Abortion and universal lwa
Technical Details
Write a 5-6 page double-spaced paper in Times New Roman font. As far as font size is concerned, it should be no larger than 12 point, but if you are verbose and need a little more space you may drop the size to 11 or 11.5. Please reset your margins to one inch (this document is an example of such margins). Papers should be written with proper grammar (which includes capitalization, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, etc). If you happen to use a ‘block quote’, it should be single spaced, not double spaced. Also, all of your pages should have one inch top and bottom margins. Please see the Checklist for more details on formal papers. Also please carefully document your use of source material. This means you need quotation marks around direct quotations along with corresponding footnotes, parenthetical citations or endnotes and always include page numbers. Similarly, any use of paraphrases of the text should also be cited properly.
I also highly encourage students to visit during office hours to discuss their paper topic, potential thesis, sources, and organization. Sudents are also required to submit a ‘provisional thesis’ and upload it to espire. A visit to my office to discuss related details such will count in place of uploading a thesis.

An Introduction to the Assignment
In the second half of our class, we have been looking at ethics through the eyes of Kant and Aristotle.
As such, it is fitting that the final paper should connect to at least one of these thinkers. While I encourage you to pursue a paper of your own interest, it will be necessary to deal with at least some important claims by one, or both, of these thinkers as you put forth your thesis. For those of you interested in working on Utilitarianism or any of the theories that we covered in Rachels, I am making this possible provided you do this in concert with Kant or Aristotle in some fashion. Such a project helps develop the thrust of your argument as you use one theory to illuminate the differences and importance of other theories (I do not want a simple compare/contrast on the theories as a whole, or just a compare/contrast paper in general. I want an argument), and at the same time fulfill the requirement of working with Kant or Aristotle in some capacity. Nevertheless, for anyone using one of the ethical perspectives first talked about in this class, you must do research in these fields for source material since the Rachels text is not itself a primary text. You may use the Rachels text, but since this is a research paper, you are being asked to move beyond the textbook.
You might be worried that your own ethical sympathies do not lie with any of these normative systems of
ethics. This should not be a problem. You are not being asked to agree with any of these theories, only to incorporate any of the above combinations in your final paper. Part of your thesis may take the form of a denial of the relevant points in one or two of the ethical systems in the options listed above. Part of the purpose of this assignment is to make sure that you are capable of engaging with the normative systems studied in our class.
Another item to note is that there are a number of possible topics that could be researched concerning the ethical theories of a given thinker and the intersection of two of the thinkers listed above. I am not setting any limitation on how you engage this material since I expect your paper will have something to do with where you are coming from as a student of ethics. You come from a distinctive position about these matters and I encourage this; I only ask that you use clear argumentation as you set forth your own thoughts rather than mere opinion or bold assertion. If or when you state your own opinion, do not take it for granted but argue for it unless the point is so intuitive that almost anyone would agree with it. Similarly, I expect a fair treatment of whatever thinkers that you use in your assignment especially if you disagree with them. Listed below is several ways that might assist in your research. Finally, this paper should include research beyond the class material but this is also an argumentative research paper. Like the critique paper, your ideas and your voice should be a significant part of this paper.
Finding Sources for your Final Paper

(I) ePaul Library and the Library staff (including ebscohost, credoreference and jstor)
(II) Visit and meet with the professor during office hours or via email
(III) Internet Encylopedia of Philosophy http://www.iep.utm.edu/
(IV) Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy
1) Go to http://plato.stanford.edu/
2) Go to the top left corner, and enter your search term (such as Utilitarianism, Virtue Ethics, Emotions, Motivation) etc.
3) Happy Reading
4) See bottom of Article for source information, use proper web citations, and see the associated
Bibliography for other sources
See also the Foldop Dictionary of philosophy to help wade through difficult terms. http://www.swif.it/foldop/

