ETHC445 Full Course – March 2017

ETHC 445 Week 1 Discussion 1 & 2

 

dq 1

 

Helen’s Wisdom of Friends Dilemma (graded)

 

Helen wants to move to a new community, and she is applying
for a job with a small retail establishment. She is confident that she is fully
qualified and will be able to perform well if she gets the job. The employer,
however, has advertised for someone with three years of retail experience, and
Helen only has two-and-a-half years. She is considering whether to exaggerate
slightly on her resume in order to improve her chances of getting the job.

 

Helen asks three friends to offer their advice on what she
should do.

— Henry says, “Go ahead and claim three-and-a-half years of
experience; they’re going to be so happy with your work that by the time they
check (if they ever do) it won’t matter.”

— Jennifer says, “I’m sure you’ll arrive at the best
decision on your own; I’ve always known you to be an honest person.”

— George says, “It is never all right to lie, even when you
are unlikely to get caught and it seems relatively harmless to do so.”

 

To begin our discussion this week, let’s discuss some of the
following questions:

1. Which of the Three Primary Schools of Ethics is each of
Helen’s friends relying upon?

2. Can you imagine other people using the same approaches to
arrive at different kinds of advice?

3. Do one of these Three Primary Schools of Ethics feel like
the style you usually use already?

 

 

dq 2

 

Study of Ethical Philosophy (graded)

 

The study of Ethics and Philosophy is one which brings many
different kinds of “thinkers” together. One person’s philosophy on
Ethics is another person’s philosophy on Evil. We will be working this term on
constructing personal ethical bases and understanding how Ethical Codes (both
personal and professional) are created and followed.

 

To start us thinking about the different areas of philosophy
and ethics, and how we fit into the different molds or world views, let’s
discuss the differences and similarities between these views.

To do this, let’s look at the role of right and wrong, laws
which regulate behavior, principles vs. morality, and the role of ethics in our
society.

 

To start out we’ll answer some of these questions and create
more of them as we go. Pick one of the following and respond to your classmates
thoughts and views:

 

1. Do we need ethics if we have laws? Why or why not?

2. Is it ethical to change our own views of ethics based on
the situation we are in?

3. Can we “legislate” ethics?

 

4. How does Aristotle’s “virtue ethics” mirror
your ethical view, or how is it different?

 

 

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 2 Discussion 1 & 2

 

dq 1

 

When Siding with the Majority (graded)

 

As our opening page states, Mark Twain warned that
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to
pause and reflect.”It is likely that your parents warned you “not to
follow the crowd,” or your school counselors warned you about “peer
pressure.”

 

The United States utilizes a democratic republic form of
government, which espouses the “majority rule” in many instances. For
example, when passing laws, Congress and state Legislators use majority voting.
When electing our officials, the majority rules. But, is our government
unethical?

 

This week’s thread will look at two or three
“examples” of majority findings or rules.

We will bring new ones in throughout the week, so be sure to
visit back at least every other day and post your thoughts.

 

Here is our first one for the week:

The great majority of people seem to find nothing
objectionable about the use of commercials in children’s television
programming. Yet a distinguished panel commissioned by the National Science
Foundation found reason to disagree. After reviewing 21 relevant scholarly
studies, they concluded:

 

It is clear from the available evidence that television advertising
doesinfluence children. Research has demonstrated that children attend to and
learn from commercials, and that advertising is at least moderately successful
in creating positive attitudes toward and the desire for products advertised.
The variable that emerged most clearly across numerous studies as a strong
determinant of children’s perception of television advertising is the child’s
age. Research clearly establishes that children become more skilled in
evaluating television advertising as they grow older, and that to treat all
children from 2 to 12 as a homogenous group masks important, perhaps crucial
differences.

 

 

Do you think the majority view is correct in this case? What
difference would it make that a majority thinks this way?

Do you think the use of commercials in children’s television
programming raises any ethical questions? Do explain.

Do you wish to place evidence for what you say before your
classmates?

 

dq 2

 

The Struggle of Good vs. Evil (graded)

 

Personal struggles with one’s own tendencies, desires,
lusts, and self-interest have placed people in conflict with other people and
their own communities farther back than any of us can read. We read about the
struggles of others in history — what about ourselves? Yes, us! What about our
experiences of being ourselves?

 

When we look back in history, we find people who are not so
different from us — struggling with their human nature — and trying to live
ethical lives in whatever way they can do so. They aspire to live ethical lifes
and find themselves failing again and again.

 

St. Augustine in the 5th Century held that although we feel
free to make choices in life, our true nature as human beings includes a
persistent disregard for what is good. On this view, we are sinners whose only
hope for redemption lies in the gracious love of a merciful deity. Whatever I
do on my own, Augustine would argue, is bound to be wrong; whatever I do right,
must be performed by God through me.

 

St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th Century brought Aristotle’s
theories back into “vogue,” soon after St. Augustine’s death (if 800 years is
soon, that is.) He allowed humanity to have a bit of secularity along with
faith, and his ethics allows for a Natural Law which can be found in the heart
of man. Please be sure to listen to our Saints’ Debate on the lecture tab
before working in this thread.

 

So, here we are in the 21st Century with all the
sophistication and technology of the age. Does this account of human nature fit
well with your own experience of human action? That is, do you observe (in
yourself and others) an inclination toward evil instead of toward good? Bring
in examples of scenarios which bolster your view, or which tend to bring your
view (or others) into question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 3 Discussion 1 & 2

 

dq 1

 

Applying the Death Penalty (graded)

 

First, here is a word of caution. With this discussion comes
a tasking to discuss the death penalty in two ways: first, as an expression of
the social contract, where one person has killed another in a violation of that
other person’s right to peace and safety, and second, as a rules-based function
of the justice system being applied to a difficult situation.

