpful and how you will use it. Lastly, your proposal should include a brief description of at least one thing in the Philosophy Program Guide that you saw that might be helpful for your final paper. The proposal as a whole does not need to be in a particular style, but your references should be in the citation style you use in your program (APA, MLA, Turabian, et cetera).
Check out the Philosophy Program Guide in the APUS Library: Philosophy Program Guide
For this assignment, use one (or more) of the moral theories to critically discuss a contemporary topic of your choice. When considering a contemporary topic, think about current events, some ethical issue you are passionate about, or an ethical issue you know a lot about, or perhaps even encounter in your professional or personal life. It can be an issue you have worked on in the past, as long as most of your research and writing for this paper is new to this class. Please check with your Instructor in advance if you want to reuse some research or writing from a past assignment in another course. If you have questions regarding selecting an issue, or researching and writing, please ask your Instructor for guidance, but you do not need specific approval for this assignment if you choose one of the ethical theories below.
When considering what ethical theory to apply to that topic, here is a short list, but it can be expanded in conjunction with your Instructor’s approval.
Aristotelian Virtue Ethics
Immanuel Kant’s Deontological Ethics
Jeremy Bentham/John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism
Social Contract Theory
John Rawls’ Theory of Justice
Ethical Egoism
