Midterm 1 is due by Weds Sept 24 at 11:59 pm.  Late submissions are allowed but will be assessed a penalty as described in Late Work on syllabus.

 The exam is based on Chapters 1 - 10 of our text Justice. You may consult Justice and other resources, but please do not discuss the exam with other human beings with the exception of the UMD Writer's Workshop. Your answers must be expressed in your own words so please continue to follow our policy on not using AI writing tools in any way (as described in our syllabus and reproduced below).

Your answers should be expressed as Personal Essays and you should prepare these in the same way as you've been preparing our previous essays - compose your answers entirely in a single Google Doc  and then submit a single URL when the exam is finished. Make sure that you have the Doc set so that anyone with the link is an editor. Your version history must show the complete evolution of all your answers from start to finish, so please do not start your answers somewhere else and then cut and paste them. Please follow all of our guidelines for Personal Essays including the 500 word minimum.

If you have questions about the exam, please post those to this thread on the discussion list on Canvas so that  everyone gets the same information about the exam. Please allow up to 12 hours for a response to questions.

When mentioned on this exam, philosophical foundations refers to the following : 

1. Utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham

2. Utilitarianism of John Stuart Mill

3. Libertarianism

4. Immanuel Kant 

5. John Rawls 

6. Aristotle 

When discussing these philosophical foundations be sure to describe the specific ideas that make up these foundations as described in our text Justice. 

There are four exam questions. Please make sure to number your responses in your Google Doc. You do not need to copy the question into your response although you can if you find that helpful. Do not of course include the questions in your word count. Be assured  that all of your writing in this class is always kept private and confidential and I do not share it in any form with anyone or any online resource.

Start of Midterm 1 Questions

1. [5 points] Please listen to the following 42 minute podcast : https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/b08gxndc This is a debate moderated by Michael Sandel, the author of Justice. In your personal essay please lay out the issue at the center of the debate and the sides that people took. In your view what were the strongest arguments made on each side of the debate? How did these arguments connect to our philosophical foundations from Justice?  Your essay should include specific examples from the debate that show the use of at least three different philosophical foundations. Which side would you take in this debate, and what additional arguments would you make to support your position? Use at least two philosophical foundations to support your position. An mp3 file of the above is available in Canvas Files if you have any trouble with the link. Please note as you listen to this episode that your own podcast later this semester should follow a similar format where you will play the role of Michael Sandel. We'll discuss this later but I wanted to let you know about this now so you could think about that as you listen. 

2. [5 points] Please listen to the following 9 minute news report : https://www.npr.org/transcripts/245475246?storyId=245475246 . In your personal essay explain the ethical dilemma this report presents, why you believe this is a dilemma, and three options that you believe could resolve it. Then reason about each possible option according to the philosophical foundations of Aristotle and reach a conclusion as to which option is the most ethical according to this framework. Your essay should conclude with your opinion regarding the most ethical solution to this dilemma, why you believe that, and at least one philosophical foundation other than that of Aristotle that supports your position. An mp3 file of the above is available in Canvas Files if you have any trouble with the link.

3. [5 points] When trying to resolve an ethical dilemma there is often a tension among the competing goals of promoting the general welfare, respecting freedom, and cultivating virtue. By tension I mean it is not always possible to resolve an ethical dilemma in a way that maximizes all of these goals. Consider the recent proposal to eliminate vaccine mandates in Florida which is outlined in the following 4 minute news report : https://www.npr.org/2025/09/05/nx-s1-5529280/what-are-the-consequences-of-eliminating-vaccine-mandates-as-florida-plans-to-do Describe the dilemma posed by this proposal and discuss the competing tradeoffs between promoting the general welfare, respecting freedom, and cultivating virtue. In particular, present three ways to resolve this dilemma, where each maximizes one of these goals at the expense of the other two. To be clear, one option should prioritize promoting the general welfare, another should prioritize respecting freedom, and the third should prioritize cultivating virtue. Your discussion of each option should be supported by at least one of our philosophical foundations. Your essay should conclude with your opinion regarding which of these options is the most ethical, and why. An mp3 file of the above is available in Canvas Files if you have any trouble with the link.

4. [5 points] Which of our philosophical foundations best reflects your own personal philosophy and approach to life? I understand that you may not handle every situation in life according to a single philosophical foundation, but please reflect on this and discuss the one you rely upon most frequently. In your personal essay explain that philosophical foundation in your own words, and then describe three specific events from your own life that show how you used that philosophical foundation to make a decision. Do not use your dilemma from Personal Essay #1 or similar. Be specific in describing these situations and provide details (who, what, when, etc.) that make it clear these are unique to you. Also be specific in explaining how your actions connect to the philosophical foundation you identify with. 

End of Midterm 1 Questions

The No Use of AI Writing Tools policy (from our syllabus) is in effect for all aspects of this exam. 

Please do not use automated writing tools like Gemini, CoPilot, ChatGPT, Grammarly, Claude, Jasper, DeepSeek, etc. at any point in developing work for this class. This includes our Personal Essays, any take home Exams, and your Podcast. Do not use them for brainstorming ideas, do not use them for writing, and do not use them for polishing or correcting your work. 

All of your written work should be composed entirely in Google Docs. You may use the spelling and grammar checking tools provided in the standard version of Google Docs but do not use or add-on anything beyond that for any of our assignments.  

Why such a strict policy? I read all of your essays and exams. I listen to your podcasts. I do not offload the grading of your work on to a teaching assistant or an automated AI tool. I read what you submit carefully, and I would like to hear your own unique voice come through in the work you do for this class. I genuinely enjoy this experience. These tools obscure your voice and restrict your imagination. They make you sound more generic and less like the unique individual that you are. 

Any work that you submit in this class must be uniquely and exclusively written by you. This means no AI Writing Tools, it also means no cutting and pasting or overly close paraphrasing from other sources (which is essentially what these AI tools do, just in a very fancy and elaborate way). If you submit work that you did not uniquely and exclusively create, you may receive a 0 on that assignment.  

Finally, I do not use AI in any aspect of this class. I do not use it to prepare for class, to create lecture content or discussion questions, nor do I use it for any part of grading.