The Assignment:I. Based on the materials covered in chapters 1 through 7 in class, identify and explain at least three moral traditions. These are the ones that you have to choose from: The covered moral traditions from which three (or more) will be chosen are: 1) Normative Cultural Relativism, 2) Ethical Subjectivism (Individual Relativism, 3) Divine Command Theory, 4) Natural Law Tradition, 5) Ethical Egoism, 6) Social Contract Theory, 7) Utilitarianism, 8) Deontology, and 9) Virtue Ethics.II. For the three that you have chosen, do the following: 1) explain what the tradition is with enough detail and clarity that it cannot be confused with any other approach and 2) demonstrate that you are aware of critiques (positive and negative) of the approach.III. After you have done that for each of the 3 (or more) traditions, create a well-reasoned argument that supports one of the three traditions that you have selected. Why is the preferred tradition superior to the other two.This is worth 20% of the final paper grade and requires a demonstration of critical thought and reflection.IV. Do not forget to submit the document as an attached word document. Submissions will not be accepted via e-mail. To submit: 1) go to the course home page for this course, 2) go to “Paper Submissions”, 3) select “Paper 1,” 4) attach the word document file, and 5) remember to “submit.”A Suggested Outline:I. Introduction:This section should contain a general overview of what is going to be presented and perhaps why. Since a section of the paper deals with the creation of an argument, there should be a conclusion which should be incorporated into a thesis statement. This paper will consider X, Y, Z and demonstrate why Z is the more reasonable moral position. Other relevant information may be included here[Transition statement to next section] [Sub-headings may be included]II. Tradition X (select one of the five from the above list):a. What tradition has been selected? [name it]b. What is the tradition in a sentence or two?c. What are the key claims of the tradition? – More detail.d. Can you provide an application of this model to a moral problem?e. What some of the concerns (critiques) of this tradition (which may include logical mistakes among other items)?III. Tradition Y (select one of the five from the above list that you have not already used):a. What tradition has been selected? [name it]b. What is the tradition in a sentence or two?c. What are the key claims of the tradition? – More detail.d. Can you provide an application of this model to a moral problem?e. What some of the concerns (critiques) of this tradition (which may include logical mistakes among other items)?IV. Tradition Z (select one of the five from the above list that you have not already used):a. What tradition has been selected? [name it]b. What is the tradition in a sentence or two?c. What are the key claims of the tradition? – More detail.d. Can you provide an application of this model to a moral problem?e. What some of the concerns (critiques) of this tradition (which may include logical mistakes among other items)?V. Moral Argument:a. What tradition of the three that have been presented is the most defensible? [state it]b. What are some of the appealing parts of this tradition?c. What are some of the appealing parts of the other traditions?d. Why are the appealing parts of the selected tradition preferable?e. What are some of the objections (counter-arguments) that one might make to the selected tradition?f. How might the counter-arguments be addressed through counter-counter-arguments or can they be?g. Optional – You may also wish to address as a separate paragraph the general objections to all moral arguments that we have seen (determinism, Nihilism, emotivism/expressionism)VI. Conclusion:a. Note this is not a place to introduce new concepts or arguments.b. The general goal here is to remind the reading in a concise way of the most important points that your paper has made.A Note on Citation:The appropriate citation for philosophy is Modern Language Association (MLA) or Chicago Style. Please use MLA. Papers should contain internal and end citation. Internal citation will provide an introduction to indicate where cited information begins, the cited material, and end with parenthetical citation to show where the cited information ends. For each item cited within the work, there should be a corresponding, but fuller citation, in the “Sources Cited” section. The “Sources Cited” section should contain all and only information about courses actually cited in the work.
