Essay topic: The second major paper for our class must be a careful analysis of one or two arguments from a text weve read in weeks 4. This means that you need to focus on one of the following: Dan Brocks Voluntary Active Euthanasia, John Arras Physician-Assisted Suicide, Terrence Ackermans Why Doctors Should intervene, Alan Goldmans The Refutation of Medical Paternalism, Jay Katz’s “Informed Consent — Must it Remain a Fairy Tale”, or Howard Brody’s “Informed Consent in Primary Care”. You may refer to the “Choosing to Die” video or to the texts by Quill and Gawande in your analysis, but you should not focus on them. In order to analyze an argument, you must carefully and thoroughly explain it, then argue for or against it. Plan to dedicate about half of your essay to explaining the argument(s) you are analyzing. It is only after you have shown that you understand the argument that you can start to critique it. Possible topics include: Brocks arguments for the permissibility of euthanasia on an individual level. Brocks arguments for the permissibility of euthanasia at a policy level. Brocks evaluation of the slippery slope of voluntary active euthanasia into non-voluntary active euthanasia. Arras argument for the legal impermissibility of physician-assisted suicide. Goldmans arguments against medical paternalism. Ackermans argument that intervening with a patients choice is sometimes ethically justifiable. Once you have chosen a topic, you must: Explain the author’s arguments carefully and charitably. Make sure you devote enough time to explain their arguments in the strongest possible light. Avoid the temptation to portray the argument as weaker than it really is, just to make your own critique easier (doing so means committing a straw man fallacy). Evaluate each argument, and defend each evaluation. Is the argument strong or weak, and why? Be sure to defend your analysis of each argument with arguments of your own and/or evidence from the text. Consider possible objections and counterarguments: If you are pointing out weaknesses in a text, then consider how would the author might defend her arguments. If you are defending a text from opposing arguments, then consider how opponents might counter your defense. If you can show me that such objections are wrong, your analysis will be much stronger. This is not a research paper: your aim is to explain and critique one or more arguments from a text we have read as a class. Reading outside sources is prohibited. If you do turn to outside sources (even though doing so is prohibited) you must include it in your bibliography. And if you borrow someone else’s ideas, you must cite it. Not doing so is plagiarism, and will result in a “zero” for this assignment. This point is important: even though this is not a research paper, you must cite every quote and every paraphrase you use. Again, although it should go without saying, you are not allowed to copy parts of the lecture notes to use in your essays. Doing so is plagiarism. Keep in mind that this is a short essay, so you will not be able to discuss any one theory in its entirety. You should aim for depth, rather than breadth, in your analysis. This means focusing on one or two small arguments in an essay, and analyzing them in as much detail as you can. Late work will not be accepted! Work turned in after the deadline will receive no credit. Your paper must be uploaded as Word document (doc or docx) or via Google Docs (if given the option by Canvas). Documents in other formats (such as MS Works, or Apple’s Pages) will not be accepted for credit. Also, make sure your file has uploaded successfully, a “corrupt file” will not be accepted as a valid submission. The font used must be Times New Roman, size 12. The essay must be double spaced, with margins of 1 inch or less. The paper should be properly cited, listing author and page number in a parenthesis or footnote, e.g. (Lessing 99), and must include complete and properly formatted bibliography page (following the MLA format or the Chicago Manual of Style). The paper should be 1300-2000 words in length.
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