Immanuel Kant

Required Readings

Writing Assignment

This week's writing assignment should be submitted through the course's blackboard page. To submit it, you should go to the Discussion Board section, then open this week's forum, which is called "Week 3 Assignment". You should begin a new thread in that forum and post your answer to the question there.

For the assignment, you should describe an ethical dilemma that either a real person or a fictional character from a novel, a movie, or a TV show has faced. The person could be you or someone you know (feel free to anonymize), or it could be a character from some fiction you've experienced. The dilemma you describe should be one in which the individual in question has at least two options for what to do, and it should be one that meets the following condition: utilitarianism and Kant's ethical theory would offer conflicting advice about what to do. Describe what each theory would recommend, and why.

Your answer should be no longer than 250 words. It is due by Wednesday, September 13th at Midnight. I will give it a grade between 0 (=F) and 4 (=A). The main purpose of this assignment is to show that you understand both utilitarianism and Kant's ethics well enough to apply both theories to real (or fictional) situations. So, my main grading criterion will be that you show that you've understood both theories well enough to recognize a situation in which they conflict, and explain why. The clarity of your written English is also very important, so please proofread.

Bonus point opportunity: Once the assignments have been uploaded, you should read through other students' answers. If you find a post in which you disagree with the author's application of either ethical theory to the situation they describe, you should explain why you think this in a comment on their post. If you make a good point (i.e., if your answer demonstrates a clear understanding of the theory at issue), I will give you a bonus point on this assignment. (Note that you can't get a bonus point for making a point that another student has already made, or for commenting on your own post. You needn't comment on anyone's post if you don't want a bonus point.)