 

What do you see going on that is a violation of the Hobbes/Locke
social contract idea?

And you might also connect it with any of the Three Schools,
plus Aristotle, that you have read in past weeks—and especially with the
rules-based ethics model.

 

Here’s the situation: In Manatee County, Florida, a judge
sentenced a man to death—the first time this had happened in the county for
over 19 years. Sentenced to death was a 25-year-old man for the January 7,
2004, murder of both of his parents by bludgeoning them to death in their bed
with a baseball bat.

 

Now, with your social contract ethicist hats on, tell us
what you make of this quote by the judge at the sentencing, quoted from the
front page of the November 17, 2007 Bradenton Herald: “You have not only
forfeited your right to live among us, but under the laws of the state of
Florida, you have forfeited the right to live at all.”

 

Have at it, good folks. But, rather than running off with
reactions and opinions about the death penalty in general, please do keep it in
the context of our social contract discussion for this week and also connected
with ethics of justice.

 

 

dq 2

 

Living in Our State of Nature (graded)

 

Social Contract theorists say that morality consists of a
set of rules governing how people should treat one another that rational beings
will agree to accept for their mutual benefit, on the condition that others
agree to follow these rules as well.

 

Hobbesruns the logic like this in the form of a logical
syllogism:

1) We are all self-interested,

2) Each of us needs to have a peaceful and cooperative
social order to pursue our interests,

3) We need moral rules in order to establish and maintain a
cooperative social order,

 

Therefore, self-interest motivates us to establish moral
rules.

 

Thomas Hobbeslooked to the past to observe a primitive
“State of Nature” in which there is no such thing as morality, and that this
self-interested human nature was “nasty, brutish, and short” — a
kind of perpetual state of warfare

 

John Lockedisagreed, and set forth the view that the state
exists to preserve the natural rights of its citizens. When governments fail in
that task, citizens have the right—and sometimes the duty—to withdraw their
support and even to rebel. Listen to Locke’s audio on the lecture tab and read
his lecturette to be able to answer this thread.

 

Locke addressed Hobbes’s claim that the state of nature was
the state of war, though he attribute this claim to “some men” not to
Hobbes. He refuted it by pointing to existing and real historical examples of
people in a state of nature. For this purpose he regarded any people who are
not subject to a common judge to resolve disputes, people who may legitimately
take action to themselves punish wrong doers, as in a state of nature.

 

Which philosophy do you espouse?

 

In coming to grips with the two and considering your
experience of society as it is today, think out loud about what you experiences
as the State of Nature, and tell us what you would be willing to give up in
exchange for civil order and personal security?

 

You might consider what you have already given up in
exchange for security as well as what might be required in coming days.

 

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 4 Discussion 1 & 2

 

dq 1

 

Ethics of Controlling Environmental Innovation (graded)

 

Increasing food supplies are necessary to sustain growing
populations around the world and their appetites for great food, quality
products, and continuous availability.

 

A great deal of expensive research is invested in developing
technologies to deliver productive agriculture. Horticultural efforts to breed
hybrid crops are seen as far back as history can observe, and there have been
efforts to domesticate improved animals, as well. Gene splitting was a 1990s
technology to improve the health and productivity of farm crops. With the 21st
century have come genetically modified foods (GMF) through the use of
nanotechnology to cause changes at the genetic and even molecular levels. These
are very expensive technologies, and many new products have been patented and
otherwise protected as proprietary products of intellectual property.

 

Drive out to the country during growing season, and you will
see signs identifying that the crop has been grown with a protected seed that
cannot be used to produce retained seed for planting in the next growing
season.

 

In terms of this week’s TCOs, what ethical issues are raised
by this legal process of patent protection, and how do we see the primary
schools of ethics used in these proprietary measures? What, in this
deontological week and in our learning to date, informs our understanding of
this situation, and what should be done about it?

 

dq 2

 

Kant – Accomplice to Crazed Murderer? (graded)

 

Kant’s famous First Formulation of the Categorical
Imperative reads:

 

“Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the
same time will that it should become a universal law.” Kant taught morality as
a matter of following maxims of living that reflect absolute laws. “Universal”
is a term that allows for no exceptions, and what is universal applies always
and everywhere. Lying, for any reason, is universally wrong.

 

Be sure to listen to Kant’s audio lecture before posting this
week!

 

So, consider the famous case of the Crazed Murderer. In your
town the Crazed Murderer comes to your door looking for your friend and wanting
to kill him. You know that your friend went home to hide. What do you tell the
murderer? When he leaves and runs up the street to your friend’s house, what do
you do?

 

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 5 Discussion 1 & 2

 

dq 1

 

Life & Death; Politics & Ethics (graded)

 

There are three basic propositions in standard
Utilitarianism (Please be sure to listen to Mill’s audio lecture before joining
this threaded discussion):

 

1. Actions are judged right and wrong solely on their
consequences;

that is, nothing else matters except the consequence, and
right actions are simply those with the best consequences.

 

2. To assess consequences, the only thing that matters is
the amount of happiness and unhappiness caused;

that is, there is only one criterion and everything else is
irrelevant.

 

3. In calculating happiness and unhappiness caused, nobody’s
happiness counts any more than anybody else’s;

that is, everybody’s welfare is equally important and the
majority rules.

 

In specific cases where justice and utility are in conflict,
it may seem expedient to serve the greater happiness through quick action that
overrules consideration for justice. There is a side to happiness that can call
for rushed decisions and actions that put decision-makers under the pressure of
expediency.

