Explain whether (and why) you think that Patrick’s decision is morally legitimate, anticipating and addressing at least one significant potential objection to your view.

Final Essay Assignment
Assignment Aim
This paper is assigned as an exercise in developing an original philosophical response to a problem from our readings. You should maintain a high level of expository rigor (the emphasis of the first paper) as well a clear critical comparison of all relevant views. This paper differs from the first essay, in that you are required to construct an original argument for your own view.
Prompt
Provide a clear and concise response to one of the following topic prompts in a 3-6 page paper (750-1500
words):
1. At the end of Gone Baby Gone, Patrick decides to call the police and return Amanda to her biological mother. Evaluate this decision using at least one theory from each of the following two groups: [GROUP A: Virtue Ethics/ The Ethics of Care] [GROUP B: Kantianism/Utilitarianism.] Explain whether (and why) you think that Patrick’s decision is morally legitimate, anticipating and addressing at least one significant potential objection to your view.
2. In “Consider the Lobster”, David Foster Wallace writes, “I believe animals are less morally important than human beings, and when it comes to defending such a belief, even to myself, I have to acknowledge that… I have not succeeded in working out any sort of personal ethical system in which the belief is truly defensible instead of just selfishly convenient.” Evaluate this remark via the respective views of Tom Regan and Carl Cohen. Then explain whether (and why) you think that it is possible to defend the moral legitimacy of eating boiled lobster, anticipating and addressing at least one significant potential objection to your view.
Due Date and Turnaround Time
• In order to receive comments on your paper, the final version of your paper must be submitted in the Blackboard system no later than 11:59 PM on the date indicated in the course schedule. Late papers will not be accepted for comments.
• Late papers will be accepted up to one full week past the due date indicated above. These papers will not receive comments of any kind, but they will be thoroughly read and graded. I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY PAPERS AFTER THIS TIME. There will be no exceptions to this policy.
Submission Requirements
• Please submit your essay as a file upload in one of the following formats: DOCX, DOC, PPT, PPTX, PDF, TXT, ODT, RTF
• You are not required to use textual citations for this assignment, and given its nature, I strongly encourage you to rely less on quotes than on your own expository prose. If you do choose to use quotes or paraphrases, it is imperative that cite them explicitly. Failure to do so will be considered plagiarism.
• No particular writing format (MLA, Chicago Manual, etc.) is required.
• Please do not include your name anywhere on the paper–this will allow me to grade your work
blindly.
Evaluation
Your paper will be evaluated according to the following criteria: Organization, Clarity, Concision, Substantive Accuracy, Critical Comparison, Originality of Argument, Coherence of Argument, and Successfully Anticipated/Addressed Objection. A detailed rubric elaborating on these criteria is attached to this assignment prompt.

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