Essay #4 Options Due May 16
Writing Assignment Option #1
Develop a thesis that explains how Ursula Le Guin’s short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (should be online) is an allegory of the moral challenges we face as we are drugged by privilege leaving us indifferent about the sufferings of The Other. Successful essays will connect the allegory to modern day social injustices such as the inhumane working conditions of migrant workers or the incarceration system, to name a couple.
Explanation
The privileged position themselves to sacrifice a group to perpetuate the privileged group's power. The privileged, like the leaders in Le Guin's short story, rationalize their exploitation of the sacrificed group by making utilitarian pronouncements such as "sacrificing a few for the greater good."
The poor are used as a resource in our society. They pay for municipal violations, they pay higher fees for cars, house, interest payments. There is an entire industry based on exploiting the poor. For example, there are check cashing agencies in poor neighborhoods that take a huge percentage out of the check before handing over the cash.
Small children work in sweat shops all over the world. They don't have a childhood. They don't see their parents. They are slaves. However, they are in demand because they allow American consumers to buy clothes for cheap. Thus these small children are sacrificed for our consumer pleasures.
The same can be said with agriculture. People work in substandard working conditions so we, the consumer, can buy affordable produce.
The same can be said of the restaurant industry. People are exploited so we, the hungry diner, can "eat out on the cheap."
Perhaps the worst sacrifice is made in the industrial prison complex where poor people of color are the primary source of income for this industry.
Theme of Denial
We are all upset by injustice, but we can inure ourselves to cruelty and injustice through denial or willed ignorance.
We rationalize:
"Someone's gotta clean those toilets."
"Someone's gotta pick cheap produce so I can feed my family."
"I'm sad that cows cry before they get slaughtered, but dang that double cheeseburger with goat cheese, bacon, onion rings and sopping with tangy chipotle mayonnaise is delicious."
"I know my peanut butter has cockroach pieces and rat hair in it, but what are you going to do?"
To use the above John Oliver video in a comparison with the Ursula Le Guin short story, you might consider the following parallels of moral shortcomings:
denial
compartmentalization
desensitization to cruelty
confusing majority rule with moral order
confusing status quo with moral order
preferring self-interest and pleasure over moral duty to others as a Faustian Bargain (deal with the devil)
Writing Option #2
Defend, refute, or complicate Bloom's assertion in "Against Empathy" that empathy, contrary to popular opinion, is not a virtue in the face of evidence that empathy is a form of "irrational compassion" that can be destructive and inimical to human affairs.
Sources:
"Why Paul Bloom Is Wrong About Empathy and Morality"
"I Could Say That Paul Bloom Is a Callous Idiot, But I Empathize With Him"
Suggested Outline
Paragraph 1 is your introduction, a summary of Bloom's points.
Paragraph 2 is your agreement or disagreement with Bloom, your thesis.
Paragraphs 3-6 are your supporting paragraphs.
Paragraph 7 is your counterargument-rebuttal section.
Paragraph 8 is your conclusion, a restatement of your thesis.
Writing Option #3
Support, refute, or complicate Malcolm Gladwell's claim that expensive universities are immoral to serve gourmet food to their students because the cost excludes financially challenged students from attending these universities.
Sources
Morality of Food Choices in Malcolm Gladwell's Podcast;
Bowdoin's Defense Against Gladwell
Mother Jones Challenges Gladwell
Gladwell's Food Fight podcast on YouTube
Writing Option #4
Support, refute, or complicate the claim that the disease model of addiction can be harmful to some addicts who would benefit more from a habit or conditioning model of addiction.
Sources
Addiction is not a disease" reviewed by Laura Miller
"Is Addiction a Habit or a Disease?" by Zachary Siegel
"Addiction is a Disease and Needs to be Treated as Such"by David Sack.
See Ed Kressy’s autobiographical essay.
Writing Option #5
Support or refute the argument that there is no valid defense of the Anti-Vaxxer position. You can consult the following:
"Why Vaccination Refusal Is a White Privilege Problem"
"Anti-Vaxxers: Enjoying the Privilege of Putting Everyone at Risk"
"What Everyone Gets Wrong About Anti-Vaccine Parents"
"We Seem to be More Frightened Than We've Ever Been"
"How to Change an Anti-Vaxxer's Mind"
Sample Thesis
While many parents are well intentioned and fearful of vaccines as they are mired in a sea of overwhelming alarmist information, their decision to deny their children vaccines is misguided, at best, and morally repugnant, more likely, when we consider their refusal to acknowledge real science and empirical evidence, their reliance on logical fallacies and quack pseudo-science, their narcissistic conspiracy mentality, and, most of all, their decision to exact a potentially fatal pestilence upon our children.