Paper Options and Research requirements

Option 1: A paper solely on an element (or several elements) within Kant’s ethics
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Kant’s Groundwork
/ Three secondary sources which can include the entry on Kant’s Ethics from the
Encyclopedia of Philosophy or Stanford Encyclopedia sources listed on this bibliography.
Option 2: A paper solely on an element (or several elements) within Aristotle’s ethics.
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
/ Three secondary sources which can include the entry on Virtue Ethics/Aristotle from one
of the Philosophy Encyclopedia sources listed on this bibliography. Hursthouse
will also work for these sources.
Option 3: A paper engaged with elements of Utilitarian and Aristotelian ethics
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Mill’s Utilitarianism and/or Bentham’s Principles
/ Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
/ An entry on Utilitarianism from from one of the Philosophy Encyclopedia sources or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry. You may also use Williams to satisfy this.
/ An entry on Virtue Ethics/Aristotle from from one of the Philosophy Encyclopedia sources or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry.
Option 4: A paper engaged with elements of Utilitarian and Kantian ethics
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Mill’s Utilitarianism and/or Bentham’s Principles
/ Kant’s Groundwork
/ An entry on Utilitarianism from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry. You may also use Bernard Williams to satisfy this.
/ An entry on Virtue Ethics/Aristotle from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry (or Stanford).
Option 5: A paper engaged with elements of Kantian and Aristotelian ethics
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Kant’s Groundwork
/ Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
/ The entry on Kant’s Ethics from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy especially good for this).
/ The entry on Virtue Ethics/Aristotle from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something
referenced by the bibliography of this entry. You may also use Hursthouse, which is posted on e-spire to satisfy this.

Option 6: A paper engaged with elements of Kantian ethics and one of the theories Rachels discusses.
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Kant’s Groundwork
/ The entry on Kant’s Ethics from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry.
/ An entry on the corresponding theory from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy and also something referenced by the bibliography of this entry.
Option 7: A paper engaged with elements of Aristotelian ethics and one of the theories Rachels discusses.
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
/ An entry on Aristotle from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something referenced by the
bibliography of this entry. Hursthouse or Stocker would be fine as well.
/ An entry on the corresponding theory from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy and also something referenced by the bibliography of this entry.

Abortion and universal lwa
Technical Details
Write a 5-6 page double-spaced paper in Times New Roman font. As far as font size is concerned, it should be no larger than 12 point, but if you are verbose and need a little more space you may drop the size to 11 or 11.5. Please reset your margins to one inch (this document is an example of such margins). Papers should be written with proper grammar (which includes capitalization, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, etc). If you happen to use a ‘block quote’, it should be single spaced, not double spaced. Also, all of your pages should have one inch top and bottom margins. Please see the Checklist for more details on formal papers. Also please carefully document your use of source material. This means you need quotation marks around direct quotations along with corresponding footnotes, parenthetical citations or endnotes and always include page numbers. Similarly, any use of paraphrases of the text should also be cited properly.
I also highly encourage students to visit during office hours to discuss their paper topic, potential thesis, sources, and organization. Sudents are also required to submit a ‘provisional thesis’ and upload it to espire. A visit to my office to discuss related details such will count in place of uploading a thesis.

An Introduction to the Assignment
In the second half of our class, we have been looking at ethics through the eyes of Kant and Aristotle.
As such, it is fitting that the final paper should connect to at least one of these thinkers. While I encourage you to pursue a paper of your own interest, it will be necessary to deal with at least some important claims by one, or both, of these thinkers as you put forth your thesis. For those of you interested in working on Utilitarianism or any of the theories that we covered in Rachels, I am making this possible provided you do this in concert with Kant or Aristotle in some fashion. Such a project helps develop the thrust of your argument as you use one theory to illuminate the differences and importance of other theories (I do not want a simple compare/contrast on the theories as a whole, or just a compare/contrast paper in general. I want an argument), and at the same time fulfill the requirement of working with Kant or Aristotle in some capacity. Nevertheless, for anyone using one of the ethical perspectives first talked about in this class, you must do research in these fields for source material since the Rachels text is not itself a primary text. You may use the Rachels text, but since this is a research paper, you are being asked to move beyond the textbook.
You might be worried that your own ethical sympathies do not lie with any of these normative systems of
ethics. This should not be a problem. You are not being asked to agree with any of these theories, only to incorporate any of the above combinations in your final paper. Part of your thesis may take the form of a denial of the relevant points in one or two of the ethical systems in the options listed above. Part of the purpose of this assignment is to make sure that you are capable of engaging with the normative systems studied in our class.
Another item to note is that there are a number of possible topics that could be researched concerning the ethical theories of a given thinker and the intersection of two of the thinkers listed above. I am not setting any limitation on how you engage this material since I expect your paper will have something to do with where you are coming from as a student of ethics. You come from a distinctive position about these matters and I encourage this; I only ask that you use clear argumentation as you set forth your own thoughts rather than mere opinion or bold assertion. If or when you state your own opinion, do not take it for granted but argue for it unless the point is so intuitive that almost anyone would agree with it. Similarly, I expect a fair treatment of whatever thinkers that you use in your assignment especially if you disagree with them. Listed below is several ways that might assist in your research. Finally, this paper should include research beyond the class material but this is also an argumentative research paper. Like the critique paper, your ideas and your voice should be a significant part of this paper.
Finding Sources for your Final Paper

