NOTIONS OF RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Paper details:
PAPER TOPIC: Notions of rights and duties (both positive and negative) were invoked in each of the three topics that we examined in this final unit: abortion, world hunger, and torture. For this assignment, you must compare and contrast the way that one of these notions (either the notion of rights or the notion of duties) were used to support arguments in these debates. You should compare and contrast at least two of the debates (though you can also look at all three).
For example, the notion of rights was brought up in the debate concerning abortion as well as the debate concerning world hunger. Likewise, the notion of duty was invoked in the debate on world hunger as well as the debate on torture. Were these notions brought up for similar purposes? Or do we see differences in why they are brought to bear on these debates? What role did they play in the arguments? Were they central in establishing the authors’s cases? In what way?
Like the other papers, this one should stake out a clear thesis statement (e.g. ‘I will argue that the notion of rights is used for different purposes in these two debates. In one… in the other.’ OR ‘Why distinguish between kinds of duties? I will show, using the topics of X and X, that distinguishing between various kinds of duties plays an important role / does not play an important role in the debates, and instead is used to….’)
The paper should convey your critical thinking about these final topics, and draw on the readings assigned for those particular topics as well as any relevant discussion in class stemming from the lectures. Don’t write the paper unless you’ve read through the readings at least twice, and don’t write the paper without making reference to the arguments in the readings. This includes page references from the book or article. A paper without page references from the book will receive a significant penalty. (Since all the articles are from the textbook, you can just cite the page number in parentheses after the citation or quotation; full citations or a bibliography are not necessary.)
Papers that rely exclusively or significantly on lecture slides, and fail to cite or quote the actual readings will receive poor grades. Do not simply restate what’s on the slides; your papers should show familiarity with and responsiveness to the readings themselves.
Things to avoid:
• Simple summaries of the readings, without any critical analysis or comparison
• No clear thesis or position to defend
• Do not begin the essay with:
– “The problem of rights / duties has been debated for centuries….”
– “Webster’s dictionary defines rights / duties as…”
Things to check:
• Have you provided a clear thesis statement somewhere in the introductory paragraph stating precisely
the position you will defend in the paper?
• Is your presentation of the philosophers’ views and their use of the notions of rights or duties
accurate? Are you oversimplifying (i.e. straw-manning) or misrepresenting the philosopher you’re
discussing? Have you missed any relevant discussion?

NOTIONS OF RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Paper details:
PAPER TOPIC: Notions of rights and duties (both positive and negative) were invoked in each of the three topics that we examined in this final unit: abortion, world hunger, and torture. For this assignment, you must compare and contrast the way that one of these notions (either the notion of rights or the notion of duties) were used to support arguments in these debates. You should compare and contrast at least two of the debates (though you can also look at all three).
For example, the notion of rights was brought up in the debate concerning abortion as well as the debate concerning world hunger. Likewise, the notion of duty was invoked in the debate on world hunger as well as the debate on torture. Were these notions brought up for similar purposes? Or do we see differences in why they are brought to bear on these debates? What role did they play in the arguments? Were they central in establishing the authors’s cases? In what way?
Like the other papers, this one should stake out a clear thesis statement (e.g. ‘I will argue that the notion of rights is used for different purposes in these two debates. In one… in the other.’ OR ‘Why distinguish between kinds of duties? I will show, using the topics of X and X, that distinguishing between various kinds of duties plays an important role / does not play an important role in the debates, and instead is used to….’)
The paper should convey your critical thinking about these final topics, and draw on the readings assigned for those particular topics as well as any relevant discussion in class stemming from the lectures. Don’t write the paper unless you’ve read through the readings at least twice, and don’t write the paper without making reference to the arguments in the readings. This includes page references from the book or article. A paper without page references from the book will receive a significant penalty. (Since all the articles are from the textbook, you can just cite the page number in parentheses after the citation or quotation; full citations or a bibliography are not necessary.)
Papers that rely exclusively or significantly on lecture slides, and fail to cite or quote the actual readings will receive poor grades. Do not simply restate what’s on the slides; your papers should show familiarity with and responsiveness to the readings themselves.
Things to avoid:
• Simple summaries of the readings, without any critical analysis or comparison
• No clear thesis or position to defend
• Do not begin the essay with:
– “The problem of rights / duties has been debated for centuries….”
– “Webster’s dictionary defines rights / duties as…”
Things to check:
• Have you provided a clear thesis statement somewhere in the introductory paragraph stating precisely
the position you will defend in the paper?
• Is your presentation of the philosophers’ views and their use of the notions of rights or duties
accurate? Are you oversimplifying (i.e. straw-manning) or misrepresenting the philosopher you’re
discussing? Have you missed any relevant discussion?