PHIX1032 - Goodness, Morality and Justice

Assignment Task

1. Do you think the most plausible argument in support of a Divine Command Theory successfully responds to the Euthyphro problem? Discuss this question with reference to AT LEAST one of the Recommended Readings for Topic 4. Make sure your answer includes a clear explanation of the argument in support of Divine Command Theory, an explanation of why it is the most plausible argument, and reasons to support your evaluation of whether or not it succeeds.

2. Compare and evaluate Midgley’s and Wong’s accounts of moral cultural relativism. Do you think they both offer compelling accounts of moral cultural relativism? Or do you disagree with (one or both of) their accounts of what moral cultural relativism requires? Explain both accounts and any differences you see between them, and provide an evaluation that makes clear whether you agree/disagree with either/both and the reasons for your evaluations. Ensure you engage with at AT LEAST one of the Recommended Readings from Topic 5 in addressing this question.

3. You find yourself stranded on a deserted island after the cruise liner you were holidaying on capsized in rough and remote seas off the coast of South America. You and a group of approximately 40 other people have made it to the shores of an island - an island that you discover has a range of natural resources and is inhabited by non-human animals but no other human beings. You have no outside communications with the rest of the world, and no prospect of rescue. Your group of 40 is comprised of a diverse range of people of varying in ages from very young to very elderly, and varying in levels of health, injury, illness, disability and able-bodiedness.

Task

In what way(s) can this type of scenario be related to Hobbes’ idea of the ‘Social Contract’? What moral challenges does the application of Social Contract theory to this scenario pose for you as a group? In answering this question, make sure you draw upon AT LEAST one Required AND one additional or Recommended Reading for Topic 6 to explain Social Contract Theory, how it applies to the scenario, the challenges it presents, and the ways in which you will respond to those challenges. Do you agree with the core claims of Social Contract theory? Explain and give reasons for your evaluation. (When discussing the practical or political issues, make sure to show the moral relevance of these challenges.) 5

4. Imagine the following hypothetical scenario and address the task that follows: A public and social housing estate, recently established on prime real estate in the heart of an affluent upper middle-class neighbourhood in a predominantly white southern city in the U.S., is home to a high number of refugees and migrants from African nations including Somalia.

Wealthy and racist white landowners in the neighbourhood, unhappy about declining property values, have been unsuccessfully petitioning the local government council to close down the estate. Fueled by racist media headlines of “dangerous Somalian gangs on the rampage”, the white landowners begin to target young black males, aiming to intimidate them to move out of the neighbourhood. Increasingly frustrated at the lack of success, a white vigilante squad forms with the aim of (as they say) “ridding the neighbourhood of black gang members”.

The vigilantes make clear to the council, media and police that they will cease their vigilante-ism only on condition that “black gang leaders” be identified, arrested and jailed. The local authorities claim to adhere to utilitarian ethics and policies. The local police force, with the backing of the local government council, decide to arrest three innocent young black men on purely fabricated charges of being “gang leaders”, in order to satisfy the white landowners and restore peace. Their decision and action restores peace in the white neighbourhood.

Task

In what way(s) can this type of scenario be related to the core claims of utilitarian moral theory? To what extent do the governing authorities' actions reflect utilitarian practice? What might a scenario such as this be thought to indicate about utilitarianism as a moral theory? What is your evaluation of utilitarian moral theory in the light of your application of it to this scenario? In answering this question, make sure you draw upon AT LEAST one Required AND one additional or Recommended Reading for Topic 7, to explain utilitarianism, how it applies to the scenario, what the scenario might show about utilitarianism, and whether you think utilitarianism provides morally sound or problematic guidance in a scenario such as this one, giving reasons to support all your evaluations.

5. Read the hypothetical scenario for Essay Question 4 (above) and address the following task:

• Explain how a Kantian moral philosopher would morally evaluate the decision and actions of the utilitarian authorities in the scenario.

6. A central aspect of doing the right thing is fulfilling responsibilities to others that arise from our relationships with them, especially relationships of dependence. Discuss this claim with reference to at least one philosophical account of the ethics of care, drawing on at least two readings from Topic 9 (at least one Required and at least one Recommended). Explain whether you agree/disagree with the claim and provide reasons to support your evaluation. 

7. On what grounds is Susan Moller Okin critical of Rawls’ theory of justice? To what extent is Okin’s argument an example of feminist ethics? How successful do you regard her argument to be? Explain Okin’s argument and present and defend your evaluation of it, giving reasons to support your argument and drawing on both Okin and at least one Recommended Reading for Topic 10.

8. To what extent does Robert Manne’s essay Sending Them Home amount to an argument in support of fully open borders? Do you agree with Manne’s view, or do you view an alternative view to be more ethically defensible? Discuss with reference to Manne’s essay as well as at least one of the Recommended Readings from Topic 11.

9. In your judgement, what is the most just basis and principle on which to distribute the burdens of addressing the problems of climate change? Which (if any) of the accounts and arguments examined in this unit do you agree with, and why? If you think some other principle is better, which principle and why do you consider it superior? Develop an argument to support your view with reference to the Topic 12 Required Reading “Climate Justice” (Moss, 2009) and at least one of the Topic 12 Recommended Readings.

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