Dowling
College Dr Christian Perring
PHL
042A Ethics Spring 2003
Paper
I.
2
pages/~600 words. Due by midnight on
Tuesday, February 25. Even if you have not completed your paper by class, do
NOT miss class. If you find you are
having difficulties writing your paper, contact me to let me know and I will
help you.
Papers
must be submitted in an electronic form.
I prefer you to do so using Turnitin.com
(the class ID is 60494, and the password is "ethics"), but you can
instead email me a copy of your paper in Word or RTF as an attachment, or give
me a copy of your paper on disk. You
can if you want also give me a hard copy.
Any
form of plagiarism or academic dishonesty is unacceptable and may result in you
failing the course and being reported to the Dean of Students. Plagiarism is using sources in the writing
of your paper without acknowledging your sources. It is often a good idea to use other sources, but if you do so,
you must say where you found information, either in parentheses or in a
footnote. If you quote directly or copy
text from another source, you must put the quotation in quotation marks and say
exactly where it comes from, giving page numbers or the exact URL. I don’t require any particular reference
format, but APA format is a good one to use.
(For more information on reference formats, the Dowling College Library
website has a page on the Citation and Evaluation
of Sources.)
For
a short paper like this, you do not need introductory or concluding
paragraphs. Just answer the
question.
Answer
ONE of the following questions.
1. In Plato's Republic ("The Ring of Gyges", p. 580), Glaucon argues
that while there are good practical reasons for society to have a legal system
and for people to follow the laws, people are in fact selfish. Explain how he tries to convince Socrates of
his view, and then discuss whether you think his argument is convincing.
2. Epicurus explains how one should live to have a pleasurable life in "The Pursuit of Pleasure" (p. 583). Summarize his ideas, paying particular attention to the role of prudence. Discuss whether he makes a convincing case that "the virtues are by nature bound up with the pleasant life."