In this week, we will have two discussion questions. The prompts are posted in the forum. I wanted to clarify one point about the discussions, as I think there were some misunderstandings about the 4-times-a-week requirement. I hope I can clear it up.
When there are two discussion topics in the week, you will need to answer both. In Week 1, there was only one discussion topic, but in Week 2, we have two topics.
On Discussion 1, read the prompt I have posted there. Reply in one post with an answer to the questions in that prompt. Then in three other days in the week, post three more times in reply to your classmates or to my follow up questions. Do the same on topic 2. So you will post 4 times in the week–one is an original reply to the discussion questions, then on three other occasions you will engage in discussions with your peers.
I hope you’ll visit the discussion throughout the week. I’d like to see students there through the week so ideas develop, so you can weigh in as the discussion progresses, and in order to refine your perspective through the week. Be sure to refer to the readings and resources, then use and cite your sources. This helps us to see how our understanding can be deepened through the course material. Then feel free to share examples of where you see these concepts in action in your life.
We also have a quiz. You will find direct links to the materials under the Week 2 overview page. Click on Week 2, then scroll down to see the hyperlinks for readings and resources.
Our discussion for the week will framing of the debate through the concept of utilitarianism. This is an important theory, and it will be useful for your final project In week 3, you’ll be applying the topic from Week 1’s paper to either utilitarian ethics or deontology. However, in week 5, you’ll add two more theories to the mix, so chances are that utilitarianism will be a part of a future paper–either in Week 3 or 5. So watch the theory carefully. 🙂 Utilitarianism is a Consequentialist theory of ethics. Consider times when you may have been in a moral dilemma and tried to guess the results of a decision. The ways that we manage and apply this “calculation” is a part of what utilitarianism will investigate. Politicians and military figures often need to use utilitarian arguments when trying to predict “the greatest good for the greatest number.” However, we’ll investigate not only how this works, but the positive and negative implications of this theory in practice.
The photo below is from a sculpture outside the “House of Terror” in Budapest, Hungary. The House of Terror was a government building where first the Fascist leaders, then Communist leaders used to torture citizens, journalist, religious people, and anyone who may have been suspected of a crime under the regimes. The museum is quite difficult and brutal, but I think the quotation tells us a lot about the human spirit in the face of state-sponsored oppression. Not all utilitarian arguments will go this way, of course, but sometimes a reliance on “the greatest good,” may vary based on the source and what they consider to be good.
This week we will look into questions of animal ethics. For some students, this is an issue close to their hearts. Some students have strong feelings about treatment of animals, and about the consumption of animals. Some students are active in hunting and fishing, in farming and ranching. Our diverse background make this a really compelling conversation.
Remember that it is okay to disagree with the ideas in the course materials and with each other. However, it’s important to write from a perspective analyzing arguments and make our defenses through careful construction of our ideas. Yes, the vegan and the hunter can be friends! 🙂 This is about learning from the new concepts, then also relating them to our overall understanding of ethics and moral reasoning. You may read an article or listen to a lecture and think it’s completely false. This is a good sign, since it means you comprehend what you are learning. Feel free to explain why you disagree. If you are reading an article or resource and find points of agreement, this is good as well. We will encounter a variety of theories in the course, and we will learn many of them through application. The concepts are here to help us see the bigger picture, and the hot topics are there to give us specific points for investigation.
Have a great week and I’ll see you in the discussions-
Prof. E
WEEK 2 DISCUSSION TOPIC
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Tom Regan says that we all have equal inherent value by virtue of being ‘experiencing subjects of a life’. What does it mean to be an ‘experiencing subject of a life’? Do you think that being the subject of a life means that one has equal inherent value? Does it follow from that view that animals should be given rights to life and freedom?
(To answer this question, you will need to use and cite the Regan text at the minimum. This will be a practice to implement in future discussions as well. When we speak of a specific text, set of ideas, or resource from the week, it is important to give credit for the sources and to build credibility. Cite internally with a parenthetical note and in full end reference. Check APA style for details about citation. It’s a good idea to learn these skills here in Week 2 as they will come in handy for all of our discussions in the future.) |
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