Q Instructions: • First, read the following description: John, for whatever reason, takes great pleasure in kicking dogs. One day, while walking back home from work, he sees a dog on the street. He decides to kick this dog, causing it pain. • Second, consider the following questions and respond to each of them: o Is what John did wrong? Why or why not? o Does it matter whether or not the dog has an owner, or if the dog would belong to John? Why or why not? o Does the wrongness (or lack thereof) of John's action entail anything for animal ethics more generally? If so, what? If not, why not? ---------------------------------- Successful participation in the group discussions requires that the initial post and comments are submitted in a timely manner. The initial post should be at least 250 words long. There should be at least two responses, totaling at least 250 words. The contributions in the initial post as well as the comments should be substantial, rather than merely express unsubstantiated opinion, or merely say “agree” or “good point” or anything to that effect. The Group Discussions are graded using an abbreviated version of the rubric below. The full version of the rubric allows you to identify how you can improve on future assignments. Due to the social nature of these assignments, it is important that submissions are timely. Late submissions are accepted for a very limited time, with significant late penalties. Missed group discussions cannot be made up. Note that the assignments are first graded on their content using the rubric, after which standard deductions are manually applied. This means that the rubric always reflects the strengths and weaknesses of the submission. Standard deductions: Late penalties of -2 per day for late initial posts, for max. 2 days, then 0, and -2 per day for late comments, for max 2 days, then 0. ----------------------------------