 

Here is a dilemma for our class:

 

You are the elected district attorney. You receive a phone
call from a nursing home administrator who was a good friend of yours in
college. She has a waiting list of 3,000 people who will die if they don’t get
into her nursing home facility within the next 3 weeks, and she currently has
400 patients who have asked (or their families have asked on their behalf) for
the famous Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s (fictitious) sister, Dr. Jill Kevorkian, for
assistance in helping them die. The 3,000 people on the waiting list want to
live. She (the nursing home administrator) wants to know if you would agree to
“look the other way” if she let in Dr. Jill to assist in the suicide
of the 400 patients who have requested it, thus allowing at least 400 of the
3,000 on the waiting list in.

 

1. How would we use Utilitarianism to “solve” this
dilemma?

 

2. What ethics did your friend, the nursing home
administrator, use in deciding to call you?

 

3. What ethics are you using if you just “look the
other way” and let it happen?

 

 

dq 2

 

Dealing With Emergencies and Outcomes (graded)

 

Chapter 9 of our text includes the terrorism situation at
the 1972 Munich Olympics, and it needs to be read before engaging this
discussion.

 

The principle of utility involves maximizing happiness as a
desirable outcome of decisions. Although it does not get directly said, there
is an inverse intention to minimize the undesirable outcome of disaster.
Utilitarian decisions are directed toward outcomes—that is, the consequences of
decisions.

 

The Olympic hostage situation was a high-tension moment,
full of dangerous surprises and strategies to deal with the situation that did
not work out for the best. Among the strategies was the idea to kill the leader
of the terrorists so as to disrupt the terrorist plot and to allow a good
outcome in which the hostages would be saved. In the situation it was also
entirely possible that a terrible outcome might occur in which all would die.
The situation was an emergency.

 

The German legal system might eventually take the terrorists
and their leader to trial, but first there was the need to end the hostage
situation. The account in our text ends with, “But it was the lesser of two
evils.”

 

As utilitarian ethicists this week, how shall we reason
through to the decision of the law enforcement authorities at the 1972 Munich
Olympics?

 

 

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 6 Discussion 1 & 2

 

dq 1

 

Applying Rand’s Objectivism (graded)

 

Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophyhas been touted by her
detractors as the philosophy of self-interested selfishness.

 

Her four epistemological principles are:

1. Metaphysics: Objective reality of the world and the
objects in it.

2. Epistemology: Reason as the one and only key to
understanding.

3. Ethics: Self-interest in what behavior is but also what
it should be.

4. Politics: Capitalism through the performance of deeds by
individuals who are self-interested.

 

In the early 1960’s, a student asked a spokesman for
Objectivism what would happen to the poor in an Objectivist’s free society.

The spokesman answered, “If you want to help them, you
will not be stopped.”

 

If one reads Rand’s works, Atlas Shrugged, or The
Fountainhead, one will conclude that this would be the answer Ayn would have
given to that student as well.

 

What do you conclude from the answer given by the
Objectivist spokesperson?

Is Objectivism, like Moral Relativism, the opposite of
ethics?

And what clue in what she taught leads to your conclusion?

 

dq 2

 

Working Conflict Resolution Methods (graded)

 

Different ways to analyze ethical behaviors and dilemmas
exist, and many of them will help direct you to the correct or “best”
solution to a problem.

 

As we discussed in week 1 in the “tough choices”
.pdf, sometimes right vs. right or wrong vs. wrong decisions have to be made.

 

In the lecture this week, you are given three ethical
dilemma resolution models to try out on a dilemma provided there. Please review
that interactive before posting to the threads this week, and let’s bring your
questions and comments about the “proposed” solutions here to the
threads. We will talk about that through mid-week, and then I will post a new
dilemma here where we will, as a group, begin analyzing it using the different
methods.

 

You will need to be able to use these three models
(Blanchard and Peale, Laura Nash and Front page of the Newspaper) on the final
exam … so let’s be sure to practice all three of them together this week.

 

So, to start this off, let’s address the dilemma in the Week
6 Lecture interactive (in the middle of the page). You MUST read the lecture
and run the interactive in order to participate in the threads this week!

 

1. Review the sample solution to the Laura Nash method.

 

Do you agree with that analysis? If so, what parts do you
think really helped you work through the dilemma? If not, which parts do you
not agree with?

 

2. Review the sample solution to the Front Page of the
Newspaper method.

 

Do you think this is one of those types of dilemmas for
which this model works? If not, why not? If so, why? How did using this method
help you work through the dilemma?

 

3. Review the sample solution to the Blanchard and Peale
method.

 

Do you agree with the analysis? If not, why not? If so, in
what way did this help you analyze this dilemma?

 

 

Pick ONE of the above 3 questions and let’s get started.Or,
respond to another student with details about why you agree or disagree with
their analysis. Feel free to kindly debate with each other. Do not take things
personally if someone disagrees. Be sure to show that you have viewed the
lecture and interactive and that you attempted an analysis for “high
quality” posts this week. After Wednesday, I will bring in another
scenario and we can analyze that one together as a class.

 

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 7 Discussion 1 & 2

 

dq 1

 

Applying Rand’s Objectivism (graded)

 

 

Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophyhas been touted by her
detractors as the philosophy of self-interested selfishness.

 

Her four epistemological principles are:

1. Metaphysics: Objective reality of the world and the
objects in it.

2. Epistemology: Reason as the one and only key to
understanding.

3. Ethics: Self-interest in what behavior is but also what
it should be.

4. Politics: Capitalism through the performance of deeds by
individuals who are self-interested.

 

In the early 1960’s, a student asked a spokesman for
Objectivism what would happen to the poor in an Objectivist’s free society.

The spokesman answered, “If you want to help them, you
will not be stopped.”

 

If one reads Rand’s works, Atlas Shrugged, or The
Fountainhead, one will conclude that this would be the answer Ayn would have
given to that student as well.

 

What do you conclude from the answer given by the
Objectivist spokesperson?

Is Objectivism, like Moral Relativism, the opposite of
ethics?

And what clue in what she taught leads to your conclusion?

