what the latter entails, first.
Your final research paper must be written on any one (and only one) of these three hot button ethical issues facing contemporary society: (A) universal single payer healthcare; (B) same-sex marriage; (C) the regulation of firearms owned by private citizens. In discussing the ethics of your chosen issue, your paper must thoroughly address any two (and only two) of these four moral positions: (A) Bentham-style classical utilitarianism; (B) Nozick-style libertarianism; (C) Rawls-style liberalism (centered on Rawls’s “justice as fairness” framework); (D) Aristotelian virtue theory.
Once you have chosen your topic and the two moral theories with which you will frame your discussion, you are to research and write a 6-8 page paper which makes use of at least three scholarly sources.[1] Here, you will need to complete the following tasks: (A) provide a brief overview (no more than 1 page) of what the moral issue consists of (i.e., if you’re writing on universal single payer healthcare, explain what the “single payer” component adds, etc.); (B) provide brief overviews (no more than 1 page for each) of the two moral theories you’re incorporating into the paper; (C) provide thorough and detailed discussion of what each of the two moral theories would have to say about the ethical issue you’ve chosen, and why; (D) finally, provide brief discussion (no more than 1 page) of where you, personally, come down on the ethical issue you’ve chosen, and why.
As far as style goes, you must use MLA formatting throughout; also, you must use a 12-point Times New Roman font and double-spacing throughout. As the course syllabus states, I will assign grades to the papers by taking into consideration the following criteria: structure (including correct formatting, spelling, grammar, word choice, flow, clarity, etc.), content (including your overall understanding of the material), and punctuality of assignment submission. Late submissions will incur a stiff points penalty, and extremely late submissions will not be accepted. Plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, will result in a zero for the assignment (2)