Sample Outline
Paragraph 1: In your introduction explain the justifications used for the anti-vaxxer movement.
Paragraph 2: Refute or defend those justifications in your thesis.
Paragraphs 3-6 are your supporting paragraphs.
Paragraph 7 is your counterargument-rebuttal section.
Paragraph 8 is your conclusion, a restatement of your thesis.
Group Activity
Get into groups of 4 or 5 and ask the following 3 questions:
One. Do you have an emotional response to parents who don't vaccinate their children?
Two. Are parents who don't vaccinate their children getting a "bad rap"? Explain.
Three. How could you incorporate these two questions into an introduction for your essay?
Writing Option #6
Support, refute, or complicate Tom James' claim that the promises of legal pot have not been fulfilled by incompetence, corruption, and confusion.
Sources
The Failed Promise of Legal Pot
Writing Option #4
Support, refute, or complicate the claim that the disease model of addiction can be harmful to some addicts who would benefit more from a habit or conditioning model of addiction.
Sources
Addiction is not a disease" reviewed by Laura Miller
"Is Addiction a Habit or a Disease?" by Zachary Siegel
"Addiction is a Disease and Needs to be Treated as Such" by David Sack.
See Ed Kressy’s autobiographical essay.
Essays of Note:
The Science of Choice in Addiction
The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous
Overview of AA Critique
One. AA’s all-or-nothing approach made J.G. feel like a defeated misfit. In part, AA was alienating for J.G. because he had no faith in God when AA emphasizes surrendering to a Higher Power.
Two. One-way fallacy. AA told J.G. he had no other treatment options: “Either embrace AA or die.” It's AA or nothing.
J.G. eventually left AA and found effective treatment elsewhere.
Three. AA’s claims of success are less than other studies’ findings. Some claims for AA are as high as 75%.
However, Harvard’s Lance Dodes arrives at a success rate of 5-8%.
According to The Handbook of Alcoholism Treatment Approaches, AA is ranked 38 out of 48 methods.
Four. AA can't handle all the mental problems. Alcoholics suffer high rates of mental health problems. AA is not equipped to address these.
Five. AA truisms and wisdom have become culture’s sacred cow. You’re not allowed to criticize AA without being branded an insensitive lout who is “killing people” by discouraging them from joining AA.
This is an emotional, not a rational or critical thinking approach to disagreement.
Six. Rock-Bottom Theory is dangerous. The AA dogma that you must “hit rock bottom” before you really seek recovery is a dangerous message, according to many addiction treatment professionals. It would be like telling a 250-pound man to gain even more weight, soaring to 650 pounds, before he “got serious” about losing weight. By that time, he might be dead.
Seven. AA is criticized for it’s “one size fits all” approach, what is also called the Procrustean method.
Eight. AA offers either/or fallacy or false binary equations: Either you are an alcoholic or you are not. However, many addiction specialists claim that alcohol addiction exists on a spectrum.
Nine. AA can be a dangerous place for some. A lot of medical professionals force their patients to use AA at the exclusion of other treatments. Some AA environments are dangerous and abusive, especially toward women, according to a report in Pro Publica.
Ten. Finnish approach may be more effective and is based on science. Finland is effectively using United States neuroscientist John David Sinclair medical approach, which focuses on blocking dopamine during alcohol ingestion with the use of an opioid antagonist naltrexone.
Blocking dopamine in the brain through drugs is considered by many a scientifically proven treatment. In contrast, AA uses a non-scientific approach: You must undergo a spiritual makeover, come clean, be honest, makes amends with others, and experience a spiritual rebirth to stay away from addictive behavior. This belief is a sacred cow, but it’s not science.
In critical thinking, we must have credible evidence to support our claims. Is AA using credible evidence to support its claim that AA is the only way to treat addiction?
Counterarguments:
We all know family and friends who’d be dead if it weren’t for AA. They must be doing something right.
There is something to be said about changing one’s spiritual orientation, rather than using drugs, to free oneself from addictive behavior.
AA has a track record of providing a support group for people who can’t deal with their addiction on their own.
AA addresses the whole person, not just a habit, as we read in Ed Kressy's essay.