 

 

dq 2

 

Working Conflict Resolution Methods (graded)

 

Different ways to analyze ethical behaviors and dilemmas
exist, and many of them will help direct you to the correct or “best”
solution to a problem.

 

As we discussed in week 1 in the “tough choices”
.pdf, sometimes right vs. right or wrong vs. wrong decisions have to be made.

 

In the lecture this week, you are given three ethical
dilemma resolution models to try out on a dilemma provided there. Please review
that interactive before posting to the threads this week, and let’s bring your
questions and comments about the “proposed” solutions here to the
threads. We will talk about that through mid-week, and then I will post a new
dilemma here where we will, as a group, begin analyzing it using the different
methods.

 

You will need to be able to use these three models
(Blanchard and Peale, Laura Nash and Front page of the Newspaper) on the final
exam … so let’s be sure to practice all three of them together this week.

 

So, to start this off, let’s address the dilemma in the Week
6 Lecture interactive (in the middle of the page). You MUST read the lecture
and run the interactive in order to participate in the threads this week!

 

1. Review the sample solution to the Laura Nash method.

 

Do you agree with that analysis? If so, what parts do you
think really helped you work through the dilemma? If not, which parts do you
not agree with?

 

2. Review the sample solution to the Front Page of the
Newspaper method.

 

Do you think this is one of those types of dilemmas for
which this model works? If not, why not? If so, why? How did using this method
help you work through the dilemma?

 

3. Review the sample solution to the Blanchard and Peale
method.

 

Do you agree with the analysis? If not, why not? If so, in
what way did this help you analyze this dilemma?

 

 

Pick ONE of the above 3 questions and let’s get started.Or,
respond to another student with details about why you agree or disagree with
their analysis. Feel free to kindly debate with each other. Do not take things
personally if someone disagrees. Be sure to show that you have viewed the
lecture and interactive and that you attempted an analysis for “high
quality” posts this week. After Wednesday, I will bring in another
scenario and we can analyze that one together as a class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 1 Quiz

 

Question 1. Question :

 

Which of the below behaviors are inappropriate in a course?

 

Posting a racist comment in the threads

 

TYPING IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS IN THE THREADS

 

Typing posts that contain poor grammar, spelling, and no
punctuation, requiring others to guess at the meaning

 

Postings such as this: “Can you use spell-check or
proofread, or are you just too stupid?”

 

All of the above

 

Question 2. Question :

 

Ethics involves issues of right and wrong, and emotionally
charged issues and ideas; thus, the best way to ensure that my comments are
taken in the way I mean them is to _____.

 

generalize ideas about the racial or ethnic groups which
display them

 

consider the impact they may have on those who are different
than me

 

sit quietly in the corner of the discussions and hope that others
will not ask for my input

 

assume that other students will value what I value

 

assume that the instructor will value everything I say or
imply

 

Question 3. Question :

 

Posting in the course’s threaded discussions is an essential
element in our online, asynchronous classroom. Which of the following is not an
example of value-adding posting?

 

Bringing an item that has been researched on the Internet
with a quote and website link

 

Simply bringing an opinion statement to the discussion with
a phrase like, “Well, I think . . .” (Unsupported opinion)

 

Adding wisdom to a discussion from your personal background
or expertise

 

Asking for clarification of the meaning of another student’s
post

 

Writing a response to another student’s post by name

 

Question 4. Question :

 

Which of the following is the most appropriate response for
a student to post to another student who has posted this:

 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU?

 

YOU ARE AS STUPID AS A BOX OF ROCKS!

 

Answer the post very directly and with capital letters for
effect.

 

Send an e-mail to that student to correct him or her.

 

Post an equally strong rebuttal.

 

Complain offline to your Student Advisor.

 

Ignore this and allow your instructor to handle it – either
directly with the offender or through Student Services.

 

Question 5. Question :

 

Choose from the following choices the way in which
collegiality is expressed in our course.

 

A certain tolerance for anger and expressions of it in posts

 

Ignoring the good wisdom that students with particular
knowledge bring to the discussions

 

Behaving carefully so as to not cause offense to other
students or quickly take offense at others

 

Accusing other students of their biases and preconceptions

 

Stating strong opinions and expecting others to follow suit

 

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 3 Quiz

 

1. Question :

 

Inductive reasoning falls into fallacy when which of the
following happens?

 

Hasty generalizations are made

 

One tries to deduce a conclusion from false premises

 

One has a large enough sample set of data on which to base
inductions

 

Data cannot support the claims made for the logical
reasoning

 

One tries to work out syllogisms

 

Question 2. Question :

 

A car salesman says this, in order to get you to buy a new
car from him:

 

“Buddy! You gotta buy this car. You’ve seen how you
either need to drive one of these or take the bus!”

 

This type of faulty logic is an example of _____.

 

circumlocution

 

the ad hominem argument

 

hasty generalization fallacy

 

the straw man fallacy

 

appeal to emotions

 

Question 3. Question :

 

Do you have only a few select friends or a large circle of
friends?

 

What fallacy is operating here?

 

Straw man

 

Appeal to fear

 

Ad hominem

 

False dilemma

 

Questionable statistics

 

Question 4. Question :

 

All those old people are cheap.

 

They never give me a fair tip when I park their cars in the
valet parking lot.

 

What kind of fallacy is operating here?

 

Straw man

 

Appeal to fear

 

Hasty generalization

 

Questionable statistics

 

Slippery slope

 

Question 5. Question :

 

Measuring our country’s health by measuring the consumption
of petroleum

 

is like measuring a person’s health my how much medical care
he or she buys.

 

What kind of fallacy is operating here?

 

Hasty generalization

 

Questionable statistics

 

False analogy

 

Invalid in form

 

Confusing assumptions with facts

 

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 6 Quiz

 

Question 1. Question :

 

Ethics of the deontological school would drive the
commanding officer (CO) to make what decision?

