Interstellar Voyage To The Serpent Nebula Write a 3-5 page (approximately 900-1500 word) paper responding to ONE of the following prompts.
Your paper should be typed, double-spaced, 12 pt. font, with one-inch margins. Make sure to include your name, class name and section, and date.
Your paper is due on FRIDAY, MARCH 1st Each day that your paper is late you will lose 2/3 of a grade off of whatever grade you receive.
Either EMAIL me a copy or turn it in on the blackboard.
MAKE SURE THAT YOUR OWN LAST/SURNAME/FAMILY NAME IS IN THE NAME OF YOUR FILE!!! I WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING PAPERS WITH TITLES LIKE “PAPER 1”!!!
TOPIC #1
It’s the year 2180. You have been given the honor of being a member on an interstellar voyage to the Serpent Nebula. Upon arrival in the nebula, you discover the planet Tuchanka, which is a harsh planet with few resources. Indeed, it seems like most of the wildlife on Tuchanka evolved to be incredibly deadly. The dominant humanoids you find on this world are the Krogan, a hyper-aggressive species of bipedal reptiles. The main social institution in Krogan society is the clan, and clans are more or less in constant warfare with one another. They raid each other on a regular basis both to steal supplies and take prisoners but also to assert their dominance over their neighbors. These raids are violent and often erupt in full-fledged war. Nuclear warfare is not uncommon and neither is the death and environmental destruction that accompanies it. Nearly all Krogan activities are characterized by violence. Everyday arguments are settled with violent head butts and fistfights to the death and recreational activities largely consist of space-dog fighting and the hunting of large and highly dangerous game. Even peace negotiations between clans have been known to turn violent at the drop of a hat. In short, violence and killing appear to be key features of Krogan society.
How should we feel about the Krogan? That is, are Krogan practices morally objectionable? Or does the fact that Krogan society is so different from our own make it the case that we are in no position to judge them?
In this essay I want you to answer these questions. That is, I want you to give a reasoned argument for whether we are in a position to judge the Krogan and why you hold that position. In your paper, you should begin by saying what this situation is and what you think should be said about it. Next, construct reasons for thinking that the Krogan are or are not a morally objectionable group. You should say why one might think the Krogan are morally wrong and then either show why this view is correct or why it is incorrect. When doing this you will probably want to draw on Rachels’ article on Cultural relativism and/or Tavani’s discussions of Cultural Relativism (or any of the other readings that you might find useful). You will also want to make sure to say what Cultural Relativism actually is. Make sure to say how the considerations you bring up are relevant to the case of the Krogan. Things you might want to touch on include the consequences of Krogan actions, what we know of their environments and their cultures, what we don’t know of their environment and cultures, how Krogan culture compares with human culture, what the Krogan suggest about morality more generally (don’t try to address all these things, just the ones you think are most relevant). After you lay out your argument you might want to consider how someone might respond to (but you don’t have to). Conclude with a short summary of your argument.
TOPIC #2
One day you’re walking down the street with your best friend, Chewbacca. As you walk there is suddenly a bright flash of light and a bang so loud that you get knocked to the ground. When you stand up and gather your wits, there standing in front of you is the devil.
The devil tells you he is bored and in need of some entertainment. Since he is the devil, this means that someone has to die. The devil makes you an offer. The offer is this: if you want you, can take the gun that the devil is holding out to you and shoot Chewbacca. If you do this, the devil will dispose of the body and make sure that no one ever knows that you killed Chewbacca. He will then go on his way and you will never see him again. If you do not shoot Chewbacca, however, the devil will randomly pick a town somewhere in the United States with about 10,000 residents, and make them all die excruciating deaths within the next hour. He then says you and Chewbacca have five minutes to confer and decide what to do.
Chewbacca turns to you and says, “I am convinced that Act Utilitarianism is correct. Therefore I think you should kill me and here is why.” Chewbacca then proceeds to present his argument for thinking that you should take the gun the Devil is offering and kill him.
In this paper, provide an account of the sort of argument Chewbacca is likely to make and then assess his argument.
To do this your paper should have something like the following structure. Begin by laying out this out this bizarre scenario and provide an account for how the paper will proceed. Then, lay out the sort of argument that Chewbacca the Act Utilitarian is likely to use to convince you to shoot him. In this section make sure you say what Act Utilitarianism actually is, what they conclude about how you should act, and why being an Act Utilitarian would lead Chewbacca to conclude that you should shoot him. Next, assess whether Chewbacca’s argument is a good one and whether or not it has convinced you to shoot him. In this section, you are probably going to want to say what some of the main problems are that people bring up for Act Utilitarianism are and whether you think these arguments actually undermine Chewbacca’s argument. (That is, you might say that one thing that Chewbacca is forgetting about is ______ and that this undermines his argument because of ______. If you do this you might then want to consider how Chewbacca might respond. Alternatively, you could say that one thing that someone else might try to say in response to Chewbacca is _____ but that this isn’t really a problem for his argument because of _______. Make sure to tell me whether, in the end, you accept Chewbacca’s reasons for telling you to shoot him.) Finish your paper with a short conclusion summing things up
Topic #3
One day you’re walking down the street with two classmates, who are named Luke and Leia. As you walk there is suddenly a bright flash of light and a bang so loud that you get knocked to the ground. When you stand up and gather your wits, there standing in front of you is the devil.
The devil tells you he is bored and in need of some entertainment. Since he is the devil, this means that someone has to die. The devil makes Luke an offer. The offer is this: if Luke wants, he can take the gun that the devil is holding out to him and shoot Leia. If he does this, the devil will dispose of your body and make sure that no one ever knows that Luke has killed Leia. The devil will then go on his merry way and you will never see him again. If Luke does not shoot Leia, however, the devil is going to randomly pick a town somewhere in the United States with about 10,000 residents, and make them all catch plague and die excruciating deaths within the next hour. He then says you, Luke, and Leia has five minutes to confer and decide what to do.
So Luke turns to you and Leia says, “I am convinced that Deontology of the sort described by Kant is correct. Therefore I fully believe that killing Leia would be the wrong thing to do and here is why.” Luke then proceeds to present his argument for thinking that killing Leia would be wrong.
In this paper, provide an account of the sort of argument that Luke is likely to make and then assess his argument.
Your paper should have something like the following structure. Begin by laying out this out this bizarre scenario and provide an account for how the paper will proceed. Then, lay out the sort of argument that Luke the Deontologist is likely to use to convince you that he shouldn’t shoot Leia. In this section make sure you say what Deontology actually is, what deontologists conclude about how people should act, and why being a Deontologist would lead Luke to think that he shouldn’t shoot Leia. Next, assess whether Luke’s argument is a good one and whether or not it has convinced you that Luke really shouldn’t shoot Leia. In this section, you are probably going to want to say what some of the main problems are that people bring up for Deontology these arguments actually undermine Luke’s argument. (That is, you might say that one thing that Luke is forgetting about is ______ and that this undermines his argument because of ______. If you do this you might then want to consider how Luke might respond. Alternatively, you could say that one thing that someone else might try to say in response to Luke is _____ but that this isn’t really a problem for her argument because of _______. If you do this you might then want to consider how this other person might then respond in turn). Make sure to tell me whether, in the end, you accept Luke’s reasons to not shoot Leia. Finish your paper a short conclusion summing things up.
