Prompt: This prompt comes with two options. The first gives you a topic for your paper. Thesecond invites you to come up with your own. The second is therefore much harder, and so Isuggest you only take it if you feel confident in your writing ability.(1) We have discussed three major ethical theories in our class – utilitarianism, Kantianism,and Aristotle’s virtue ethics. For this prompt, I want you to take a position in the disputebetween the three theories. This will involve some kind of defense of one theory withrespect to one (or both) of the others. This is an argumentative paper, and so it will beorganized around a thesis. Your thesis can be that one of the three theories is whollycorrect, but it needn’t be. Perhaps it will be that one theory is closer than the other to thetruth. Or perhaps it will be that one theory can be made stronger (or even wholly correct) ifit is modified in some way. But no matter what your position is, make sure that you clearlyarticulate it for your reader.In your paper, make sure you do the following things:• State your thesis in the introductory paragraph, so that the reader knows what toexpect as she reads.• Start with a clear explanation of the basic ideas all of the theories you’ll be talkingabout. This will be at least two of the theories, but could be all three.• Present what you take to be the strongest reasons in favor of your thesis. These canbe taken from our readings, but you should put them in your own words. Keep thenumber of arguments small (one or two, but no more) – aim for depth of insight,rather than breadth of coverage.• Present what you take to be the strongest argument that opposes your thesis, fromthe perspective of one of the other theories, and provide a response to it. Again,this can be taken from arguments in the readings, but you should put it in yourown words. Pick only one – explain it carefully and in detail, respond to it carefullyand in detail.• Your concluding paragraph can be brief, simply stating the conclusions of yourarguments.(2) Come up with your own paper topic! It still needs to be an argumentative paper, whosemain goal is to argue for a thesis, but you can choose what that thesis is, and what readingsfrom the course will be relevant. If you choose this option, you must submit your topic foracceptance by me by Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Formatting: 3—5 pages, double-spaced, 12 point font, 1” margins. Email the paper to me as a.doc or .docx file. No need for a separate title page – just put your name, course number (PHL200), and the words “Essay Assignment” as a header, and title your paper above the body. Thebody of the paper must be at least 3 pages; header and title do not count toward the total length