Ethics, or moral philosophy, is the branch of philosophy concerned with discovering moral truth, or how we ought to live. This is no small matter, and there can be sensible moral disagreement regarding each of the topics we discuss. One of the goals is to help you develop the skills to analyze and evaluate moral arguments. Each weekly module will contain a writing assignment (Modules 1-3, 5-7 contain a short essay assignment, module 4 a midterm paper, and module 8 a term paper assignment), and these assignments will task you to think about our readings and evaluate the theories and arguments we discuss.
Essay assignments have no set page length,
Overview
Unit 1 Lecture 1 discusses a variety of ways to critically evaluate theories. One of these ways is to evaluate whether a theory is consistent with our commonsense moral intuitions.
In this week’s essay, you will summarize Peter Singer’s “shallow pond” though experiment from Famine, Affluence, and Morality (Links to an external site.), explain what the example is meant to show, then discuss whether you share the same intuitions as Peter Singer does, and what that may imply for how you should treat those in need.
Assignment
This essay will consist of two section, which may contain multiple paragraphs each. Use Bolded Section Headings to separate these sections.
Section 1: In the first section of your paper, briefly summarize Peter Singer’s “shallow pond” thought experiment from Famine, Affluence, and Morality (Links to an external site.)in your own words. (Do not merely quote it.)
Then, in a separate paragraph, explain what Peter Singer thinks this thought experiment shows and why.
Section 2:
In this section you will evaluate Peter Singer’s “shallow pond” thought experiment using your personal, pre-theoretical commonsense moral intuitions.
A moral intuition is a moral belief or feeling that you have when you think about a moral issue. Think of moral intuitions as moral sense data, not unlike sight, smell, or hearing. When people experience or think about moral cases, they often have the intuition that the experience or case is morally desirable or undesirable. Sometimes moral intuitions can be difficult to explain or describe; other times they’re very easy to explain.
Singer is pretty clear about how he thinks people should behave in the “shallow pond” case; but what do your moral intuitions say? Explain whether you share the same intuitions Singer does, or whether you disagree and why. You may use your own examples, thought experiments, and experience to support your position.
Note: If your paper includes a discussion inspired by an external source (other than our assigned readings), include a References page that cites that source. (Quoting an external source, or borrowing from an external source without a reference will count as plagiarism, so make sure to cite your sources!)
