You have been asked to write a conversation between two interlocutors, one of whom begins the conversation by asserting and defending a view expressed in the quote provided. The other of whom questions challenge the views and arguments made by the first.
You will choose a claim associated with the following topics:
Liberty and Freedom: “Conflicts over liberty and freedom are simple to resolve: A person should be free to do or say anything they choose as long as it does no harm to others.”
Abortion: “Every person has a right to self-determination, and that includes the right to determine for oneself whether to have an abortion.”
Death Penalty: “Murder in all its forms is morally wrong, and the death penalty is simply a form of murder, and thus morally wrong.”
Equality and Difference: “The successful defeat of racism and sexism requires that we come to view differences in race and sex as irrelevant as differences in eye color.”
Wealth and Equality: “It is not an ethical problem if someone has a yacht while another person is food or health insecure, as long as the difference in wealth was arrived at fairly.”
In asking you to write a DIALECTICAL DIALOGUE, I am asking you to write a conversation between two interlocuters, one of whom begins the conversation by asserting and defending the view expressed in the quote, and the other of whom questions and challenges the views and arguments made by the first. The conversation that you write up, to be properly dialectical, should do the following:
Explain or interpret the view (more than one interpretation may be possible).
Consider reasons for thinking the view is true.
Consider reasons for thinking it is false.
Consider the strengths and weaknesses of the reasons offered both in defending and in criticizing the view (2 and 3 above).
Explore the topic beyond the original quote in whatever way the conversation takes it.
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