Doctor Assisted Suicide
Topic: Doctor Assisted Suicide
Issue: To what extent if any are Medical Doctors morally permissible to assist terminally ill patients with the termination of life?
Requirements:
GENERAL GUIDELINES – INQUIRY ESSAY
The Inquiry Essay: a 2000 word essay, arguing a case on the basis of an ISSUE formulated, on any various possible topics in the field of ethics, but issues formulated on the topic of COVID encouraged.
The paper applies ethical theories studied to a concrete issue within a topic. The principal theories that qualify for the project are the various forms of utilitarianism, duty-based theories (Kantianism–deontological), and virtue theory. Examples of topics that qualify for potential issue to be formulated on for the paper are listed below. You are not limited to formulating an issue on these topics
Drawing upon those theories, the student will prepare a written argumentative paper that addresses some problematic issue within these topics. Of particular importance is the ability to use ethical reasoning AND APPLICATION OF ETHICAL THEORIES to formulate reflective ARGUMENTS on some of the more pressing moral problems in contemporary society, and then to formulate COUNTERARGUMNETS and REJOINDERS all in an effort at reasoned judgment.
In other words, the paper makes a thoroughgoing case. The paper is graded on a GLOBAL basis but will also consider these specific criteria:
I. Composition: Articulate your issue briefly. The introduction maybe composed of more than one sentence, but your thesis statement and issue formulation can only be one sentence long and has to be identifiable as such.
II. History of topic: set the context for the moral issue from20th c. onward.
III. Arguments/counters/rejoinders what are the conflicting sides around the issue? Please note: Look for journal and newspaper articles that summarize the positions. These are better and more nuanced treatments of the conflicting sides. Peer-reviewed encyclopedias like the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (stanford.plato.edu) are fantastic resources.
IV. Application of ethical theories to an issue: I am looking for TWO treatments of the issue fromat least two ethical approaches studied during the term.These should be indepth because this section is basically the entire point.
V. Judgment: A case is made for your conclusion on an issue. Make sure this section receives the treatment and development it deserves and that you temper the degree of confidence in your judgment to the strength and development of your arguments and the evidence!
Composition: Is paper written well with attention to syntax, grammar, clear thesis statement, consistent paragraphing and proper citations style or are there recurring problems with any of these?
History of topic: Does paper develop historical context for the moral issue from 1960 onward in a clear and chronologically coherent manner or does the paper fall short of doing this in specific ways?
Arguments/Counters/Rejoinders: Does paper spell out clearly conflicting sides of the issue or does it only show
One side or is It entirely missing a pro/con section?
Application of ethical theories: Does author treat issue with two ethical approaches studies during the term indepth (or analyzes the issue with unusual and sustained depth from the standpoint of one theory)?
Conclusion: Does author develop a concluding personal analysis that expresses their standpoint on the subject in an evidentiary and argumentative way or does it sum up the issue superficially or is the paper missing a tempered conclusion?
SUGGESTEDTOPICSFORRESEARCHPAPER
Remember that these are topics NOT ISSUES. You are to come up with the issue for your paper, based on some MORALLY problematic topic. Remember the judgment you are trying to reach is a MORAL one.
