ESSAY

1200 -1400 WORDS
Compare and contrast the four ethical perspectives that we learned throughout this course (virtue ethics, deontological ethics, utilitarianism, and moral nihilism) on the question of controversial statues in the USA and Canada. Pay particular attention to the example of the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald that was pulled down by protesters in downtown Montreal in August 2020. Why are these statues so controversial and which system of ethics proposes the best solution to their continued notoriety?

You MUST cite your sources in either MLA or APA style. Please use standard essay formatting consisting of an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You may express your personal opinion on the matter at hand in the conclusion.

Use your class notes and powerpoints AND the following articles and videos.
Failure to sufficiently draw upon these sources will lead to a low grade.

* “Revision of Past vs. Ethics of Present,” The Aspen Institute

* “Honoring the Dishonorable,” Jacob T. Levy, Niskanen Centre

Honoring the Dishonorable Part 1: The Dishonorable Dead

* “The controversy around John A. MacDonald’s complicated legacy,” CBC News, Nov 5th 2018

* “Activists topple statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in downtown Montreal,” CBC Montreal

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/defund-police-protest-black-lives-matter-1.5705101

* “Why statues of Sir John A, Macdonald are targets of protests,” CBC News, Aug 30th, 2020

* “Keep Sir John A. Standing,” Ben Woodfinden, The Dominion, August 2020
https://thedominion.substack.com/p/keep-sir-john-a-standing