 

To seek the best welfare for his sailor

 

To take risks of courage

 

To calculate the best possible outcome

 

To ask what virtues he seeks to honor

 

To do his duty under rules and procedures

 

Question 2. Question :

 

Which of the three primary schools of ethics is operating
when the commanding officer (CO) decides for medical evacuation of the injured
sailor in order to aid the most possible?

 

Care based

 

Ends based

 

Virtue based

 

Self-interest

 

Conscience driven

 

Question 3. Question :

 

If the CO’s conscience was bothering him while making a
decision, reading up on what ethicist would have made him aware of his thinking
and deciding?

 

Ayn Rand

 

St. Anselm

 

St. Thomas Aquinas

 

John Locke

 

John Stuart Mill

 

Question 4. Question :

 

What virtue is not shown if the CO shows unwillingness to
contact the carrier air group commander about the welfare of his sailor because
of fear?

 

Procrastination

 

Selfishness

 

The virtue of courage

 

Wisdom

 

Moderation

 

Question 5. Question :

 

The maxim “I uphold only the ethical view that all
rational beings ought uphold” follows _____.

 

Utilitarian ethics

 

An Aristotelian moderation of virtue

 

A strong application of care-based ethics

 

Kant’s categorical imperative in the first formulation

 

Care-based ethics

 

Question 6. Question :

 

The CO’s practice of moderation in not taking excessive
risks connects him with what concept of ethics?

 

Aquinas’ concept of conscience

 

James’ pragmatism

 

Aquinas’ concept of natural ethics

 

Mill’s utilitarianism

 

Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean

 

Question 7. Question :

 

To ask, “What is the best possible outcome for my whole
ship” is to apply what kind of ethics?

 

Social contract

 

Utilitarianism

 

Deontological ethics

 

Being caught in a dilemma

 

Ethics of the mean

 

Question 8. Question :

 

To think, “What can this do for my reputation when I
come up for selection as admiral,” is an example of what kind of ethics?

 

Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative.

 

John Locke’s social contract.

 

Ayn Rand’s objectivism.

 

Augustine’s doctrine of sin.

 

A social contract with the crew.

 

Question 9. Question :

 

For the CO to consider what the crew as a whole would want
for handling the situation involves what kind of ethics?

 

Sphere of influence

 

Utilitarian ethics

 

Majority thinking

 

The principle of equity

 

Care-based ethics

 

Question 10. Question :

 

A decision to ask the injured seaman what he wants to happen
is what kind of ethics?

 

Care-based ethics

 

The prudent mariner approach

 

Utilitarian ethics

 

The ethics of self-interest

 

The CO’s duty

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 1 Ethics Paper

 

Assignments

 

Consider the ethical dilemma given below. Write an ethics
paper about it, including all the following information and analysis:

 

1. Solve the dilemma usingany twoof the following Three
Primary Schools of Ethics we discuss this week from our assigned reading. (Ends
based, Rules based, or Care based).

 

2. Explain the similarities and differences in your two
solutions to the same dilemma.

 

3. State (and justify) whether you feel the two schools of
ethics are worthy of use in “real life” dilemmas.

 

4. Do you feel that Aristotle would have approved of either
of your solutions? Why or why not?

 

Please note that your ethics papers this term will be a
great practice for you in doing the Final Exam. Your final exam is an essay
exam which will follow a very similar format to the homework assignments…so
please be sure to spend some time doing your readings and applying them to your
written assignments.

 

Your papers should be about two typed pages, double spaced.
Use the standard format for the paper (the title page and citation pages
do not count among the two pages). Please organize your thoughts, use headings,
and create readable documents with grammar and spelling checked.

 

The Dilemma will be your choice from either of the two
following:

 

Choice 1:Over the past few decades, a sizable industry has
arisen to serve the demand for ready-made and even customized compositions and
term papers. Many students presumably believe there is nothing morally wrong
with the practice of buying one of these papers and turning it in to fulfill a
course requirement. Review what you read about plagiarism in this chapter. Then
write a several-paragraph explanation of its message for a friend who doesn’t
get it. (Be sure to follow the approach explained in that section so you avoid
committing plagiarism yourself).

 

Choice 2:A married couple, both addicted to drugs, are
unable to care for their infant daughter. She is taken from them by court order
and placed in a foster home. The years pass. She comes to regard her foster
parents as her real parents. They love her as they would their own daughter.
When the child is 9 years old, the natural parents, rehabilitated from drugs,
begin court action to regain custody. The case is decided in their favor. The
child is returned to them, against her will. Does ethics support the law in
this case? Discuss.

 

We recommend you wait until at least Thursday to begin
working on this assignment so you can include the information we are learning
in the threads and in our readings in your thought processes. Write your answer
and save it in a Word document,
entitled,”YourLastnameEthicsWeek1.docx.”

 

e.g. Julius Caesar would turn in a document
named”CaesarEthicsWeek1.docx”

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 2 Ethics Paper 2017 March

 

Assignments

 

Choose one ethical dilemma from each group

 

Group A:A newspaper columnist signs a contract with a
newspaper chain. Several months later she is offered a position with another
newspaper chain at a higher salary. Because she would prefer making more money,
she notifies the first chain that she is breaking her contract. The courts will
decide the legality of her action. But what of the morality? Did the columnist
behave ethically?

 

An airline pilot goes for his regular medical checkup. The
doctor discovers that he has developed a heart murmur. The pilot only has a
month to go before he is eligible for retirement. The doctor know this and
wonders whether, under these unusual circumstances, she is justified in
withholding the information about the pilot’s condition.

 

Group B:An office worker had a record of frequent absence.
He used all his vacation and sick leave days and frequently requested
additional leave without pay. His supervisor and co-workers expressed great
frustration because his absenteeism caused bottlenecks in paperwork, created
low morale in the office, and required others to do his work in addition to
their own. On the other hand, he felt he was entitled to take his earned time
and additional time off without pay. Was he right?

