Briefly characterize the place of the topic in King’s life and work; summarize the ongoing debate about the topic- take a side in the debate in one’s own voice for reasons one articulates clearly.

Assignment Question

The goal of the paper is for students to take a well-informed stand in the ongoing philosophical debates about King’s ideas. Papers must therefore accomplish three things:

1. briefly characterize the place of the topic in King’s life and work;

2. summarize the ongoing debate about the topic;

3. take a side in the debate in one’s own voice for reasons one articulates clearly.

First paragraph should be a single sentence stating what you will argue in this paper. For example, “In this paper I will draw on John Rawls’ theory of justice to show that MLK’s practice of civil disobedience is morally justified, despite the concerns raised by Herbert Storing.” Next task (may take several paragraphs): Define the central terms in the thesis, and briefly discuss the place of the topic in King’s thought and work. For example: define civil disobedience and contrast it to several other forms of law breaking and then describe briefly the way King practiced and thought about civil disobedience. You may draw on earlier readings from King’s writings and/or biography, too. Next task (again, may take several paragraphs: summarize the ongoing philosophical debate about the topic. Be sure to explain as clearly as possible the reasoning for and against King’s ideas. Here you will need to draw on the sources assigned in class. You may draw on earlier readings from the history of philosophy, too. Final task (again, may be several paragraphs): State in your own voice which side of the debate convinces you, and explain why. Ideally, at this stage of the paper, you will also imagine at least one objection those on the other side would raise to your thinking, and respond to their objection.