due 3 hours ASAp pages

Paper Prompt #1 (Due February 14 at 11:59pm on Quercus)

In “The Radical Egalitarian Case for Animal Rights” Tom Regan argues for the complete dissolution of commercial farming on the grounds that it violates the right of animals in the sense of reducing them to the status of “mere things”. That is to say, it violates their right not to be treated as though their value is exhausted by their usefulness to others.

In a paper of 3-4 pages (double-spaced), critically evaluate Regan’s argument.

Here are some suggestions for what you might do with this paper:

• Argue that Regan is correct that commercial animal farming is wrong, but that there is a better argument for this conclusion than Regan’s own.

• Argue that Regan is wrong to think that commercial farming violates the rights of animals.

• Defend Regan against a compelling criticism.

Some notes:

• I am not asking you to go out and read what others have to say about the topic of animal rights. In fact, I discourage you from doing so. Not only would this take valuable time, but you would run the risk of writing a report on what others have to say rather than a philosophical paper. I want to see an original take on the issue at hand, not a summary of what some other people think.

• I am not asking you to appeal to any other readings on our syllabus. • Write as though your reader has no familiarity with the subject matter (e.g., Don’t assume

that your reader knows what Regan’s argument is) Your paper should be accessible to any reasonably intelligent adult.

• All students must upload their essays to Quercus by 11:59pm. • If you need an extension, contact me (not your TA).

Assignment Breakdown

A complete essay will contain all of the following (we’ll talk about this in class):

• A short introduction. This is your opportunity to introduce your reader to the topic and your thesis. Briefly explain the topic you will engage and give your reader a sense of how your paper is structured. What can he or she expect to encounter in what follows?

• An explicit thesis statement. This is the claim that you will be arguing for in the essay. Be as clear and explicit as possible. (E.g. “In what follows, I will argue that _____________”)

• An argument for your thesis statement. • A well-motivated worry or criticism pertaining to your argument • A reply to the worry/criticism

Formatting guidelines:

Please observe standard university formatting guidelines for the essay. Failure to do so may cost you points.

• 12 point serif font (Times or Times New Roman) • Double spaced • 1 inch margins all around • Your name at the top • Page numbers • Citations where necessary • A bibliography • A descriptive title (“Paper #1” is not a descriptive title). Feel free to have fun with it!

Assignment Submission

To submit your assignment, visit the Assignments section of our course’s Quercus site.

Academic Integrity

Ignorance of the rules governing academic integrity does not excuse violations of the university’s policies. Visit http://academicintegrity.utoronto.ca for information.

TA Assignments

Your TA will send a class email announcing their office hours. Please refer to the table below to determine who your TA is.

Student Surname Begins With TA

A – Hui C Dalrymple-Fraser – [email protected]

Hur – Rit Chris Longley – [email protected]

Riz – Zou Nate Oppel – [email protected]

Writing Support for Students

The Philosophy Department offers an essay clinic for all undergraduates enrolled in a philosophy course. Want to discuss a draft of your essay? This is the place to go. Unfortunately, your TA simply does not have time to read drafts. Go here for details: http://uoft.me/essayclinicatutsg

Language Support for Students Whether you are an ESL student or simply want to improve your English language skills, check out the English Language Learning resources available to all UofT students enrolled in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Information is available at the following website: http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/advising/ell

Other Support for Students

UofT offers support services of many kinds, including support for mental health, housing crises, sexual assault, and financial distress. If you need help, please ask for it. There are good people ready and waiting to offer assistance. For more information, visit the following website: http://studentlife.utoronto.ca/feeling-distressed

Administrative Notes

• It is your responsibility to ensure that your paper has been uploaded to Quercus. Once you believe your file to be submitted, double check that it actually has been.

• It is also your responsibility to ensure that you have uploaded your final draft to Quercus. Your TA will only read and grade the file that is there at the deadline. PLEASE double-check that you have uploaded the file you intended to upload.

• Back your work up. Computers and hard drives die, but ensuring that this does not result in lost work is trivially easy. Here is a list of syncing/backup software that freely provide more than enough space to keep your academic work backed up and/or synced between different computers: ◦ tresorit ◦ sync.com ◦ idrive ◦ mega.nz ◦ dropbox ◦ onedrive ◦ google drive