Reading Response #4

Here is the assignment for the final reading response of the semester. Sadz.

Do you think morality involves universal rules that apply in all circumstances with no exceptions? Or do you think circumstances are relevant to judging the morality of a particular action? Be sure to explain and philosophically defend your answer.

The response is due Monday, April 30th for the Monday night class, and Tuesday, May 1st for the Tuesday & Thursday classes.

Extra Credit Assignment

As we discussed in class, here is an optional extra credit assignment.

In an essay that's as long as a reading response, answer the following questions: Which do you think is more important to determining the morality of a particular action: the intentions behind someone's actions, or the consequences of that action? Why do you think this? Be sure to explain and philosophically defend your position.

For the Monday night class, this assignment is due Monday, April 23rd. For the Tuesday/Thurdsay classes, this assignment is due Tuesday, April 24th. It is worth up to 2.5 points added to your final grade. I will not accept any late assignments (unless you have an excused absence).

Reading Response #3

Here is the assignment for reading response #3. For the Tuesday/Thursday classes, it is due Tuesday, April 10th. For the Monday night class, it is due Monday, April 16th.

Explain and philosophically defend your beliefs about the existence of God. Are you a theist? Atheist? Agnostic? Are you a non-evidentialist? What reasons do you have for your position? Has your position changed at all as a result of studying arguments for and against the existence of God in this class? Have the reasons you use to support your beliefs changed?

Reading Response #2

Reading Response #2 is due Monday, March 12th (for the Monday night class) or Thursday, March 15th (for the Tuesday/Thursday classes). The assignment is to write a 250- to 500-word essay in which you address the following:

Explain what you think the best version of the cosmological argument is. Then philosophically evaluate this version.

As a reminder, we have already discussed three different versions of the cosmological argument in class: (1) Thomas Aquinas's "first cause" version, (2) an abductive (inference to the best explanation) version, and (3) Richard Taylor's version. Aquinas's and Taylor's versions are in the textbook, but we only talked about the abductive version in class.

Reading Response #1

The first reading response is due Thursday, February 8th (if you're in a Tuesday/Thursday class) or Monday, February 5th (if you're in the Monday night Holy Cross class). In a 250- to 500-word response, you are to answer the following question:

What does Descartes say he cannot be certain of? What does Descartes say he can be certain of? Do you agree with Descartes? Why or why not?

The response is based on the reading from pages 58-71 of the textbook.