When do we care about ethics?

part 1

When do we care about ethics?

This past year there has been a number of public people who have been accused of sexual harassment. The consequences of these accusations has been mixed–some have been fired, some of been removed from public office, but others have not. This raises an interesting question: when do we care about other people’s ethical (or unethical) behavior and why? Why are we more likely to give some people a pass on unethical behavior and some not? We tend to be more lenient with friends, family, those we look up to, or those who’s ideologies we agree with. Those who we don’t know or disagree with, we tend to be more upset and angry at their unethical behavior. Why do we tend to be so inconsistent? Is this a good or a bad thing? How can we be more consistent?

part 2

attached in the final paper assignment.

Paper 3

Abortion Response paper

Instructions

Write a short (1-2 page) response to one of the following two questions:

1) What attributes do you think give a person their moral worth (rationality, autonomy, self awareness, etc.), and do you think a fetus (an unborn child) has these properties?

2) What is your reaction to Thomson’s argument that we do not have a duty to share our bodies with another person, even if it is necessary to keep the other person alive?

Paper 4

Current Ethical Event Assignment

For the last week of class there is no assigned reading or work. Instead, I would like you to take some time to look at some current issues and events that exist either within our own country or globally. I would like you to focus on an ethical issue that you think is important or one that has really caught your attention. It is important that the issue be an ethical one. For example, the state of the Minnesota housing market is not an ethical issue, nor is the fact that we’ve had a number of hurricanes this year. You might have feelings about these things (you may like or dislike what has happened), but they are not moral issues. Ethical issues involve ways people should be acting and treating each other.

The length of the assignment should be at least 3 pages (double spaced).

To complete the assignment, do the following: First, discuss the issue you are looking at. To accomplish this clearly identify at least two sides of the issue (sometimes there is more than just two, but you need to explain at least two). Explain why the sides disagree with each other and what moral values each side is using. Some moral values that people often appeal to are things like freedom, liberty, equality, happiness, God, common good, certain rights, fairness, human compassion, etc. Try and clearly identify which values each side think is most important and how they are using such values to justify their position.

Second, evaluate each side. Do you think the values that each side is using actually justifies their position? If so, why? If not, why not?

Third, discuss which side you does the best job of justifying their position.

Fourth, list your sources. You need to list at least three sources you looked at. (Note: Wikipedia is not an acceptable source). News articles, news videos, articles and journals are all acceptable.

You are free to examine whatever ethical issue you would like, but if you are having trouble coming up with a topic here’s a few examples.

Euthanasia: Should a person have a right to die on their own terms? Should would allow doctors to end people’s lives, if these people have a terminal disease and are suffering?

Immigration: What moral issues are involved with immigration? For example, should poor, abused, and starving people be free to try and make a better life for themselves in another country? Is it right for an affluent country to turn away other human beings that need help?

Marijuana: Should adults be free to use drugs if they want to?

Paying workers very little. Places like China and India pay their employees very little. Many of these people make very little money so we can by cheap computers, cell phones, TVs, and other electronic equipment. Are we exploiting these people? You could start by doing a search on Apple’s China factories, if you’re interested in this topic.

Allowing people to play in harmful sports. Should we allow people to play sports if this is causing them harm? Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts, and Football all can cause brain injuries. Should people be free to do these things, or do we need to implement more rules and restrictions.

No compensation for college athletes. College sports make tons of money. Coaches and athletic directors often get paid millions of dollars, but the students who actually play these sports do not receive any compensation other than scholarships.

Sexual Harassment. Recently a number of people have been accused of sexual harassment. In what ways does sexual harassment harm others? What types of consequences should there be for sexual harassment? Should people be allowed to hold office if they’ve been accused of sexual harassment? What issues are there in determining if someone is truly guilty of sexual harassment.