Egoism is the correct ethical theory for all people to apply.
This is the first essay you are writing for this course. Remember you should use good essay writing skills such as having an introduction, body with arguments and counterarguments, and a conclusion. Are you confident you have these skills? Refresh your memory by reading these comments.
In order to take this class you should have junior level standing. This means you have a couple of years of post-high school education already. Consequently, I expect you to be able to write short essays.
Here, I want to remind you what makes a good essay. Essays should have a beginning, middle, and an end. The beginning is your introduction where you tell the reader what to expect and you have a thesis statement. The introduction is like a roadmap for the reader, you let your audience know where you plan to take them.
The statement, especially for courses where you will be making an argument, is essential to your essay because it states what it is you plan to support throughout your writing. Astatement is not a question nor is it a paragraph. It is a succinct, usually single sentence, declaration that cues the reader. In most argumentative essays the thesis statement will be your answer to the question posed.
Example: Question – “Should dogs be used to fight in spectator sports?” Thesis – I think American cultural values would forbid dogs to be trained as fighters because this involves great and undeserved cruelty; however, this does not mean I think dogs should have the same rights as people.
Many people make the mistake of “hiding” their thesis until their conclusion – do not do this. The point of the essays for this course is for you to write clearly about ethics so that I can read and understand your work. If the reader has to guess what you really mean then how can he or she evaluate your arguments? The middle of your essay should contain arguments and counterarguments that help you support your thesis.
The body of the essay tells the reader what you told us you would tell us in the introduction. The reader should be able to evaluate if this section explains and supports your thesis. The conclusion of your essay sums up what has been written. It can also offer other tangential thoughts or directions a person might want to consider related to the argument.
For example, if you were writing about the acceptable use of cloning techniques in medicine perhaps you feel that cloning stem cells is morally correct with today’s research technology but your conclusion might note that your thinking may change if technologies develop in the future that would provide assembly-line production of human clones.
I require you to do the following in this assignment:
(a) underline your s statement
(b) in your essay body be sure to include at least three arguments supporting your thesis
(c) AFTER writing this essay, write a 2-3 paragraph (about 200 words) rebuttal to your essay.
In other words, if you selected option 1 for your essay this rebuttal will argue against egoism. If you selected option 2 your response will argue for egoism. This rebuttal is designed to help you become familiar with counterarguments. The rebuttal should refute (argue differently) at least 2 of the points you have made in your essay.
Submit an essay (at least 1,000 words) addressing ONE of the following statements:
Egoism is the correct ethical theory for all people to apply.
Egoism is not the correct ethical theory for all people to apply.
*Be sure to discuss nihilism and altruism in your essay.
