All sections of INT 100 will read “The Apology” and/or “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato from the Reflect, Connect, Engage reader. You are asked to analyze and interpret the major ideas from Plato and one other course author of your choosing. Compare and contrast these thinkers on how they approach ethical thinking and evaluate how their ethical thinking would respond to a major problem that you face today (as an individual, a student, a member of society, a global citizen, etc. – your choice). How do you think the problem that you have identified is best approached? You will develop your own ethical stance on the problem in distinction to the two authors’ stances.
There are four major components to this essay:
1. Plato’s approach to ethical deliberation
2. A second author of your choosing and their approach to ethical deliberation
3. Your own approach to ethical deliberation
4. An ethical problem which can serve as a vehicle for discussing these three different approaches
Important terms to know:
Ethics: a set of principles for conducting oneself according to one’s evaluations of right and wrong; “a consciousness of moral importance” (Merriam Webster)
Ethical Dilemma: A situation in which one must make a choice of how to behave by weighing the options of rightness or wrongness
Parts 1-3: Comparison
• Questions to ask yourself when evaluating the thinkers you have chosen:
What are the ethical viewpoints of each thinker? How would Plato approach an ethical dilemma? What do these authors value? How do you approach problems that demand ethical action?
• State these authors’ positions abstractly (generally) and interpret their strategies for ethical thinking
• Think about how their positions may be applied to any ethical dilemma Compare and contrast the authors’ approaches with your own approach
Part 4: Ethical Dilemma
• What is an ethical dilemma you face? It can be a problem you face on a personal level or on a big-picture scale
• This part is the least important of the important parts. This is not a research paper, so
I do not need to know specifics about the problem. If you do any research about the problem, it only needs to be enough to prove that it is an ethical problem.
• Good papers will not present ethical dilemmas that have easy answers. For example:
Bad: “Should people commit murder?”
Good: “Should doctors be allowed to help end a patient’s suffering, if that patient wishes so, by performing physician-assisted suicide?”
Requirements:
• Students must give proper citations in developing their interpretations of authors’ works.
• Students must use proper writing conventions, correct grammar and spelling, and effective
organization in constructing the essay.
• Papers must be a minimum of 750 words in length.
• See grading rubric for further criteria regarding evaluation.
The Assignment:
Analyze and give an interpretation of the major ideas from Plato and one other course author of your choosing. Compare and contrast these thinkers (or characters if using a fictional source) on how they approach ethical thinking, and evaluate how their ethical thinking would respond to a major problem that you face today (as an individual, a student, a member of society, a global citizen, etc. – your choice). How do you think the problem that you’ve identified is best approached? You will develop your own ethical stance on the problem in distinction to the two authors’ stances.
Students must give proper citations (MLA) in developing their interpretations of authors’ works. Students must use proper writing conventions, correct grammar and spelling, and effective organization in constructing the essay. Papers must be a minimum of 750 words in length. A draft of the essay must be submitted in class for an essay writing workshop.