PAPER TOPICS Prof. Dan Flores HCC PHIL 1301 1. Is There a Need for Normative Ethical Theory? Explore what ethical theory is and evaluate the usefulness of ethical theory. You might ask questions such as: What does ethical theory do? What role should ethical theory play in our decision making? How has ethical theory formation influenced our past? Etc. ... Construct an argument for whether or not you think that ethical theory is important. 2. Is There a Possibility for Freedom of Will? Discuss what free will is (there are different conceptions), the conditions for free will, and what the threat to free will is (determinism/indeterminism). Then construct an argument for whether or not you think free will is possible in the world we live in, it is not possible, there is no way to know, or some other position. 3. Do We Have Minds? Consider the following questions: What do we mean when we say we have minds? What evidence do we have that we have minds? How could we guarantee that we have minds? Is it possible that mentality is an illusion? Construct an argument for whether or not you think that mentality is real or illusionary. PHIL 2306 1. Is There a Need for Normative Ethical Theory? Explore what ethical theory is and evaluate the usefulness of ethical theory. You might ask questions such as: What does ethical theory do? What role should ethical theory play in our decision making? How has ethical theory formation influenced our past? Etc. ... 2. Moral Position and Current Issues Pick a current event and evaluate it light of one of the several moral theories that we cover in this course. For instance, is there a universal right to health care? If so, present an argument why it would be immoral to deny it; or if not, present an argument why it would be moral to deny it. Use the tools and information in this course to inform your argument. 3. Ethics: The Self and The Other How much does morality depend on other people? In other words, are judgments such as "murder us wrong" or "donating to charity is good" purely subjective judgments? Would these claims be meaningful on another planet?