Abortion has been one of the most hotly debated subjects of this past decade, with the sentiment conflicting between the groups labelled as pro choice вќ and pro life вќ, as if an imaginary line has been drawn in the sand creating an identifiable good or bad person based on the feelings they have towards the status of an unborn child. The vehement protesters for both sides have gone on to create public debate through many different means some benign, some not. Lines become somewhat blurred when the situation turns them into a principal player in the decision about what is correct, especially if you are the one who is shaking a doctor's hand after hearing the word, congratulations вќ. I feel that i have a unique perspective on the entire idea of abortion, as i have personally witnessed or assisted with thirty five vacuum desiccation abortions during my time with various medical facilities. My role in this situation was to provide moral support and simply a comforting presence to the woman undergoing the procedure. Truth be told, i have cried every time that i have been a part of the procedure, as it is extremely unpleasant and psychologically unsettling to the woman who is having the procedure done. Through this, however, i am still very set in my stance that abortion is morally permissible, and often a correct route of action, depending on the circumstances that surround the situation.

The situations that i am outlining below are situations that i have personally witnessed, and these have led me to be very firm in the opinion that i have, that the rights of a woman fully outweigh the rights of a fetus. First, to decide whose rights are paramount in an abortion situation, there should also be a consideration of the circumstances that brought about the pregnancy. Edu the real point of ethics is to offer tools for thinking about difficult matters, recognizing from the start as the very rationale for ethics, in fact that the world is seldom so simple or clear cut. anthony weston 3 to help students explore the connections between the philosophical theories they read and the organizations they assist 1 readings completed prior to class 5 service learning project group oral presentation 25% 6 minimum of 30 service learning hours john arthur, ed. morality and moral controversies: readings in moral, social, and political philosophy. Prentice hall, 2002 although one cynical reaction to the world around us is to think of morality as empty words, the actions of individuals and even of whole societies are nevertheless influenced by moral judgments.

Furthermore although further cynical qualms are possible here , our moral judgments concerning actions and social policies are influenced by reasoning and argument. This course will give us the opportunity to think deeply about six controversial and difficult moral issues: 1 surrogate motherhood, 2 abortion, 3 capital punishment, 4 gay marriage, 5 pharmacists who refuse to fulfill prescriptions for contraception, and 6 reproductive cloning. In addition, to provide some perspective and depth in our consideration of the particular issues, we shall spend some time with ethical theory. The overall goal is to enable all members of the class to reflect on their views and through this reflection and the criticisms of others to reach better articulated and justified conclusions. This requires both cultivation of skills of argumentation and criticism and familiarity with the considerations that support different sides of these issues. To provide some solid knowledge of the moral arguments concerning the six issues we will discuss.

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By providing this knowledge the course should help you to develop and to deepen your own views on these matters and to see through simplistic and shallow arguments. The moral arguments you will be studying will in many cases challenge your convictions or permit you to refine them. To provide an introduction to moral argument and to moral theory in general: this course should help you to see how rational argument in morality works and to appreciate the force and limits of such arguments. The course should also help you to appreciate what moral theory is, how it can be important in your life and in society in general, how it can be valid and powerful, even though not always capable of producing consensus. To provide an introduction to the nature of argument and of informal logic in general: to appreciate what can be said concerning moral issues such as affirmative action, one must be able to tell the difference between good and bad arguments and one needs to be able to present and criticize arguments effectively.

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To the extent that this course helps you to make and criticize arguments, it should be of considerable use to you, quite apart from its particular subject matter. To help you to develop your abilities to present and to criticize arguments both in discussion and, in particular, in writing: every good essay, regardless of the subject matter, is an extended argument for some thesis or conclusion. The only thing special about philosophy essays is the extent to which one focuses upon the logic of the argument. This course should help you to write more sharply organized, focused and effective essays. The extent to which these course goals can be achieved is, of course, largely up to you, but it is important that you appreciate what the teaching assistants and i are trying to accomplish.

If you cannot see how any particular lecture or reading assignment relates to the goals of the course, please be sure to ask about it. In abstract matters it is especially important and especially difficult to be clear on what the point is. Keep asking so what? since this course is much more concerned with mastering skills than with merely acquiring information, it demands your active participation, and i think that the interest and importance of the issues we will be addressing will reward that participation, too. This course does not aim to provide pat answers to questions such as is human cloning morally permissible? it is not a version of sunday school. I don 146 t intend to preach, and if i get carried away, i hope you 146 ll jump on me. I have my own views concerning the issues, and in some cases, i feel confident that i've got some good answers.

what is important in the course is conviction, intellectual honesty, and the sort of perseverance that makes one struggle to bring one's convictions and the weight of argument into accord. the course should help you rationally to make up your minds concerning surrogate motherhood, abortion, capital punishment, and affirmative action, but it will not espouse a set of correct positions. This course does not aim to provide a thorough or precise introduction to moral theory. Although you should learn some moral theory, the subject is a deeper one than it might appear from the introductory material we will consider.

Note: students are encouraged to discuss problems concerning the teaching of this course with the instructor and/or the tas. If students wish to pursue a complaint with someone else, they should contact james anderson, assistant to the chairperson, philosophy department, 5185 h.c. Some of it will be on a public web page: there will be two essays, six 20 minute quizzes of which only the five highest grades count , a final examination, homework assignments, and a web discussion requirement. Your semester grade will depend on the essays 50% , the quizzes 15% , the final 20% , the homework 10% , and the web discussion 5%. lectures and discussion sections attendance is optional, but our hope is that these will be so valuable that you will not want to miss any. Intelligent contributions to discussion in lecture or section coupled with regular attendance at both will also help to boost your semester grade. Barring exceptional circumstances, make ups will not be given, but your lowest score will not count.

introductory paper the introductory essay should be no more than 10 words in length. It is designed to give you an opportunity to try your hand at writing a philosophy essay without the anxiety of having much of your grade depend on the result. It counts for only ten percent of your grade and is due promptly at the beginning of class on wednesday, october 5. It should be no more than 1800 words and the first draft is due at the beginning of class on friday, november 11. The term paper is due early in the semester in order to make it possible for you to rewrite it and to submit a revised version. If you submit a revised version, your grade will be the average of your grades on the two versions. debates we will begin the consideration of each of the six issues with which this course is concerned with a debate on that issue.

Each debate except the first will be the responsibility of one of the sections, and we will poll sections to find out which issues students in each section prefer to debate. Because of time constraints, i will ask for volunteers to participate in the first debate. Those who actually participate in the debates will receive credit for one homework assignment on the issue debated. exams the final examination will be cumulative, with some emphasis on surrogate motherhood and cloning, the two topics for which there will be no quizzes. The assignments will not be corrected only checked for completion of the assignment. You will receive a homework grade depending on how many of the assignments you complete.

Please note that homework assignments cannot be submitted via email, and the generous system of allowances for late homework is provided in lieu of keeping track of specific reasons why students may be unable to submit their homework on time. Please put the name of your ta and the day and time of your section on the front of your homework papers. web discussion to encourage active involvement with the issues in the course, students are expected to join in discussion at the learn@uw web site. Each student will be expected to post at least three questions and to respond to at least three questions posted by other members of the class. To make this manageable and constructive requires from you a good deal of skill and care.