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Engineering Ethics Paper 1 Due via e-mail by 11:59pm, 10/30 This paper should be 5+ pages in length. This paper may take a few weeks to research and write. DO NOT PUT THIS PAPER OFF UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE. TOPIC: For this paper I want you to research and explain one of the three main approaches in contemporary ethics: utilitarianism (which is a type of consequentialism), Kantian ethics (which is a type of deontology), or virtue ethics. Then I want you to briefly discuss the implications of this ethical theory for the field of engineering. If there is an alternative ethical theory that you would like to write about, let me know and we can probably work something out. It is my expectation that this paper will be comprised of two main sections: 1) The first and largest section will be a research paper in which you present the main ideas, and explicate the style of thinking, that characterizes the ethical theory that you have chosen to write about.

If you choose to pick one of the three major theories that we will cover in this course, I'd begin by consulting the relevant chapters in Julia Driver's Ethics: The Fundamentals and the following articles: 1) Utilitarianism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/ 2) Kantian Ethics: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/ 3) Virtue Ethics: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/ These articles are both authoritative introductions and have useful bibliographies that will give you a good start on the research that you will be required to do for this paper.They are also good examples of what academic writing should look like, though I do not

necessarily expect that your presentations will be as sophisticated as what is found in these articles, which are after all written by experts. You will need to make use of at least 4 additional high-quality sources for this section of your paper. These articles must be scholarly. There have been many good books and journal articles written about each of the three ethical theories that I have asked you to consider, so limiting your research to encyclopedia entries and whatever comes up on Google will not be sufficient. You may have to go to a physical library in order to conduct your research. Also, please keep in mind that this is a relatively short paper, so I want to see you present the essential ideas and style of thinking that characterizes the theory that you choose to research. What this means is that you will want to avoid going down the rabbit hole of theoretical disputes that will characterize more thorough presentations of the material. Instead define the approach, its core concepts, how this theory is used to evaluate the morality of actions or persons, and the major variations or interpretations of each theory. The clearer, more accurate, and complete that your presentation of the theory is, the better your grade will be.

2) In this second and much briefer section of the paper I want you to reflect upon the implications of the ethical theory that you have researched for the field of engineering.

A single paragraph in which you present one possible implication of the theory discussed in section 1) to a specific issue in engineering may be sufficient. The more insightful and well-argued your application of the ethical theory to the field of engineering is, the better your grade for this section will be.

GRADING CRITERIA:

I will be grading this assignment according to four criteria. These criteria are: 1) Content- 50% of grade: This section of the grade will reflect the quality of your argumentation and the depth of your understanding of the material. The better your arguments and the more in depth your presentation of the material, the better your grade will be 2) Citation- 10% of grade: You MUST cite the text in your answers. If you say that Kant claims that Toad is best character to play in the levels that involve a lot of digging in Mario 2, show me where in the text he says this. You can choose to either just reference where in the text it appears or you can quote the portion of the text that is relevant to your answer (with page numbers of course). I encourage you to quote where it makes sense, but if you quote make sure to explain what that quotation means in your own words. And of course plagiarism results in a failure of the course.

3) Spelling and grammar- 20% of grade: Reading with a peper shitty spealling and grammer it not very 3nj0y4b13.

4) Structure and presentation- 20% of grade: Is the structure of your paper clear? Does the organization of the sentences and paragraphs make sense or does it look like you just threw a bunch of random comments together? Do your arguments and analysis make sense? NOTE: Poor presentation (whether through bad writing, structure, or even formatting) can obscure the content of your work to the extent that in certain cases what you are trying to communicate is unintelligible to the reader. I should not have to read a sentence or a paragraph three or four times to understand it. As a writer it is your responsibility to communicate your ideas as effectively and clearly as possible. As the person reading and grading your assignment, it is not my responsibly to make an excessive effort to understand the meaning of what you are trying to communicate to me when you have not taken the time to articulate and present your work in a clear fashion.