 

Rhonda enjoys socializing with fellow employees at work, but
their discussion usually consists of gossiping about other people, including
several of her friends. At first Rhonda feels uncomfortable talking in this way
about people she is close to, but then she decided it does no real harm and she
feels no remorse for joining in.

 

Please wait until at least Thursday to begin working on this
assignment so you can include the information we are learning in the threads
and in our readings in your thought processes.

 

Parameters for writing this paper:

 

1. Answer the questions raised in the problems above. You
will have two separate sections to your paper, one on each separate question in
your chosen group. You do not have to write an “English class” style
paper this week. Answer each problem separately.

 

2. While writing your answers, incorporate the ideas of
“good vs. evil,” “wrong vs. right,” and “ought/should
be vs. what is.”

 

3. Explain in your answer to each problem how Augustine and
Aquinas would have solved the problem based on what we learned about each here
in the materials and course, and if they differ, why?

 

4. Your two sets of answers should be about two pages,
double spaced.

 

Write your answer and save it in aWorddocument,
entitled”YourLastnameEthicsWeek2.docx.”For example, Christopher
Columbus would turn in a document named”ColumbusEthicsWeek2.docx.”

 

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 3 Ethics Paper 2017 March

 

Assignments

 

Consider these three problems. In writing a paper about all
three of them individually, identify the consequences of the actions taken, and
then determine whether the actions taken represented a greater good, who would
benefit from the good, and whether the consequences ethically justify the
decisions and actions.

 

The Mayor of a large city was given a free membership in an
exclusive golf club by people who have received several city contracts. He also
accepted gifts from organizations that have not done business with the City but
might in the future. The gifts ranged from $200 tickets to professional sports
events to designer watches and jewelry.

 

A college instructor is pursuing her doctorate in night
school. To gain extra time for her own studies, she gives her students the same
lectures, the same assignments, and the same examinations semester after
semester without the slightest effort to improve them.

 

Todd and Edna have been married for three years. They have
had serious personal problems. Edna is a heavy drinker, and Todd cannot keep a
job. Also, they have bickered and fought constantly since their marriage.
Deciding that the way to overcome their problems is to have a child, they stop
practicing birth control, and Edna becomes pregnant.

 

Using what you have learned from our discussions and
readings up to this week, write an answer to all three parts. How would Locke
have addressed or solved the problem? Explain how his ethics and the answer he
may have given are different or the same as yours.

 

Be sure to complete your readings before beginning this
assignment. The paper length should be about two pages double spaced. Write
your answer and save it in a Word document, entitled,
“YourLastnameEthicsWeek3.docx.”

 

We recommend you wait until at least Thursday to begin
working on this assignment so you can include the information we are learning
in the threads and in our readings in your thought processes. Write your answer
and save it in a Word document,
entitled,”YourLastnameEthicsWeek1.docx.”

 

For example, Sir Isaac Newton would turn in a document
named”NewtonEthicsWeek3.docx.

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 4 Ethics Paper 2017 March

 

Assignments

 

Using web based research, find an environmental-based
ethical dilemma from the past five years online. (You can use a news story, an
internet article, a law case, or anything from a governmental database for this
assignment.) Then, using this story as a foundation for your dilemma:

 

Create a 2-4 paragraph “dilemma” similar to the
other dilemmas you have been solving throughout this term.

Solve the dilemma using Kant’s ethics (Categorical
Imperative).

Solve the dilemma using any other method we have discussed
to date (with which you agree.)

State which resolution (Kant’s or the other one you chose)
you prefer and why.

(It is possible that one or more of these dilemmas you write
may become future exam questions for this course, so keep that in mind while
you write the dilemma.)

 

This assignment should be about two typed pages,
double-spaced. You MUST provide the source of the dilemma, and thus this paper
will require at least one “reference.” Use APA format in citing the
source, and let me know if you have questions on how to do that.

 

Write your answer and save it in a Word document,
entitled,”YourLastnameEthicsWeek4.docx.”

 

e.g. Arnold Schwarzenegger would turn in a document
named”SchwarzeneggerEthicsWeek4.docx.”

 

 

ETHC 445 Week 5 Ethics Paper 2017 March

 

Assignments

 

The “You Decide” tab to the left presents a
difficult and painful dilemma to you in an imagined professional role. Go
through the You Decide presentation, make the decision it calls for, and write
your weekly paper to make your decision and explain, in the given format, your
reasoning and justification for it.

 

Your dilemma is that you have to make a painful medical
decision and to explain, in writing, who benefits from what you decided, who
gets denied a needed benefit, and why. The document is to be in the form of an
official memorandum that will be kept for the record and could be potentially
read by not only your Peer Review Committee, but also possibly those involved
in charitable fundraising to support hospital development and others with financial
interests in the choice made.

 

You will see in the You Decide tab that there is time
pressure in the simulated situation to make your decision, so remember that you
would not have the luxury to dawdle in the decision-making process, and as the
decision-maker, you would not have the luxury of consulting others. It all
falls on YOU!

 

Include in the document the utilitarian ethical philosophy
of John Stuart Mill (from the lecture and audio for this week) and ONE OTHER
ETHICAL PHILOSOPHER of your choice that we have studied to date, and use both
of those philosophies to bolster your decision. This paper will be at least two
double spaced pages but limited to three pages. Remember both professional
written form and potential audience, as well as tone when writing this
sensitive paper.

 

You may want to wait until at least Thursday to begin
working on this assignment so you can include the information we are learning
in the threads and in our readings in your thought processes.

 

Write your answer and save it in a Word document,
entitled,”YourLastnameEthicsWeek5.docx.”

