Human Trafficking Essay
YOU HAVE STUDIED FOUR DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHERS WITH FOUR SYSTEMATIC WAYS OF
DECIDING WHAT IS MORAL AND IMMORAL. VARIOUS INTERPRETATIONS OF THESE THEORIES
CAN LEAD TO CONFLICTING CONCLUSIONS. Write an essay which demonstrates how the logic
behind three ethical philosophies of your choice can either SUPPORT or REFUTE the act of
human trafficking and the acts that are associated with human trafficking.
In order to produce an insightful and thorough essay, please be sure to incorporate the following
criteria into the required portions of your essay.
In your introduction (K/U = 6 marks) provide the following information:
A. Define human trafficking in the light of human exploitation.
B. Provide some statistics (the United Nations website would be a good place to start for this kind of
info.):
 How many people are trafficked worldwide?
 How much money worldwide is made from human trafficking on a yearly basis?
 What percentage of people trafficked are female?
C. How do human traffickers persuade and lead victims into being trafficked?
D. Give at least 3 different forms of human trafficking.
E. List some methods that human traffickers use to break down their victims and make them dependent
on their captors.
F. Characteristics that trafficker’s look for in their victims.
F. Thesis which outlines how you will attempt to use the philosophies behind virtue ethics,
deontological ethics and utilitarianism to both support and refute the actions associated with human
trafficking.
Body Paragraph #1: Aristotle’s/Thomas Aquinas’ Virtue Theory
O Briefly state which concept and/or flaw from virtue theory you will use to justify or condemn
the actions associated with Human Trafficking. (2 mark T/I)
O Explain how one can use Aristotle’s/Thomas Aquinas’ virtue ethics to justify or condemn the
actions associated with human trafficking. (3 marks T/I)
O Use at least three examples from the film or a contemporary report to support your chosen
stance. (3 marks APP)
Along with your notes please use the following resources to develop the first body
paragraph of your essay:

The article on how Aristotle used virtue ethics to support slavery and the chart that
summarizes the differences between slaves, non-slaves and legal slaves. This will help
you to use Aristotelian ethics in order to justify human trafficking.

The news articles we discussed in class (these are posted on my website)

The note entitled Criticisms of Virtue Theory. You will have to engage in some discussion
on ethical relativism in order to connect this document to your essay. This will help you to
use Aristotelian ethics in order to justify human trafficking.
Body Paragraph #2: Kant’s Deontological Ethics
O Briefly state which concept and/or flaw from Kant’s Deontological Ethics you will use to justify
or condemn the actions associated with Human Trafficking. (2 mark T/I)
O Explain how one can use Kant’s Deontological Ethics to justify or condemn the actions
associated with human trafficking. (3 marks T/I)
O Use at least three examples from the film or a contemporary report or article to support your
stance. (3 marks APP)
Body Paragraph #3: Bentham and Mill’s Utilitarian Ethics
O Briefly state which concept and/or flaw from Bentham and Mill’s Utilitarian Ethics you will use
to justify or condemn the actions associated with Human Trafficking. (2 mark T/I)
O Explain how one can use Bentham and Mill’s Utilitarian Ethics to justify or condemn the
actions associated with human trafficking. (3 marks T/I)
O Use at least three examples from the film or a contemporary report to support your chosen
stance. (3 marks APP)
Bibliography and Footnoting

You must also use at least three other references (books or databases from the Pickering library
or legitimate internet sites) to develop your essay.
Please use APA format when footnoting and providing a bibliography. You do not need to
footnote your notes or the articles I gave you.
You should refer to the “Proper Research” document under useful assignments and files on my
website in order to properly reference your essay.


Communication Marks = 10 marks





Be sure to edit your work so that there are no spelling or grammatical errors.
Make sure that your thesis clearly outlines the structure of the arguments that you will use to
prove your essay.
Make sure that your arguments are organized into paragraphs.
Make sure your conclusion summarizes the main ideas of your essay in a concise and brief
way.
Please make sure to use proper APA format when creating your bibliography.
If you just retype the work that is already present on the charts you will be able to meet the
minimum requirements for this essay (no higher than a 60%). You must develop your
arguments using outside sources and in-class notes.