When studying the Utilitarian and the Rights-based approaches to morality, it was stated that many moral disagreements occur when one side takes one of the two approaches while the other takes the other of the two. We also noticed that both Utilitarian and Rights-based reasoning can be given for both sides of the same issue. In this essay, you will be laying out the arguments on both sides of a moral controversy and specifically identify the strongest Utilitarian and Rights-based arguments on each side.

For this essay, you will first need to choose a moral issue that you are interested in. This can be any issue as long as it is of a moral nature (as opposed to a non-moral nature) and is controversial, i.e. two reasonable people could disagree. Your topic could be one of the traditional controversial moral issues (abortion, capital punishment, physician assisted suicide, etc.). However, it doesn’t have to be. Choose a moral issue that you care about and that matters to you and your life. You will be writing on this topic both in this essay and in the final essay, so choose a topic that you really want to look deeply into. If you have any doubts about whether your chosen issue fits these criteria, I’d be happy to discuss this with you on an individual basis.

Once you have chosen your issue, you will write an essay on how a utilitarian and a rights-based ethicist would approach both sides of the same issue. What concepts could a utilitarian use to support and defend both sides of the debate? What concepts could a rights-based ethicist use? What reasons would they give to support their positions?

Note: I am NOT asking for how you would approach the issue. You will have your opportunity to develop your position in the final paper of the semester. For now, we want to focus on understanding why people believe what they believe when they take the utilitarian and rights-based approaches to justifying moral positions.

The Assignment:

Write an essay in which you use the ethical reasoning of utilitarianism and rights based morality to morally defend both sides of the issue that you have chosen. You should explain and apply at least two utilitarian concepts in your essay for EACH side and at least two rights-based concepts for EACH side (so a total of at least 8 concepts). For a more thorough essay, you could explain and apply additional concepts for each side. Eight concepts is simply the minimum.

-‘Explaining’ means describing the moral concept in general in enough detail that someone who has never heard of the concept would be able to understand how it is being used. Explaining the concept before applying it demonstrates that you fully understand the concepts being used and discussed in the essay.

-‘Applying’ means explicitly showing how the concept being discussed fits into the specific issue that you are discussing. For example, if you are using the principle of utility, you would explicitly show whose pleasure is being included and how that pleasure is being maximized.

The following list may be used for reference, however, it is not meant to be exhaustive. For the sake of clarity, at the top of your essay, write down separately which concepts you intend to explain and apply in your essay for both sides to give a moral map of the debate.

Sample Utilitarian Concepts Sample Rights-based Concepts

The principle of utility 4 Steps to the Categorical Imperative

Deterrence Duty, not Prudence

Sanctions Treating Humans as an End in Themselves

Altruism Respecting Autonomy

Higher/lower pleasure Primary Goods

Public/private morality Original Position

Competent judge 1st Principle of Justice

Reducing human misery 2nd Principle of Justice

Consequences Equal vs. Equitable Treatment

Capitalism Non-Ideal Action Leading Toward Ideal

Example of a Moral Map (also see the final slides of the powerpoint for more specific examples):

Concepts Supporting Side A:

Concept 1 from Util:

Concept 2 from Util:

Concept 3 from Rights-based:

Concept 4 from Rights-based:

– Concepts Supporting Side B:

Concept 1 from Util:

Concept 2 from Util:

Concept 3 from Rights-based:

Concept 4 from Rights-based:

Your essay will be graded based on 1) thoroughness, 2) clarity, and 3) the accurate use of utilitarian and rights-based reasoning to make your point for each side. In this essay, I am looking for your ability to identify and employ utilitarian and rights-based reasoning, so avoid using other types of moral reasoning.

Furthermore, I am looking for your ability to reconstruct the arguments of others in a fair way. So, use the strongest arguments you can come up with for both sides and present them in a balanced way. It should not be evident what your personal position on this issue is

The Format:

At the top of the essay, you should write down your moral map (see Sample Moral Map above) to the way that each side would approach your issue, i.e. you will write down a list of at least four concepts that will be used to defend each side of the debate.

