Nearly all universities and colleges require students to take at least one ethics or philosophy class. And finding a good paper topic is a challenge for many students, particularly if ethics or philosophy is not the student's primary area of academic study.
Whether it's a basic ethics class, bioethics, a biomedical ethics class, or an environmental ethics class, these ethics and philosophy paper topics are sure to be thought provoking and interesting. Additionally, many of the following college paper topics can be altered slightly to fit a particular college philosophy or ethics course assignment.
How does one determine what one "ought to do?"
How do we determine what is morally right and wrong?
What's the difference between a moral and non-moral issue?
Is sense of morality inherent in all individuals?
Is Socrates right when he says that evil and other negative actions are the result of ignorance?
Is acting morally requisite if a person is to reach his full potential?
Do universal moral principles exist? If so, what are these universal morals?
Is moral behavior necessary for happiness?
Should reason be the sole basis for determining what actions are morally right or wrong?
Are a society's values always rooted in morality? Are values necessarily based on universal morality?
Is every human action rooted in a self-serving motivation?
What is justice? How do we determine if something is "just."
Is justice universal or is it a human social construct? Does justice exist outside human society?
Do the ends ever justify the means? What is an example of this?
Can "an eye for an eye" be morally justified?
Is there such a thing as a justified killing? Is all murder morally wrong?
Is capital punishment ever morally or ethically permissible? If so,