Choose ONE of the prompts below and write a 4-6 page essay. The essay should be in Times New Roman, 12pt font and double-spaced. You should use 4-5 short quotations in the essay. Since the assignment is not a research paper you don't need a bibliography. However, when you use a quotation you will need to use an in-text citation (Author, p#). Please see the Essay Grading Criteria for additional information. You may also want to check out the "Tips for Writing a Philosophy Paper" for some helpful advice on how to construct an intro paragraph, thesis statement, etc.
(1) America's Unjust Drug War
In America's Unjust Drug War, Michael Huemer rejects two common arguments against the prohibition of recreational drug use and argues that prohibition is ultimately a violation of individual rights. Provide a detailed explanation of these three lines of argument. You should also specifically discuss whether it would be better to decriminalize drug use and treat it as a public health issue rather than a criminal issue (note that this is not the same as legalization so you should speculate on whether this approach would satisfy Huemer). You may also include 1-2 additional objections to legalization (maybe drawing on DRUGS (From James Fieser's Moral Issues that Divide Us). Finally, argue for or against Huemer's position by discussing which line(s) of argument you find most convincing.
(2) Presumed Consent (Michael Gill)
In his essay, "Presumed Consent, Autonomy, and Organ Donation," Michael Gill provides an autonomy based moral argument in support of presumed consent. First provide a general description of how the organ donation system works and discuss why it is problematic. Next, explain how a system of presumed consent work and Gill's autonomy based argument in defense of this system. Lastly, discuss whether we should adopt a system of presumed consent or stick with our current system.
(3) Public Health Ethics (Public Health Ethics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy))
What is public health ethics? Provide a detailed explanation of 2-3 justifications for public health programs/policies. You should frame this paper around the potential conflict between public health programs/policies and individual liberty. Lastly, discuss whether the above justifications for public health programs/policies are strong enough to justify infringing on individual liberty.