Rather than micromanaging this or that addiction with medication, AA attempts to change default settings of the soul and show how these default settings trigger addictive behavior.
For example, comedian Marc Maron has been off drugs and alcohol for close to 20 years with the help of AA recovery program. He says on his WTF podcast that recovery has taught him that growing up in a toxic family environment he built a default setting so that when he is in a healthy non-toxic work, friendship, or love relationship his default setting is to make that healthy environment toxic.
Why? Because, Marc Maron has learned, toxicity is his home.
For an another example, we can look to journalist Ana Marie Cox, who suffers from bipolar disorder and is a recovering alcoholic and prescription drug addict. AA recovery taught Ana Marie Cox that while she conquered drugs and alcohol, her default setting is to hate herself. As she said on her podcast With Friends Like These while talking to depressive NPR personality John Moe, her default setting is reach for the bottle of self-hatred.
For Ana Marie Cox, self-hatred is the one addiction she hasn't conquered. She said her default setting is "to reach for the bottle of self-hatred," a habit she's still trying to overcome.
What if we become dependent on the medication that is supposed to help us overcome our addiction?
Sample Thesis Statement That Supports Different Approaches Over AA:
While AA does a good job of addressing the holistic concerns to root out addictive behavior from addictive personalities, it should not be used as the Recovery of First Choice for all addicts since some people have specific needs that are more effectively treated with alternative methods.
Sample Thesis That Favors Medication Over AA In Some Cases
While I feel badly for the Marc Marons and Ana Marie Coxes of the world who need AA to help them overcome their toxic, self-destructive behavior, we must acknowledge that for some with a specific chemical problem and no toxic personality afflictions the Finnish medical intervention program is probably the most effective treatment.
Sample Thesis That Defends AA:
While there are addiction treatments that can help change people's chemistry to free them from their addiction, AA is the best method available because it changes the total person, not just a person's chemistry, and it is this complete transformation that makes for a better long-term way to fight what will be a lifetime of addictive behaviors.
Sample Thesis That Defends AA:
We are better off relying on AA's method of attacking the dysfunctional personality that creates addictive behavior than become dependent on medications that simply become a new addiction.
Sample Outline for Addiction Essay
Paragraph 1: Summarize the major points of the essay "The Irrationality of AA."
Paragraph 2: Develop a thesis that agrees or disagrees with the above essay.
Paragraphs 3-6: Your supporting paragraphs
Paragraph 7: Counterargument-rebuttal
Paragraph 8: Conclusion
Writing Option for Anti-Vaxxers:
Support or refute the argument that there is no valid defense of the Anti-Vaxxer position. You can consult the following:
"Why Vaccination Refusal Is a White Privilege Problem"
"Anti-Vaxxers: Enjoying the Privilege of Putting Everyone at Risk"
"What Everyone Gets Wrong About Anti-Vaccine Parents"
"We Seem to be More Frightened Than We've Ever Been"
"How to Change an Anti-Vaxxer's Mind"
Writing Assignment Option:
Support or refute the argument that there is no valid defense of the Anti-Vaxxer position.
"How to Change an Anti-Vaxxer's Mind"
"Why Vaccination Refusal Is a White Privilege Problem"
"What Everyone Gets Wrong About Anti-Vaccine Parents"
"We Seem to be More Frightened Than We've Ever Been"
"Anti-Vaxxers: Enjoying the Privilege of Putting Everyone at Risk"
Sample Thesis
While many parents are well intentioned and fearful of vaccines as they are mired in a sea of overwhelming alarmist information, their decision to deny their children vaccines is misguided, at best, and morally repugnant, more likely, when we consider their refusal to acknowledge real science and empirical evidence, their reliance on logical fallacies and quack pseudo-science, their narcissistic conspiracy mentality, and, most of all, their decision to exact a potentially fatal pestilence upon our children.
Sample Outline
Paragraph 1: In your introduction explain the justifications used for the anti-vaxxer movement.
Paragraph 2: Refute or defend those justifications in your thesis.
Paragraphs 3-6 are your supporting paragraphs.
Paragraph 7 is your counterargument-rebuttal section.
Paragraph 8 is your conclusion, a restatement of your thesis.
Group Activity
Get into groups of 4 or 5 and ask the following 3 questions:
One. Do you have an emotional response to parents who don't vaccinate their children?
Two. Are parents who don't vaccinate their children getting a "bad rap"? Explain.
Three. How could you incorporate these two questions into an introduction for your essay?
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