Objectivism and Subjectivism about Morality

Write a 5-6 page paper on one of the Topics below.

It should be double-spaced, 1” margins (for comments), page numbers, and set in 12pt Times New Roman font.

 

Remember, please, to mark the number of the question you are answering!

Advice. Read the question you choose carefully, and make sure you answer it, and that what you write is clearly relevant to answering it. (The reader should never have to ask themselves: “Why am I being told this?”)

TOPICS Choose ONE of them

1. Articulate and contrast two conceptions of human practical reason and its point, one that takes it as ‘desire-centered’, the other as ‘good-centered’. Critically evaluate them: which do you consider the more plausible and why?

2. . “An Objectivist about morality and moral evaluation, a Subjectivist about practical reason.” Explain this as a comment on Foot’s position in “Morality as a System of Hypothetical Imperatives”. Do you accept or reject her position? Give reasons defending your choice.

3. The idea that the virtues of character form a unity under practical wisdom can seem a philosopher’s illusion. What arguments can you envisage to argue for it, and how persuasive do you find them? Give reasons either way.

4. Outline some conceptions of conscience and then evaluate the claim that the notion conscience plays an important part in enriching our understanding of human practical rationality.