 

For example,Dr. Christian Barnard,who performed the first
heart transplant surgery, would turn in a document
named”BarnardEthicsWeek5.docx.”

 

This problem may take more than a few paragraphs to answer.
I would think that about two pages should cover this. You may include a
reference to up to two outside sources, if properly documented.Outside sources
are NOT required.

 

 

 

ETHC 445 Final Exam 2017 March

 

Question 1. 1. (TCOs 2, 4, 5, 6) The idea that the assisted
suicide of terminally ill patients should be allowed simply at the patient’s
direction reflects what type of ethics? (Points : 5)

 

Hobbes’ State of Nature

 

Rand’s Objectivism

 

Aristotle’s concept of Virtue

 

Thomas Aquinas’ concept of conscience

 

Socrates’ concept of excellence

 

Question 2. 2. (TCOs 1, 2, 7) What is the moral ideal of
justice? (Points : 5)

 

Acts of mercy beyond what is required

 

Making decisions in order to build friendships

 

Meeting legal requirements

 

Evaluation of situations according to their merits

 

Meeting the terms of the Social Contract

 

Question 3. 3. (TCOs 1, 2) One of the common errors in
Ethics is unwarranted assumptions. Unwarranted assumptions consist of what?
(Points : 5)

 

Preconceptions before ethical dilemmas are confronted

 

Failing to read carefully and with attention to detail

 

Taking too much for granted

 

Speculating apart from information

 

Treating case studies carelessly

 

Question 4. 4. (TCO 2) Prescriptive language is commonly
used in ethics for what reason? (Points : 5)

 

To indicate what is prohibited or impossible

 

To indicate that one choice is better than others

 

To show what actions are legal

 

To convey requirements and obligations

 

To indicate that there are really no choices available

 

Question 5. 5. (TCOs 7, 8) Each person ought to do whatever
will best promote his or her own interests. (Points : 5)

 

Utilitarianism

 

Kant’s Categorical Imperative

 

Social Contract Theory

 

Ethical Egoism

 

Gilligan

 

Question 6. 6. (TCOs 2, 4, 9) Free people are motivated
toward forming social structures according to a social contract in order to
overcome what problem identified by Thomas Hobbes? (Points : 5)

 

The need to overcome disagreements

 

A perpetual state of warfare

 

The establishment of a monarchy

 

Taxation to support the costs of government

 

Organized ways to select leaders

 

Question 7. 7. (TCOs 3, 6) The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) was created through a congressional enabling act as a governmental
agency to act on the concerns voiced by environmental ethicists. Their actions
include which of the following? (Points : 5)

 

Subpoena regulation offenders

 

Monitor situations of environmental concern

 

Fine offenders

 

Sponsor new legislation on environmental issues

 

All of the above.

 

Question 8. 8. (TCOs 3, 6, 7) The notion that the only thing
good without qualification is a good will is attributed to whom? (Points : 5)

 

St. Thomas Aquinas

 

Socrates

 

John Locke

 

Immanuel Kant

 

Oliver Cromwell

 

Question 9. 9. (TCOs 8, 9) John Stuart Mill’s theory of
Utilitarianism is the most common form of ethics in use today. It is used so
commonly because it belongs to which of the Primary Schools of Ethics? (Points
: 5)

 

Care-based

 

Ends-based

 

Economy-based

 

Law-based

 

Efficiency-based

 

Question 10. 10. (TCOs 3, 6, 7) What is the purpose of
proving whether a syllogism of formal logic is “valid”? (Points : 5)

 

To identify the connecting phrase “therefore” or a synonym
of it before proceeding further

 

To determine whether the situation described is accurate

 

To determine whether the premises are true before continuing

 

To determine whether the conclusion proceeds from the
premises

 

To determine that there are only two premise statements in
the syllogism

 

Question 11. 11. (TCOs 1, 2) Different from normal problem
solving, dilemmas are different in what aspect? (Points : 5)

 

Problems are much more complicated

 

When one choice is chosen, the opportunity for the others is
lost

 

Problems are much more urgent

 

Problems are so much more real and less theoretical

 

Problems usually involve not honoring our own virtues

 

Question 12. 12. (TCOs 1, 2, 7) According to Thomas Aquinas,
what ethical capacity do people of every culture naturally possess? (Points :
5)

 

Logical thinking

 

Personal virtues

 

Self-interest

 

Ability to learn lessons

 

Conscience

 

Question 13. 13. (TCOs 2, 8) The single criterion for making
decisions in objectivist ethics is what? (Points : 5)

 

Professional development

 

Personal self-interest

 

The physical environment

 

Financial gain

 

The close group of family and friends who will be impacted

 

Question 14. 14. (TCOs 1, 2, 5) The world view of ruthless
and unending competition for property and wealth was spelled out in which of
these concepts? (Points : 5)

 

Locke’s notion of the natural state of man

 

Rawls’ notion of the veil of ignorance

 

Aristotle’s notion of the doctrine of the mean

 

Hammurabi’s code of law

 

Hobbes’ state of nature

 

Question 15. 15. (TCOs 3, 6, 7) Kant’s concern that people
choose to observe universal laws as their duty is expressed through what
actions? (Points : 5)

 

Their habits

 

Their maxims

 

Their desires

 

Their loves

 

Their loyalties

 

Question 16. 16. (TCOs 2, 7, 8) Personal development and
discovery through the repetition of good acts and study of virtue characterizes
what ethicist? (Points : 5)

 

Plato

 

Aristotle

 

Luther

 

Augustine

 

Socrates

 

Question 17. 17. (TCOs 2, 8) Professional codes of conduct
serve what function for business and industry? (Points : 5)

 

Allow businesses to avoid training professional staffers

 

Enable transfer of valued employees across state lines

 

Enable contracting of temporary employees

 

Specify continuing education needs and requirements

 

Providing assurance of the professional qualifications of
members

 

Question 18. 18. (TCOs 2, 7) Aristotle’s Ethical Doctrine of
the Mean measured personal virtues on a scale that included the virtue itself,
the excess of it, and the deficiency of it.

