Philosophy

  1. It is 2026 and you are part of a team along with four other researchers about to develop a breakthrough
    vaccine for Covid-22 which is much more infectious than Covid-19 and causes more fatalities. Unfortunately,
    each one of the five of you suffers a significant and potentially fatal health challenge. You need an immediate
    heart transplant, another team member needs a kidney transplant, one needs a liver, another needs lungs and
    the final member needs a cornea transplant. Without treatment, none of you will be able to complete the
    research leading to the vaccine. You learn that there is a single person, we'll call him Bob, who is a perfect
    organ match for each of you. Unfortunately, acquiring the organs would require kidnapping and harvesting
    Bob's organs involuntarily (in other words, Bob would have to die). Bob is not a very nice person, he has no
    family, no friends, and no job. Should we harvest Bob's organs to eventually allow the vaccine to be developed
    or leave Bob alone and perhaps allow the pandemic to rage uncontrolled? What would be the right thing to do
    in this situation? Answer this question from the perspectives of each of the following moral theories: Divine
    Command, Ethical Egoism, Act Utilitarianism, and Kantian Ethics. Conclude by discussing which theory you
    believe provides the most just and rational resolution to the issue. Remember to include a brief summary of
    each theory before applying it to the situation at hand.
  2. It is the year 2525. The Galactic Committee of the Milky Way has ordered an emergency meeting regarding
    the planet Earth. Apparently, there has been more than the usual amount of conflict, pestilence and strife on
    Earth during the preceding 100 years and the Central Committee is not pleased. You are the galactic
    philosophical officer in charge of Earth and your job is to convince the Committee that Earth is in need of
    serious political reform. But how should this reform proceed? That is your job to figure out. Choose one of the
    following theories and argue that it is the path that Earth should be put on to end the strife and bring peace to
    the planet: Plato's Political Philosophy, Machiavelli's Realism, Social Contract Theory, Marxism, Classical
    Liberalism. Remember to discuss what the theory is before applying it to the situation at hand