MORAL (PHILOSOPHICAL/ETHICAL) REASONING
TOPIC: ( choose one)
• Harrison Bergeron https://youtu.be/XBcpuBRUdNs a 90-minute minute film that uses
EGALITARIANISM, VIRTUE ETHICS and CULTURAL RELATIVISM as moral reasoning
perspectives
OR
• “Pinto Madness” article from Mother Jones
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/1977/09/pinto-madness/ an investigative report
using DUTY THEORY and ACT UTILITARIANISM reasoning perspectives.
INSTRUCTIONS
MLA formatting, double-spaced
1. write a moral reasoning (philosophical/ethical) critical analysis of one of two topics
above using one or more of the moral reasoning perspectives listed. Your goal is to:
▪ analyze the topic’s idea from one or more moral reasoning perspectives, as
you are examining the writer’s position, explorations, assertions, and
argument (not his opponents’, even if included) to see how they reflect
that moral reasoning standard(s).
2. Provide your essay with a claim, warrant, backing (support), and conclusion,
employing critical philosophical/ethical reasoning analysis.
3. use specific examples from the film or essay for that support. (No rebuttal for this
essay as you are doing a critical analysis of the work.)
4. Keep the essay focused entirely on analyzing the work via the moral reasoning
perspective(s) you have selected; don’t redirect the essay to a debate or your
personal, subjective analysis of the topic itself.
Research: You should use one to two research sources (no more than three) from trusted
sources or from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Cite that research in the essay and on a works cited page.
Keep any research (on the moral reasoning perspective or the film, story, or essay) to no
more than 25% of the essay.
Length: Minimum 800 words—maximum 1 ,250 words, not counting the Works Cited page
Logos/Pathos/Ethos Balance: Use an appropriate balance of logic (logos) and emotion (pathos) in your
essay,
Grammar, Spelling, Mechanics, Vocabulary, Style: Use correct English grammar, spelling, and
mechanics; evidence varied sentence structure, college-level vocabulary, and individual style in your
writing
