Midterm Exam — Science Fiction & EthicsFormat: This is a mul…
Midterm Exam — Science Fiction & EthicsFormat: This is a multi-day in-class writing assignment. You will write your essay across two class sessions (Monday and Wednesday, 85 minutes each). This exam is administered through Blackboard using Honorlock screen recording and Browser Guard. You may not access any outside materials, devices, or applications during the exam.Between Sessions: After Day 1, you will be able to view your Day 1 writing, but you will not be able to edit it. Use the time between sessions to think about your argument, consider what you want to revise or expand, and plan how to use your Day 2 session. You will not be able to bring notes with you to Day 2.Day 2: You will receive the full text of your Day 1 writing along with a fresh essay box. You may copy and paste from your Day 1 text to restructure, revise, and continue your work. Your Day 2 submission is what will be graded.Quotation Bank: You have access to the quotation bank you prepared and uploaded in advance if you did so.Target Length: 800–1,500 words (but there is no real maximum/minimum word count). Quality matters more than quantity.Requirements:Present a clear thesis and argue for it.Engage substantively with at least two of our primary sources (Parfit, Siderits, Huemer).Consider at least one serious objection to your position and respond to it.Observe the Forbidden Case Constraint (explained below).The Forbidden Case Constraint:For the purposes of this exam, the judiciary has been thoroughly convinced of both Parfitian Reductionism and the Buddhist Doctrine of No-Self. You may not argue that the clones are straightforwardly different persons from Sam Bell whose independent consent is required. The most obvious objection: that the clones are separate people and this is simply slavery, is not available to you. You must work within the reductionist framework to make your case.Stipulated Facts (unless your scenario modifies them):Sam Bell Prime was aware of the cloning arrangement and consented to it.Sam Bell Prime completed the first authentic three-year contract under the same isolated conditions as the clones.Sam Bell Prime is being compensated for all labor performed by the clones.The clones are designed with a biologically limited lifespan of approximately three years.Each clone experiences only its own three-year stint with no cumulative effects from prior cycles.The clones were never intended to discover the truth. The events of the film represent a malfunction.Robotic or AI-based solutions are not viable alternatives for this operation.The Corporation’s Concession: The corporation concedes that the specific events of the film, where two clones discover the truth, represent a failure and a breach of its duty. It owes Sam Bell compensation for this negligence. However, it maintains that the underlying arrangement, when operating as designed, is morally permissible.The Shortened ContractScenario Modification:Suppose that Lunar Industries, responding to ethical review, shortens the clone contract from three years to two years. Each clone is activated, performs two years of mining work, and is then painlessly euthanized while believing it is returning to Earth. The clones still have a biologically limited lifespan (approximately three years), but they serve only two-thirds of it. The remainder — one year of decline and worsening feelings of isolation — is avoided through the early termination. The clones’ psychological experience during their two years is substantively similar to the original three-year arrangement, just compressed: they still believe they are the original Sam Bell, they still receive the simulated video messages from Tess, and they still look forward to going home. Sam Bell Prime has consented to this arrangement.Your Task:Does shortening the contract to two years change the moral status of the arrangement? Write an essay in which you argue either that the reduced duration meaningfully mitigates the moral concerns, or that the core moral problems persist regardless of the contract’s length. Your argument must operate within the reductionist framework (observe the Forbidden Case Constraint) and engage substantively with at least two of our primary sources.