You may write on any topic of interest to you that engage the class topics and reading material.
Your paper should:
(1) Have an introduction, middle, and conclusion.
(2) Argue for your conclusion.
(3) Closely engage texts and films assigned for the class.
Here are some possibilities:
1. Discuss moral luck as Thomas Nagel understands it, and illustrate your discussion by reference to one or more movies we have screened this semester (excluding The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance).
2. Apply CarrollŐs theory of art horror with reference to one film that we have not watched in class. Discuss the extent to which CarrollŐs theory successfully captures the features of this film.
3. In a recommended reading, Russ Shafer-Landau argues that the retributive theory of punishment is problematic because it cannot appropriately distinguish acts that are appropriately criminalized from those that are not. Explain and assess this argument.
4. Discuss at least two different theories of justice on display in The Unforgiven. Explain which one you think is best, and as necessary, make reference to the assigned readings.
5. In the recommended reading, Freeland argues that Ňit is easier for filmmakers to depict females as heroes combating horror if the monsters are also female, especially if they set up a primitive female contest in the reproductive and mouthing arenaÓ (82). Explain FreelandŐs argument by reference to Alien, and then apply it to another film we have not seen in class.
6. Do the replicants in Blade Runner share moral standing with humans? Explain your answer both by reference to the relevant issues in the philosophy of mind and issues in moral theory.
7. Consider SocratesŐ argument that we should not fear death. Does it follow that murder is morally acceptable? Why or why not?
8. Socrates argues that to be unjust is to be irrational. Discuss this argument in connection with the character of Judah Rosenthal.
9. The Seventh Seal finds Jns (the Squire) and his housekeeper faced with the decision whether to give water to Raval, a fallen priest and would-be rapist that is dying of the plague. We have distinguished among utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethical guides for right action. Explain how each would guide Jns and the housekeeper in making their decision. Which conception is correct, in this case?
10. Assess the justice of the house-to-house search in Brigham City. Ought such a search be permissible? How would Kantian and Utilitarian accounts of rights bear on the question?
11. The movie Hero concludes with a certain interpretation of the Emperor and his would be assassin. Consider this interpretation in light of one or more theories of justice.
12. Assess the teleological argument for the existence of God.