HU2702: Third ExamFall, 2006

Answer 3 of the following essay questions. Your answers may be handwritten, printed, or typed. However, points will be deducted for illegible or barely legible writing. Read each question carefully, and answer it directly and completely. If you are not sure what a question means, ask the course instructor for clarification. You will be graded mainly on the quality of your understanding of the relevant concepts and theories and the quality of your explanations and justifications. However, points may also be deducted for writing that is unclear or ambiguous and for serious grammatical errors.

Completed exams are due in the classroom (127 Fisher) at 9:35 AMTuesday, December 12, 2006.

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Suppose you are in the following situation: In one of your classes at Michigan Tech, you have been given a very difficult assignment. The assignment consists of writing and perfecting a computer program to accomplish a particularly complicated task. This a major assignment in the course, and your grade on it will determine 1/3 of your final grade. The professor has instructed all students to work independently on the assignment and not to collaborate with each other or seek advice from anyone else. Since your program and results are due next Monday morning.it is clear that you will have to spend the weekend working on it if you have any hope of finishing it on time. Even then, there is a significant chance that you will not be able to get the program working by Monday. You soon discover that some of the other students in the class are working together on the assignment, despite the professor’s instructions. A couple of them invite you to join their group. They maintain that only by cooperating with each other and giving each member of the group a part of the program to write and debug will they have a good chance of getting a high grade on the assignment. Since the professor grades on a curve, you may be at a serious disadvantage if you decide to go it alone. Furthermore, you know that it is easy to make your program superficially different from the other students’ programs so it will not be apparent to the professor that you have collaborated.

Would it be right for you to accept the invitation to collaborate with the other students on the assignment?

Answer 3 of the following:

  1. Answer the above question from the standpoint of a prima facie duties theory of obligation. Explain in detail how that theory applies to the question. Consider (1) which prima facie duties apply to the situation (How do you know?) and (2) which among those duties are the most stringent in the situation (How do you know?) Point out any difficulties or complications you encounter in applying the theory. Be specific. Does the theory provide a clear answer to the question, in your view? Why or why not?
  2. Answer the above question from the standpoint of a moral rights theory of obligation. Explain in detail how that theory applies to the question. Consider (1) which moral rights apply to the situation (How do you know?), (2) whether those rights are positive or negative, (3) what specific duties are correlated with those rights, and (4) which of those duties are the most stringent in the situation (How do you know?) Point out any difficulties or complications you encounter in applying the theory. Be specific. Does the theory provide a clear answer to the question, in your view? Why or why not?
  3. Answer the above question from the standpoint of Rawls contractarian ethical theory. Explain in detail how that theory applies to the question. Consider (1) which moral principles pertaining to the situation would be negotiated in the original position and (2) what those principles would say about your moral obligations in the situation. Point out any difficulties or complications you encounter in applying the theory. Be specific. Does the theory provide a clear answer to the question, in your view? Why or why not?
  4. Answer the above question from the standpoint of Robert Holmes’s contextualist ethical theory. Explain in detail how that theory applies to the question. Consider (1) which moral principles apply to the situation (How do you know?), (2) which consequences should be considered in the situation (How should they be considered?) (3) which goods or values are relevant to your moral obligations in the situation (How are they relevant?) and (4) what role moral experience should play in your deliberations (How should moral experience be taken into account?) Point out any difficulties or complications you encounter in applying the theory. Be specific. Does the theory provide a clear answer to the question, in your view? Why or why not?