W.k.

Assignment Instructions:
W.K. Clifford (1845-1879) gave the following parable in his essay The Ethics of Belief:
Imagine an owner of a passenger ship is about to send out an emigrant ship, carrying several families across the sea to a new home. He understands that the ship is not very well built and knows it has suffered a lot of wear and tear. A shipwright he employs brings some expensive structural issues to his attention. It’s questionable whether the ship is seaworthy. These doubts make the owner unhappy, so he suppresses them. He convinces himself that the ship is fine and ready to go. He puts out of his mind any ungenerous suspicions about the integrity of shipwrights and contractors. He tells himself that the ship has already made many successful voyages before and that the Lord will see these families safely to their new home. When it sinks, hundreds of passengers drown. He collects the insurance money and suffers no remorse.
1. Is the shipowner morally at fault?
2. If so, what exactly did he do wrong? What was the root cause of the failing?
3. What, if anything, should he have done differently?
At least two substantive paragraphs briefly lay out what conclusions you came to about these questions and list the reasons offered in support of your conclusions. A substantive paragraph is at least 100 words and usually more. Be sure to use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. Your initial post is due on the date given for this assignment.
SUBMIT AND REPLY TO CLASSMATES:
Save your work in a word processor. Canvas may crash and lose your work if it is open too long. Once you have written your response, copy and past into the “Reply” box.
Respond to two classmates in a way that pushes the conversation forward. Your comments must be completed by the Sunday following the due date for the initial post/reply. Is there any reason to doubt your classmate’s reasons? Let them know if there is. Do your classmates’ reasons provide support for their conclusions? If not, respectfully explain why. Did your classmates come up with reasons you did not consider? If so, let them know about it. Do you agree or disagree with them? Why?
Professional writing tips:
*Use signposting. The first sentence of each paragraph should indicate what the paragraph is about.
* Follow structure: Write one topic per paragraph. Keep in mind that when you EXPLAIN an idea to your reader, you must first define it, explain it with examples, and then assess or critique it, in that order. Paragraphs should have one topic per paragraph. Never critique an argument before you explain it. Pretend that you are explaining to your friend who has committed a fallacy. Your friend does not know what is wrong with his way of thinking, so use details and examples to show your friend how the fallacy works, and give sufficient explanation of what is wrong with his reasoning. See Professional Writing Skills: Structure
* For information on the Bibliography (or Works Cited) see: Professional Writing: Quotes or MLA_8_documentation_guide.pdf