Instruction
For the final project of the course, representing the culmination of our work this semester, you will create a consultant’s report based on your philosophical analysis and observations of life in your community. In this report you will recommend a policy change, initiative, or campaign. Alternatively, you may validate an existing policy, initiative, or campaign by explaining why it has contributed positively to the community, or why a possible change would likely be harmful.
The report consists, first, of a diagnosis of a problem in your community that needs to be addressed. You will be arguing that this problem is an ethical problem by referring to one of the three major moral theories we’ve covered in class.
Elements of the consultant’s report
Part I: Diagnosis of an Ethical Problem
Argument
Your conclusion, or thesis statement, should be a statement that identifies something as an ethical problem in your community
P1 is your moral premise. It should articulate an ethical principle
Support P1 by quoting and analyzing a text from the course.
P2 is your non-moral premise. It should make a claim about how the principle applies to life in your community (Texas State, San Marcos, the state of Texas, the U.S., your neighborhood, etc.)
Here, you should have some data or other empirical (scientific or observable) support for this claim. This is the place to do outside research.
Part II: Recommendation
Describe what you are recommending clearly and thoroughly. Give plenty of details and specifics.
Discuss at least one good reason to think that your recommendation will effectively address the issue you identified in Part I.
Possible concerns
Consider which perspectives or people affected by the proposal might be overlooked and how you would expose yourself further to these perspectives
Discuss some potential problems with your recommendation, or complicating factors to watch out for if it were to be implemented.
*See these sample projects (note: they utilize theories that we did not cover this term):