 

If the virtue is GENEROSITY, and the excess is WASTEFULNESS,
what is the deficiency?

 

(Points : 5)

 

Carefulness

 

There is no deficiency

 

Being broke (having no money)

 

Stinginess

 

Moderation

 

Question 19. 19. (TCOs 8, 9) In personal or organizational
conflict, what benefits accrue to all parties when a leader or consultant
employees one of the ethical conflict resolution models of Week 6? (Points : 5)

 

Objectives of what winning the conflict means get refined
and better understood

 

Conflict management gets slowed down and settled.

 

Conflict can be handled in a sequential, step-by-step manner

 

Parties can be reconciled without solving the issues

 

Personal relationships can be separated from issues

 

Question 20. 20. (TCOs 1, 2) The Latin term a priori
describes the origin of knowledge developed rationally, and the term a
posteriori describes knowledge developed through observation and experience.
What is an example of ethics is best described as discovered in an a priori
manner? (Points : 5)

 

Utilitarian ethics

 

Objectivist ethics

 

Deontological ethics

 

Political ethics

 

Scientific ethics

 

1. (TCOs 1, 2, 3, 7) In support of TCO #7 and in the Week 7
discussions, you developed and placed into the threaded discussions your
personalized ethics statement of what has become important to you in the
practice of ethics as you have practiced ethics during the course. Your first
task in this question is to briefly present that personalized statement in just
a few sentences before continuing with the question. Much of the rest of the
exam will involve your working with that personalized statement through brief
applications and cases.

 

Use your ethical philosophy to solve the following ethical
situation. Explain how your philosophy helped you make your decision.

 

Should citizens have an ethical obligation to serve their
country when it is at war? Under what circumstances, if any, is it ethical for
a person to refuse to serve?

 

A significant number of people believe war is always wrong,
and that no circumstances justify one nation’s taking up arms against another.
Is this view ethically sound? How about realistically? Please state which side
you agree with, and why. Explain and defend your position using your ethical
position statement.

 

In answering, be sure to look at both sides of war: that is,
a country defending itself against aggression and of a strong country coming to
the aid of a weaker country that has been attacked unjustly. Then, explain how
your ethical philosophy affected how you answered this problem.

 

(Points : 30) Spellchecker

 

Question 2. 2. (TCOs 1, 2, 7) Analyze the following ethical
situation using YOUR ethical philosophy. Read the situation and then in your
answer, explain why this is an ethical situation, what the “issues”
are, and how an “ethical” person would resolve them. Explain how YOUR
ethical philosophy has helped you reach a conclusion about how to resolve or
analyze this situation.

 

As a result of the economic down-turn starting in 2008,
efficiency has become more and more the byword of the successful business
person. The axioms of the efficiency expert are: “Eliminate what need not
be done; simplify what must be done; combine tasks wherever possible.”

 

Putting this into practice means, among other things,
eliminating people’s jobs. Sometimes it also means making one person do two or
three people’s jobs. As company’s gain the upper hand in employment (when the
number of employees wanting good jobs is higher than the number of good (i.e.
high paying) jobs available), they will more and more expect employees to be
willing to work longer hours and to do accomplish more and varied tasks.

 

1. Under what circumstances is it ethical business practices
to ask employees to multi-task or do more than one person’s job?

 

2. Under what circumstances is it ethical for an employee to
refuse to do more work than can be taken on in a conventional 40-45 hours per
week?

 

3. Let’s assume that it is BECAUSE employees are willing to
multi-task and do two or three people’s jobs, that others LOSE their jobs. Who
is more at fault ethically? The employer who requests the extra work from the
remaining employees? Or the employees who are willing to do the extra work,
thereby putting the others who aren’t willing out of work?

 

Question 3. 3. (TCOs 1, 7, 9) How do you feel Immanuel Kant
would have solved the above ethical situation differently or the same as you did
using your philosophy? Please explain the reasons for the similarities or
differences. (Points : 40)

 

Question 4. 4. (TCOs 1, 2, 4, 9) Regina is chairperson of
her city’s United Fund campaign. In her annual preparations meeting with her
staff of canvassers, she gives this advice: “Hit the business places
first. Don’t approach anyone who is walking alone in a hall or working alone in
a closed office. Look for two or more people standing together or working side
by side. Try to make them compete with each other in generous giving.
Capitalize on their desire to show off and outdo the next person.” She
then states that the canvasser who raises the most money of all will be awarded
with a 5% cut of the total amount that canvasser raises. Her approach pays off
and the United Fund raises the most money ever.

 

Tell what ethical philosophy Regina is using, if any.

 

Now, use your ethical philosophy to analyze the situation.
Explain how, using your philosophy, you would have solved this situation either
the same way as the character in the situation did, or differently. Why?

 

Question 5. 5. (TCOs 5, 6) You are a new employee in an
advertising company. Your client is a well known soup manufacturer who wants to
feature in advertisements a picture showing the solid ingredients in its soup.
Unfortunately, your advertising group found that the solid ingredients sank to
the bottom of the bowl and were barely visible. All that could be seen was the
broth. Your boss hits upon a solution–put marbles in the bottom of the bowl
before pouring in the soup! You try it and the vegetables sit nicely on the
top, giving the appearance of thick soup. Your boss wants you to run with the
project with this solution.

 

What will you do? Explain why you will do this and what
ethical analysis you used to come to this conclusion.

 

Question 6. 6. (TCOs 6, 8) Analyze your answer above using
the Front Page of the Newspaper ethical dilemma resolution model. Show your
steps. (Points : 40)