Week 1 – Assignment
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Chapter 1 of the textbook. This chapter will introduce you to the basic form and subject matter of ethical reasoning and assist you as you select an ethical question, examine the context, issues, and arguments surrounding the question, and attempt to defend an answer to the question.
Please read these assignment instructions before writing your paper as they contain very precise and specific instructions on both the content and format requirements. You should download the provided outline and use that to structure your paper, as well as consult the assignment guidance and modeled example for additional help. Finally, before submitting your assignment please use the checklist to ensure that you have completed all of the requirements.
Overview
This course has three written assignments that build upon one another and are designed to take you step-by-step through a process of writing a paper that identifies an ethical question, examines the context, issues, and arguments surrounding the question, and attempts to defend an answer to that question using strong moral reasoning.
This first written assignment is a six-part exercise comprised of the following sections:
The assignment should be 500 words, written in essay form, with six clearly labeled sections as indicated below, and include a title page and reference page.
Part 1: Ethical Question
Before writing the paper, you will need to spend some time thinking about the specific ethical issue you want to focus on throughout this course.
Place the ethical question under the Part 1: Ethical Question heading at the top of the paper.
Part 2: Introduction
In this section of your paper, you should introduce the topic and question at issue by doing the following (not necessarily in this exact order):
The introduction will be the longest section of this assignment and should be at least 300 words in one or two paragraphs. Place the introduction material under the Part 2: Introduction.
Part 3: Position Statement
Your work on the introduction section has likely unearthed various positions one might take on the ethical question you have chosen. In this section, you will formulate a position statement.
Place the position statement under the Part 3: Position Statement heading.
Part 4: Reasons in Support of Your Position
Now that you have articulated a position on the issue, write a short paragraph—just a few sentences—that presents and explains one or two of the strongest reasons in support of your position statement.
Place the supporting reason(s) under the Part 4: Reasons in Support of Your Position heading.
Part 5: Opposing Position Statement
Now that you have provided reasons to support your position statement, in this section you will take a step back from all of that and articulate a statement that expresses an opposing or contrary statement.
Place the opposing position statement under the Part 5: Opposing Position Statement heading.
Part 6: Reasons in Support of the Opposing Position
In this section, write a short paragraph—just a few sentences—that presents and explains one or two of the strongest reasons in support of the opposing position statement.
Place the opposing reasons under the Part 6: Reasons in Support of the Opposing Position heading.
In your paper,
The Ethical Question paper
Assignment outline below –
PHI 208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning
Prof.
Part 1: Ethical Question
Part 2: Introduction
Part 3: Position Statement
Part 4: Reasons in Support of Your Position
Part 5: Opposing Position Statement
Part 6: Reasons in Support of the Opposing Position
References
Modeled example below –
Protecting Freedom of Speech
Student Name
PHI 208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning
Prof. Phil O’Sopher
March 15, 2018
Protecting Freedom of Speech
Part 1: Ethical Question
Do we have a moral obligation to protect free speech even in cases where that speech causes harm to others?
Part 2: Introduction
In August of 2107, the city of Charlottesville, Virginia became the focal point of violent demonstrations that resulted in injury, death and psychological harm. The violence was the result of clashes between white supremacists who gathered in Charlottesville for a planned “Unite the Right†rally to protest the possible removal of the Confederate Statue of Robert E. Lee (Katz, n.d.). The violence included hate speech in the form of signs, chants and a Friday night “Hitler youth†torch rally. These events and the reactions to them launched the issue of free speech into the national spotlight.
Freedom of speech is one of the most fundamental rights cherished by Americans and granted to all through our Constitution, but ethical issues arise when the exercise of that right results in direct harm to others. The primary ethical issue that arises concerns the balance between protecting this fundamental right of speech and preventing the harm associated with hate speech. According to our textbook, ethics asks the question of how we should live and that with “each conscious, deliberate choice we make, we are living out an answer to this question†(Thames, 2018. Sec. 1.1). This paper will consider whether we have a moral obligation to choose to protect free speech even in cases where it results in harm.
Part 3: Position Statement
Even though it can cause harm to others, freedom of speech should be protected as an absolute right.
Part 4: Reasons in Support of Your Position
Freedom of speech should be protected as an absolute right because it is one of the founding ideas on which our country is based. Any attempt to limit free speech can only be based on compelling reasons that justify taking away a fundamental right. While the prevention of harm is a compelling reason, it does not, by itself, provide sufficient justification for taking away a fundamental right. In addition, a close look at the historical origins of this right and its defense throughout our country’s history show that it was designed to protect all speech, including offensive or hate speech. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government: When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved†(Post Editors, n.d., para. 1).
Part 5: Opposing Position Statement
Because causing harm to others is unethical and sometimes illegal, we have a moral obligation to limit the exercise of free speech when it is intended to or likely to cause harm to others.
Part 6: Reasons in Support of the Opposing Position
Americans have many rights granted to them by the Constitution, but these rights are not absolute or limitless and they carry with them a responsibility to uphold laws (Brandenburg v. Ohio n.d.). It is perfectly legal to hate someone, but it is illegal to act on that hate if doing so causes harm. From an ethical standpoint, our responsibility to act in certain ways goes beyond merely conforming to society’s laws. Harming another person is unethical. Hate speech is intended to cause harm and sometimes creates an incendiary environment, as it did in Charlottesville that results in injury or death. Therefore hate speech is unethical and we have a moral obligation to limit free speech when it is likely to cause harm to others.
References
Brandenburg v. Ohio. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1968/492
Katz, A. (n.d.). Unrest in Virginia. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/charlottesville-white-nationalist-…
Post Editors (n.d.). Great American thinkers on free speech. Retrieved from http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2015/01/16/hist…
Thames, B. (2018). How should one live? An introduction to ethics and moral reasoning (3rd ed.). [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/
Checklist below –
This checklist can help you ensure that you have completed all of the assignment instructions.
Choose a specific ethical question from the list provided, or formulate one that is sufficiently specific and focused on an ethical issue, and place it under the PART ONE: ETHICAL QUESTION heading at the top of the paper. |
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Provide an introduction to the topic, and place it under the PART TWO: INTRODUCTION heading. |
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Formulate a statement of the position you believe is strongest, and place it under the PART THREE: POSITION STATEMENT heading. |
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Identify and explain the strongest reason in support of the position statement, and place it under the PART FOUR: REASONS IN SUPPORT OF YOUR POSITION heading. |
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Formulate a statement of an opposing position, and place it under the PART FIVE: OPPOSING POSITION STATEMENT heading. |
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Identify and explain the strongest reason in support of the opposing position statement, and place it under the PART SIX: REASONS IN SUPPORT OF THE OPPOSING POSITION heading. |
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Include a title page and list of references. |
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Proofread carefully for mechanical and grammatical errors. |
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Format the assignment in APA style. |
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Write at least 500 words |