Paper #2 Guideline

UPDATE: New new due date!

Due Date: The beginning of class on Wednesday, December 2nd, December 9th, December 16th, 2009

Worth: 15% of your final grade

Assignment: Write an argumentative essay on the topic below. Papers must be typed, and must be between 600-1200 words long. Provide a word count on the first page of the paper. (Most programs like Microsoft Word & WordPerfect have automatic word counts.)

Topic: Explain and defend your definition of “person” as it relates to morality.

1. First, briefly explain and critically evaluate the different definitions of “person” that we have discussed in class. Be sure to explain each definition offered by Mary Anne Warren, James Rachels (his account of a biographical life that we discussed in class), and Tibor Machan.
2. Second, explain how each of these authors uses their definition of “person” to attempt to settle the particular ethical debate he or she wrote about. (Warren and Marquis on abortion, Rachels and Doerflinger on euthanasia, and Singer and Machan on animal ethics).
   [NOTE: Some authors might think personhood is irrelevant to their issue.]
3. Third, explain your definition of “person”: do you agree with one of these authors’ definitions, or do you have one of your own?
4. Fourth, explain the solution that your definition of “person” gives to the ethical debates of abortion, euthanasia, and animal ethics.

When considering your definition of “person,” be sure to answer the following questions: Which living creatures are persons, and which living creatures are not persons? Do you believe that you need to be a “person” in the moral sense in order to have moral rights (in particular, the right to not be killed and the right to not suffer unnecessarily)? Can someone have moral rights before they have moral duties? Be sure to fully explain and philosophically defend each of your answers.