ETHC 324 Essay 1 Liberty University
Module/Week 2: Essay 1 Prompt
Discuss Basil Mitchell’s two-tier description of the moral foundations of liberal humanism (or what might be called multicultural liberalism). There are several key features of the scheme that you will comment on, such structures as: the place of rational status for the beliefs contained in each tier; the use of the fact/value dichotomy; and different metaphysical conceptions of ideals (especially Mitchell’s contrast between ideals of human excellence and vocational ideals). Identify how Mitchell describes the entire two-tier system that comprises liberal humanism as an “individual ideal, which is not merely vocational.” Finally, explain Mitchell’s main challenge to the coherence of the liberal humanist scheme and its possible attempt to employ prescriptive pluralism. The length of this paper creates a real life situation where you must figure out how to present an idea intelligently with few words.