Philosophy Discussion Question

Instructions: What we do often follows from our core beliefs; beliefs about right and wrong, about where right and wrong comes from, and whether what is right and wrong ever changes or are permanent rules or truths of reality/our world/human society, etc.

If I believe what is right and wrong are truths that don’t ever change, then I would probably try to apply my understanding of what is right and wrong consistently from day to day and from different situation to different situation.

But, if I believe that right and wrong are not unchanging truths but change in one way shape or form, then I might change my sense of what is right or wrong based on the situation I’m currently dealing with, rather than trying to consistently apply the same rules to it that I did in previous situations.

For instance, I might generally believe that lying is a bad thing to do, but I might come to a situation where lying feels like the right thing to do.

If you believe that the rules don’t change from situation to situation, you might say, “Lying feels right in this instance, but my feelings are probably blinding me right now and I’ve got to be true to my principles that it’s always bad to lie and always good to tell the truth. So, I’ll tell the truth and not lie.”

But, if you believe that right and wrong can change from situation to situation, you might say, “More often than not, it’s wrong to lie, but here’s a situation where telling the truth will cause a lot of harm. So, here’s a situation where lying is the right thing to do.” (It might also just be a situation where lying could make the situation easier, or provide some added layer of magic or enjoyment to things, like lying to your kids that Santa Claus is real.)

So, what do you think? Is what is right and wrong an unchanging set of rules that follow truths or laws that are eternal or immutable? Or, is there some change involved Do the rules change? Do the truths they are meant to follow ever change? Is it that the rules change because our understanding of the eternal truths of right and wrong always imperfect, or that they are evolving into better – but always approximate – expressions of eternal truths of right and wrong? (You don’t have to answer all of these questions. These are just here to help get the gears in your head moving.)

What do you think?

I will not grade you based on which answer you chose. I just want you to think hard about this question and answer it to the best of your ability. Really, what I’m looking for is this:

– 1. I can clearly see what the conclusion of your argument is. That is, I can clearly see which position you’re taking regarding this question.

– 2. I can clearly see that you are providing premises to support your argument. That is, I can see that you are providing reasons and evidence to support your position.

That’s it. You don’t have to worry about whether your argument is perfected constructed. The point with this assignment is just to try to make a case for something in ethics in a philosophical way. In the comments to the assignment, I will tell you whether there’s anything wrong with the structure or support of your argument (as well as positive feedback, of course!!!), but you won’t lose points on your grade. Again, the important thing is that I can see what your conclusion is that that you are attempting to support it with reasons and evidence.

In order to get full points on this assignment, you must also follow these guidelines:

• Your argument must be at least 1 and a halfpages in length (you do not need to include a cover or title page), double-spaced, in 12-size font. DO NOT HAVE ANY EXTRA SPACES BETWEEN YOUR PARAGRAPHS!!!!!
• You must type your assignment. I will not accept any hand-written assignments.
• If you include any outside sources or research, be sure to cite them in a footnote. In the footnote, give me the name, title, and page number if it’s from a book, magazine, journal, or newspaper, or give me the author (if you can find the name) and the url address if it’s from an online source.