(Write out brief answers to this week's discussion questions and submit them via a direct message to me on Slack no later than 11:59pm on Sunday, August 29th. Your answers should be brief, no more than a few sentences each. Be prepared to discuss them in class.)
1. Suppose that we were to encounter some new kind of being: a new kind of animal, or an alien on another planet, or a new kind of artificial intelligence. We want to decide whether it is okay to harm, kill, or enslave the being, either for food, to help us with work, or just for fun. How should we decide whether this would be morally okay? What information about the being should we try to gather in order to decide?
2. What do you think is the most persuasive reason to think that there is nothing morally wrong with eating meat?
3. Wallace focuses entirely on lobsters. But what are the implications for other livestock animals, like pigs and cows, which are unlike lobsters in that they have much more humanlike central nervous systems and brain structures?
This week's Zoom meeting will be on Monday, August 30th, 11:10AM–12:25PM. Here is the link to join.
This week's writing assignment should be submitted to me in a direct message on Slack no later than 11:59pm on Thursday, September 2nd. Your entire written assignment should be about 500 words long. (Longer is not better; it is important to be clear and concise.)
Begin your assignment by describing a moral disagreement that you have with someone you know. This person could be a friend, an acquaintance, a teacher, or anyone else you know with whom you have a moral disagreement. (Feel free to anonymize.)
Your first task is to explain the nature of your moral disagreement. By a moral disagreement, I mean a situation in which you believe that some action is good or morally obligatory, and the other person thinks otherwise. An example from this week's reading is that some people passionately believe that we are morally obligated to avoid eating meat, and others disagree. You should choose a different, real example from your life, and explain what the disagreement is about.
Your second task is to explain what you take to be the strongest argument on each side of this debate. First explain, as clearly and rationally as possible, the best argument you can think of for the conclusion that your side in this disagreement is correct. Then explain, as clearly and rationally as possible, the best argument for the conclusion that the person with whom you disagree is right and that you are wrong.
Here are some things things that you will need to do to get an A on this assignment: choose a genuine moral disagreement and explain it clearly and concisely. Choose the best, most persuasive arguments for both your position and your opponent's position possible, and explain them clearly. Don't caricature your opponent, or make them seem less reasonable than they are. Make sure that I can understand what you're saying with every word. Proofread and edit what you write, rather than handing in your first draft. Don't go much over or under 500 words.