(I) ePaul Library and the Library staff (including ebscohost, credoreference and jstor)
(II) Visit and meet with the professor during office hours or via email
(III) Internet Encylopedia of Philosophy http://www.iep.utm.edu/
(IV) Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy
1) Go to http://plato.stanford.edu/
2) Go to the top left corner, and enter your search term (such as Utilitarianism, Virtue Ethics, Emotions, Motivation) etc.
3) Happy Reading
4) See bottom of Article for source information, use proper web citations, and see the associated
Bibliography for other sources
See also the Foldop Dictionary of philosophy to help wade through difficult terms. http://www.swif.it/foldop/

Paper Options and Research requirements

Option 1: A paper solely on an element (or several elements) within Kant’s ethics
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Kant’s Groundwork
/ Three secondary sources which can include the entry on Kant’s Ethics from the
Encyclopedia of Philosophy or Stanford Encyclopedia sources listed on this bibliography.
Option 2: A paper solely on an element (or several elements) within Aristotle’s ethics.
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
/ Three secondary sources which can include the entry on Virtue Ethics/Aristotle from one
of the Philosophy Encyclopedia sources listed on this bibliography. Hursthouse
will also work for these sources.
Option 3: A paper engaged with elements of Utilitarian and Aristotelian ethics
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Mill’s Utilitarianism and/or Bentham’s Principles
/ Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
/ An entry on Utilitarianism from from one of the Philosophy Encyclopedia sources or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry. You may also use Williams to satisfy this.
/ An entry on Virtue Ethics/Aristotle from from one of the Philosophy Encyclopedia sources or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry.
Option 4: A paper engaged with elements of Utilitarian and Kantian ethics
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Mill’s Utilitarianism and/or Bentham’s Principles
/ Kant’s Groundwork
/ An entry on Utilitarianism from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry. You may also use Bernard Williams to satisfy this.
/ An entry on Virtue Ethics/Aristotle from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry (or Stanford).
Option 5: A paper engaged with elements of Kantian and Aristotelian ethics
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Kant’s Groundwork
/ Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
/ The entry on Kant’s Ethics from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy especially good for this).
/ The entry on Virtue Ethics/Aristotle from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something
referenced by the bibliography of this entry. You may also use Hursthouse, which is posted on e-spire to satisfy this.

Option 6: A paper engaged with elements of Kantian ethics and one of the theories Rachels discusses.
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Kant’s Groundwork
/ The entry on Kant’s Ethics from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something referenced by the bibliography of this entry.
/ An entry on the corresponding theory from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy and also something referenced by the bibliography of this entry.
Option 7: A paper engaged with elements of Aristotelian ethics and one of the theories Rachels discusses.
+ Research requirement (four sources excluding Rachels and Introductions/Notes to Books):
/ Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
/ An entry on Aristotle from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy or something referenced by the
bibliography of this entry. Hursthouse or Stocker would be fine as well.
/ An entry on the corresponding theory from an Encyclopedia of Philosophy and also something referenced by the bibliography of this entry.