L​‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‍​ength: 1800 words – EACH PROMPT SHOULD BE 600 WORDS Set A –Respond to the following prompt: A-2. For classical Chinese philosophy, ethics is all about cultivating virtuous dispositions. The cultivation of virtue didn’t really get mentioned in our utilitarian readings. Could a utilitarian theory incorporate this theme? What value is there, for a utilitarian, in the cultivation of virtue? Or must utilitarian ethical theory be hostile to a focus on virtue? • Suggested sources in the unit materials: Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy; Singer, Practical Ethics; Unit Reader, Chapter 5 Set B –Respond to the following prompt: B-2. The ‘total’ view and the ‘prior existence’ view are two different theoretical frameworks to assess the moral impact of actions. In your view, which theory is better? • Suggested sources in the unit materials: Unit Reader, Chapters 3-4; Singer, Practical Ethics Set C –Respond to the following prompt: C-1. In your view, does moral innocence or guilt make any difference to a person’s right not to be killed? • Suggested sources in the unit materials: Unit Reader, Chapter 2; Unit Reader, Reading D (Otsuka) ———————————————————————————————————- Prompt selection and response length • Each response will be marked separately and will count equally for your overall mark. • Each response must be 600 words long, plus or minus 10%. In other words, each prompt should be between 540 and 660 words long. The word limit is inclusive of in-text references. • Please indicate the word length of each of your responses at the end of the response. • Please submit all three responses in a single document. Sources, citation, referencing • This is an open book exam. You may make full use of your notes and all unit materials in writing your responses. • There is no advantage to using sources outside of the assigned readings for this assessment. However, if you do use external sources, you must cite them. o If you use external sources without citing them and including them in your bibliography, this counts as plagiarism, which is academic misconduct and will incur disciplinary consequences. • When drawing on the assigned readings, you need to cite a page number if you are using a direct quote or paraphrasing a specific passage. You may just use a quick in-text citation: o (UR, p??) for anything from the Unit Reader, including the articles at the end of the Unit Reader; o (PE, p??) for anything from Practical Ethics; o for the Chinese philosophy use sections numbers: (Analects, §??) or (Mengzi, §??); o (McMahan, p??) if​‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‍​ you use the McMahan. • If you are generally drawing on your knowledge of unit materials without a specific page in mind, you do not need to cite. However, may I advise that your answer will probably be stronger if you do engage with specific page numbers. It would be hard to write excellent responses without close engagement with course materials. • You do not need to include any bibliography or reference list. General guidance • Each response must display detailed awareness and understanding of the unit materials. • The prompts will provide quite broad list of ‘suggested sources in the unit materials’. But don’t just throw in everything from that list: you need judge which elements of the unit materials are relevant to answering the given prompt. • In addition to characterising the views you have encountered in the unit materials, each prompt will also require you to take a stand on a theoretical issue (indicate your own position, and reasons for it). If you don’t do this, then you aren’t fully answering the question! o Your position could be agreeing with a view you have encountered in the unit materials. But you need to give your reasons for agreement. • Due to the brevity of the responses, it will not have the full formal structure of an essay: you will not need to do a full separate introduction and conclusion. However, a good response will most likely have some elements of essay structure in miniature: in particular, it should explicitly indicate your thesis, it should have some exposition, and it should have some evaluation. A good answer will have clear signposting words and topic sentences which indicate what you are doing at each point of your answer. • Structurally, it can help to break down your writing into paragraphs, one big thought per paragraph. • You should not be using footnotes in your responses. Rubric Each of your three responses will be marked separately, and weighted equally. Each response will be assessed according to the following criteria understanding: • does the response demonstrate a strong understanding of the relevant concepts and arguments from the unit readings? • does the response appropriately select which unit material to include? argument: • does the response have a thesis? • does the thesis answer the question of the prompt? • does the response provide reasons supporting its thesis? • do the reasons logically connect to support the thesis? • is the thesis appropriately tested, for instance by considering an objection or challenge? mechanics: • is language clear and readable? • does the response express ideas concisely and precisely? • is ​‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‍​the structure of the response clear and appropriately signposted?