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Pages:
2 pages/≈550 words
Sources:
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Style:
MLA
Subject:
Literature & Language
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
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Topic:

Utilitarian Argument: Some Humans and Animals are Morally Equal

Essay Instructions:

The essay should be 2-3 pages long, double spaced, and formatted according to MLA requirements. This is an essay. It should contain paragraphs and be formatted like an essay.
There are no citation requirements for this essay. That is, you do not need to have any outside sources. In fact, often the best essays are ones that rely upon the work you have done in the previous weeks on Consequentialism and Utilitarianism. If you choose to use any outside sources (websites, books, articles, etc.), you must properly cite them. Failure to properly cite your sources could constitute plagiarism, which would result in a zero for the assignment.
The essay should follow the standard rules for college writing. Using poor grammar, punctuation, and spelling will negatively affect your grade. See the document "Best Practices for College Writing" for a detailed explanation of my expectations for a college level essay. You can find that document under the Course Resources link in the Course Menu.
Grading for the essay is based on the two parts of the essay. Part one is factual and based on the assigned reading. I am looking for a clear explanation of the utilitarian position. You will be graded based on the accuracy of your answer. Part two is argumentative. You need to give an argument here. An argument is not your personal view or a list of points. An argument is a set of statements that support another statement. Review pages 9-16 in The Fundamentals of Ethics for a summary of argumentation. You will be graded based on the quality of the argument given. I take the two grades from the two sections and average them for the overall essay grade. For instance, if you get a 90 on Part 1 and a 70 on Part 2, your overall grade for the essay will be an 80. Also, a more detailed rubric can be found under the Course Resources link in the Course Menu. Click the the Grading Rubrics folder under Course Resources.
Your essay should be submitted to the Assignment link below. Your submission will be checked for plagiarism using Blackboard's SafeAssign software. See the course syllabus under the Course Resources link for an explanation of plagiarism. All cases of plagiarism will receive a zero for the assignment. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Your essay should have two components. The first component is factual and the prompt is #1 below. I will be looking for a correct response to the questions in #1 below. Your textbook, The Fundamentals of Ethics, should be helpful here. The second component is argumentative and the prompt is #2 below. For this component, you will be graded on the quality of your argument. Your critical thinking skills should be helpful here.
Utilitarians think that some humans are morally equal to some animals. What exactly do they mean by this, and how do they argue for it?
Is their argument correct? If so, give an argument defending the utilitarian perspective. If not, give an argument criticizing the utilitarian perspective.

Essay Sample Content Preview:
Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Utilitarian and Animals
Utilitarians think that some humans are morally equal to some animals. This thinking means that some humans and some animals have equal rights and should be treated equally. There should be no discrimination between human and non-human species. Utilitarians consider it unjustifiable to consider another species as having unequal rights just because they are non-human species (Animal Ethics, 2021). The argument put forth by the utilitarians concerning the assignment of equal moral status for animals and human species is grounded on the core utilitarian philosophy. The following is an explanation of the argument to support the assertion that some humans are morally equal to some animals.
According to the utilitarian approach to morality, every bit of suffering and happiness that results from actions must be put into consideration when considering the morality of an action. The action that leads to the most happiness and least suffering is the one that should be regarded as moral (Gruen, 2017). Otherwise, the action cannot be morally justifiable. When considering morality, both human and non-human animals must be put into consideration. Building on these observations, the utilitarians conclude that animals must be respected with the same intensity that human beings are respected. Let us take an example with animal exploitation to illustrate the utilitarian argument for why some humans are morally equal to animals. Around the globe, there are several billions of animals that are slaughtered. Human beings to this since animals have been widely used as food since the dawn of civilization. Utilitarians do not view it this way, however. They view the slaughtering of animals as inflicting unnecessary pain for satisfying the pleasure of human beings. Consequently, the action of exploiting animals...
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