The essay portion should have at least 10 paragraphs (this layout will show how the organization of paragraphs in your essay might look). Also, be sure to include the following headings:

Title (give your essay a title related to your topic)

1st Paragraph- You should introduce the issue that you will be addressing and specifically state what the two sides of the issue are. Be as specific as you can be. Try to answer the question of why this issue is so controversial. Then, conclude this paragraph with your thesis statement, a statement that summarizes what your essay will be about. In this essay, since you are reconstructing the arguments on both sides and are not defending a position of your own, your thesis may be something simple like “In this essay, I will show the arguments on both sides of this issue from both a Utilitarian and Rights-based perspective”.

Arguments Supporting Side A (Give a heading indicating that the paragraphs that follow will all support Side A’s position)

2nd Paragraph- You should explain in general the first concept that a utilitarian would use to support this side of the issue. Give enough detail to convey your understanding of the concept. Then, show how this concept applies to your chosen moral issue. Make the connection between the concept and the issue explicit.

3rd Paragraph- You should explain in general the second concept that a utilitarian would use to support this side of the issue. Give enough detail to convey your understanding of the concept. Then, show how this concept applies to your chosen moral issue. Make the connection between the concept and the issue explicit. Use a transition sentence to show that you will then be turning to the rights-based arguments supporting this same side of the issue.

4th Paragraph- You should explain in general the first concept that a rights-based ethicist would use to support this side of the issue. Give enough detail to convey your understanding of the concept. Then, show how this concept applies to your chosen moral issue. Make the connection between the concept and the issue explicit.

5th Paragraph- You should explain in general the second concept that a rights-based ethicist would use to support this side of the issue. Give enough detail to convey your understanding of the concept. Then, show how this concept applies to your chosen moral issue. Make the connection between the concept and the issue explicit.

Arguments Supporting Side B (Give a heading indicating that the paragraphs that follow will all support Sides B’s position)

6th Paragraph- You should explain in general the first concept that a utilitarian would use to support Side B’s position on the issue. Give enough detail to convey your understanding of the concept. Then, show how this concept applies to your chosen moral issue. Make the connection between the concept and the issue explicit.

7th Paragraph- You should explain in general the second concept that a utilitarian would use to support Side B’s position on the issue. Give enough detail to convey your understanding of the concept. Then, show how this concept applies to your chosen moral issue. Make the connection between the concept and the issue explicit. Then, give a transition sentence that says that you will now be turning to the rights-based arguments that support the same side on the issue.

8th Paragraph- You should explain in general the first concept that a rights-based ethicist would use to support Side B’s position on the issue. Give enough detail to convey your understanding of the concept. Then, show how this concept applies to your chosen moral issue. Make the connection between the concept and the issue explicit.

9th Paragraph- You should explain in general the second concept that a rights-based ethicist would use to support this side of the issue. Give enough detail to convey your understanding of the concept. Then, show how this concept applies to your chosen moral issue. Make the connection between the concept and the issue explicit.

Conclusion (Give a heading indicating that the paragraph that follows is the Conclusion)

10th Paragraph- Conclude your essay by summarizing what you learned was the main interests on each side of the issue. Are there things that each side might be right about? Identify what these might be. This will be the foundation of agreement that you will build off of in the final essay. You can review Ch. 14 for Weston’s discussion on “What each side is right about?” and “Focusing on Interests, not Positions” to see the type of things you might put in the conclusion.

*For a more clear and fluid essay, use transition sentences between paragraphs to show how the concepts on each side of the debate connect to and build upon one another to give a cohesive argument for that side of the debate. This demonstrates not only an understanding of individual concepts, but also an understanding of the theory as a whole.

Guidelines:

– About 4-5 pages long (each paragraph would be ~1/3 to ½ a page)

– Double spaced

– 12 pt. font

– 1” margins