• Read about the life of a moral reformer or examine the life of your own moral hero or heroine.
• Respond to the following questions:
  • What motivated the person of your choice to continue, even when the cause seemed hopeless?
  • Was the motivation a sense of duty grounded in reason or sentiment or both? Explain.
  • Does your response to the above question agree with Kant's claim that morality is grounded in reason alone?
• Discuss Benthams's claim that punishment is an evil (1). Can punishment, including capital punishment, be justified on utilitarian grounds? Or does punishment of criminals actually decrease the overall happiness of society, as Bentham maintains?
• What policy would a utilitarian most likely propose for dealing with potentially dangerous criminals?

A characteristic of Kant's good will is that it is free of particular interests. A free will is autonomous and is guided by reason. A heteronomous will is guided by sentiment, context, or self-interest.

"Inside a Texas children's hospital, an 11-month-old girl [named Tinslee] lies paralyzed and in constant pain. She can breathe only with a ventilator. A suite of medications keeps her alive. Tinslee's condition, doctors say, will never improve. The infant's health-care team at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth says that every medical procedure it performs on her causes only more suffering and that she should be allowed to die naturally and peacefully. Her mother is begging for her daughter to be kept alive. The emotionally charged decision about Tinslee's fate fell to a Tarrant County district court judge, who on Thursday ruled in favor of the hospital" (1).

• The physician and the parent each have a will to act morally. Use Kant's criteria to describe will.
  • Characterize the will of the physician in this case as either heteronomous or autonomous. Be sure to provide your reasons for that characterization.
  • Characterize the will of the parent providing reasons for your characterization.
  • What would you do if you were the physician?
  • What would you do if you were the parent?

One of the problems in environmental ethics regarding entire ecosystems is their lack of inclusion in moral theory. Ecosystems are neither considered a person nor consciousness and thus cannot be defended in a court of law.

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of the following moral theories as a basis for protecting an ecosystem?
  • Social contract theory.
  • The principle of utility.
  • Rights.
  • The principle of equality.
• In your view, how can ecosystems best be defended?