Phil 102 – The Good & the Beautiful 
[ Spring 2012 ] 

Assignment #1

DETAILS : 4 pp. length (typed, in 1.5 spacing*) value: 15 points. Submit in hard copy, not as an email  attachment.  Use in-text citations, especially for quotations (e.g., Blackburn, p. 27, or George, p. 27), and provide a full listing of sources on a separate Bibliography page (not part of the 4-page length) at the end.  Also, consult the Writings Tips handout provided, following its suggestions and avoiding the common errors  listed there.  /  (* To get 1.5 spacing, select-all the entire text, hold down Ctrl, and type ‘5’.) 

DUE : Friday, Feb. 23, by 4 p.m.  Deliver papers to my mailbox in CH 300. 

TOPIC : This short paper asks you to interrelate three or more topics from Blackburn's book on the nature of ethics.  Choose one topic from each part of the book (I, II, III) -- see list of Topics distributed in class -- and connect it with one or more from the other two parts.  

Start your planning for the paper by identifying one or two topics from each section that are of interest to  you, and that you understand.  Then think about how these topics or issues bear upon one another.  How does thinking about one area or idea lead to you to ideas and principles from another?  How do the philosophical ideas, views, or arguments interact, either supporting, opposing, or presupposing one another?  

For instance, you could relate the 'God is dead' discussion in Part I with the search for 'Reasons' in Part III. This could relate to Section 12 in Part II, specifically the deontology / consequentialism distinction, and also to various other topics there, including the meaning of life, the importance of death, the notion of absolute rights or obligations, and so on. 

Individual selection of topics, and what you do with them, will vary among students, and there is no expected or model combination that everyone should aim at.  The important thing is that you understand what you are  discussing, and that you make an active effort to link the different ideas and discussions with one another.  That is, think actively (vs. passively) about some of the basic notions and concepts encountered thus far.  The paper will demonstrate your attentive reading of  Blackburn (and George), your mental (vs. physical) 'presence' in class, and your personal reflection on course themes (vs. mere note-taking). 

Also consider using one or more of the cases we have covered in George to illustrate points in your paper.  That is, show how the more abstract notions in Blackburn actually help to analyze, illustrate, or clarify the concrete moral issues discussed in George.  

This will be a new exercise for many of you, but a good and salutary one.  Ask if you have questions or want feedback.  In that regard, it is always best if you have already thought about some possibilities and offer  something specific to comment on.