Paper Topics for Who’s To Say? A Dialogue on Relativism

Due Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Choose one of the following topics.
Follow basic format for papers: typed, double-spaced, with standard heading (name, class, date). Pages should have your initial and last name with a page number in the upper right-hand corner. Paper-clip (don’t staple!) pages together. Maximum length: 1500 words.

1. Some critics have objected to the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” <http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm>, saying that the diversity of cultures makes the very concept of universal rights impossible. To help inform yourself, consult the following commentary <http://www.newint.org/issue332/essay2.htm> and write an essay addressing the question, Can one have good reasons to consider such a declaration valid without being ethnocentric in one’s thinking? Use arguments presented by characters from Who’s to Say? to support your viewpoint. Include an argument employed by a character in our text that would oppose your point of view and then overcome this challenge by a counter-argument.
    
2. Proponents of “intelligent design” theory argue that evolution is too one-sided a theory and that Christians have a right to study intelligent design as an alternative. The intelligent design theorists say that scientists have no better reasons to support evolution than they have for intelligent design. Most responsible scientists counter that there is no good evidence to fit intelligent design theory—that it imposes a religious standard of belief on a field of science. Take a stand on the issue that uses arguments presented by at least two characters from Who’s to Say? Explain and argue against at least one strong argument you anticipate the opposing side will make. [Note: Do not assume that Christianity as such is opposed to evolution; most mainstream churches—Catholic, Lutheran (ELCA), Presbyterian, etc.—teach that evolution is compatible with the Bible, properly understood.]
    
3. Your younger brother or sister comes home from high school with a pamphlet from a group advocating white supremacy. When asked, he/she said that some people at school were passing these out and claiming that they have a right to speak freely about what they believe, even though others claim it should be banned as hate speech. Your brother/sister says, “I don’t know that I agree with their position, but who’s to say what’s right? They may have just as good reasons to defend their point of view as the multiculturalists have to defend theirs. Who’s to say?” You decide to write your brother/sister a letter, explaining what you think about the question. You must use arguments presented by at least two of your friends from the dialogue Who’s to Say? and you must explain and argue against at least one strong argument you anticipate the opposing side would make.
    
4. Peter claims that admitting that we are in a kind of “relativistic predicament” with regard to reasons for beliefs about goodness and truth will prevent us from being ethnocentric. Elizabeth counters that Peter’s defense of relativism actually undermines the motivation a person really needs to overcome ethnocentrism and be open to other cultures. Explain why Elizabeth should think this about relativism, and decide which approach—Peter’s or Elizabeth’s—provides more coherent reasons to be open to others’ ideas of goodness and truth. Develop and explain your arguments using concrete examples.
    
5. You receive an email from your family that your aunt/uncle (choose one) has been diagnosed with cancer, and your mother/father, a doctor, is disturbed that your “auncle” has decided not to have surgery or chemotherapy, but instead pursue an herbal treatment. Your auncle’s reasoning runs thus: medicine doesn’t really know what it’s dealing with when it comes to cancer. The medical “cures,” whether surgery or chemotherapy, are very destructive of the body and one’s quality of life, and many patients don’t survive despite these procedures. On the other hand, there seem to be lots of stories about people who have taken herbal therapies and had their cancer go into remission. Your mother/father counters that such “stories” don’t have any scientific basis of fact—there’s no scientifically medical evidence that the herbal cures are “true,” while real medicine has scientific legitimacy and proof that “it works.” Your auncle’s reply to this is that “science” simply excludes whatever doesn’t fit its own pre-conceived notions of what counts as true: “There’s really no better reason to believe medical science than there is to believe herbal medicine.” While your “auncle” certainly has a “right” to pursue whatever therapy s/he chooses, you have to decide which argument makes more sense and why. Write an essay explaining your judgment and your reasoning. Use points of view upheld by at least two characters in the dialogue Who’s to Say?, including an argument or arguments that would support the other side, but which you think you can nevertheless defeat.

Guide for paper format:

How to Make a Page Header:

Note: if you don’t know how to include a “header” on each page in Microsoft Word, it’s easy:

1. On the menu bar, click on “View.”
2. Find and click on the menu item “Header and Footer.” Your cursor will be inside the header box, which is normally “hidden.” A special “Header and Footer” toolbar will be visible, as will the regular toolbars at the top of the window.
3. Click the “Align Right” button in the main toolbar (not the header toolbar) and then type your first initial and last name, then a space.
4. Click on the # sign icon in the Header and Footer Toolbar. This will insert a page number that will stay accurate as you go from page to page.
5. Click the “Close” button on the Header and Footer Toolbar. and you’ll be back on the regular page, ready to write and edit.