PHL-282: Ethics Getting Started Consider the following catalog of social dilemmas. Fortunately, you need not reinvent the wheel as you develop your ethical views in these areas. Many books and internet resources are available to help you reflect on these social dilemmas. Issues of Life and Death Animals and Environment Euthanasia Abortion War and Violence Political Relationships Justice and Economic Distribution Welfare Disobedience, Punishment, Law Personal Relationship Sex, Love, Marriage Parents and Children This outline comes from an ethics textbook, edited by John Arthur, entitled, Morality and Moral Controversies (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1998). Arthur has found a helpful way of organizing these issues, but the topics themselves are not unique to Arthur’s volume. They are the central social dilemmas of our day. During this workshop, see if you can develop your understanding of these issues. In relation to these issues, what opinions have you previously formed? Reevaluate the positions you have held. Do any of them need modification? Issues of Life and Death These issues make headlines today. For example, what rights do animals have? Loggers in the Northwest sometimes lose their jobs when the government hinders them from clearing land that harbors an endangered species. Dumping untreated or under-treated waste material directly into the ocean saves coastal communities millions of dollars in taxes, but kills more and more marine life. Scientists use animals to test the effectiveness of new medicines intended for humans, but these experiments sometimes result in great suffering and death for the animals. Should any of these practices be allowed? What is right and what is wrong in these areas? What rights do unborn human beings have? What rights do pregnant women have? What happens when these rights conflict? The great abortion debates of past decades have wearied most of us to the point of apathy. Yet how can anyone feel apathetic about daily destruction of thousands of unborn babies? If abortion involves, as many people believe, the taking of an innocent human life, then the scale of murder staggers the imagination. If it is not, then at the very least, many women experience post abortion emotional and spiritual wounds. Do adults have the right to end their own lives? Should a terminally ill person experiencing overwhelming pain be forced to continue enduring that pain? In such cases, should we allow euthanasia or assisted suicide? What is right and what is wrong here? Is there such a thing as a good war? Many Americans feel George W. Bush did the right thing in toppling Saddam Hussein, the dictator in Iraq. But was this military action a just war? Was it fought for appropriate reasons? How should American leaders decide which cruel dictators they should overthrow? Or in which African civil wars should they intervene? Can war be seen as a good thing, or even as the best option in a particular situation? What is right and what is wrong? The links below give you a chance to further explore these issues. Animals and the Environment http://www.fef.ca/ http://www.ewg.org/ http://envirolink.org/orgs/index.html http://www.cep.unt.edu/ Euthanasia http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/ War and Violence http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE10.HTM Political Relationships American state and federal governments frequently attempt to establish new and hopefully fairer welfare systems. Many Americans do not like giving tax money to people who cannot or will not earn enough to support themselves and their families. Others see legitimate instances in which people should receive a helping hand from government funds. But even people in the latter group are not convinced that any particular system works the way it should. Most European residents, as well as people in many of the world’s countries, hold a more generous view on sharing economic resources. Governments of many countries provide for their citizens broader sets of services and benefits (than in the U.S.), believing that to do anything but this would be immoral. What is right and what is wrong? Americans cherish our liberties. We often believe ourselves to possess the greatest freedom on earth. Yet, we have always restricted liberty for some people and in some circumstances. Where does liberty end? What kinds of statements should we be free to make? How do we decide what activity our governments should allow or forbid? These are not easy questions to answer. Nearly all these questions involve ethical issues: what is right and wrong? Courts give death sentences to American citizens. These sentences are carried out in prisons not that far from you. Our national Constitution forbids “cruel and unusual punishment.” Take a survey and you will find many who feel the Constitution forbids capital punishment. Others feel it is wrong to allow murderers to live out their lives. And yet, people are being given death sentences and executed in our prisons. . What is right and what is wrong? What about the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes? What about legalization for the purposes of pure relaxation? The following links give you opportunity to explore these questions further. Justice and Economic Distribution http:/wordwiz72.com/econ.html http://hughlafollette.com/eip3/Economic.Justice.htm http://allaboutworldview.org/christian-economics-and-social-justice-faq.htm Welfare http://publicwelfare.org/ Personal Relationships Personal relationships are fraught with ethical issues, including: Sexual preferences, Free love, and alternative lifestyles. The decades have brought many such issues of personal ethics to the forefront of consciousness. What is right and what is wrong in these areas? A few years ago a Swedish couple visited a cafe in New York City. In Sweden, parents leave their babies to bask safely in the sun in their carriages while they go inside to shop. Following their national custom, these parents left their baby in a carriage on the sidewalk while they enjoyed a restaurant meal. In this case, the infant was taken from the parents. The authorities wanted time to decide if this couple was fit to be parents. At the same time, state and county social welfare departments cannot keep up with thousands of children who grow up in abusive and dreadfully dysfunctional homes. What is right and what is wrong here? Gender, Race and Multiculturalism Not long ago the Ku Klux Klan held a demonstration on a courthouse lawn on a Midwestern county seat. Marchers carried signs and offered speeches advocating hatred and discrimination based on race. Some bystanders supported Klan members. Others denounced them. Should people have the right to advocate hatred of fellow American citizens? Is this the meaning of free speech? These are ethical questions. What is right and what is wrong? Many women know the meaning of the glass ceiling. Even more know the reality of being paid less than their male colleagues. What is the meaning of sexual equality and should it be protected by law? Should we be able to discriminate against people because of their gender, their race, their religion, or their nationality? These too are ethical questions. What is right and what is wrong? Resources Textbook: Moral choices: An introduction to ethics Background Information Here are sites that can aid your understanding of Kant. http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/Kant.html http://comp.uark.edu/~rlee/semiau96/kantlink.html Instructions Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade. Read pages 77-81 of Moral Choices, Scott Rae describes the system Immanuel Kant developed. Kant believed in the existence of God, but wanted to establish an ethical system people of any religious persuasion (or even atheists) could use. Kant's thinking, known as ethical rationalism, has significantly influenced modern western culture. Respond to the following questions: Is there anything about this ethical system that you do not understand? To what degree do you believe that reason alone can guide ethical discussions? Explain your thinking. Kant placed great emphasis on acting on the basis of what we feel we should (feel obligated to) do. How often and under what circumstances do you act out of duty? How might you be able to use elements of Kant’s system in your life? What practical applications do you feel this system offers? Your initial post is due by the end of the fourth day of the workshop. Read and respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts, as well as all instructor follow-up questions directed to you, by the end of the workshop. Your postings should also: Be well developed by providing clear answers with evidence of critical thinking. Add greater depth to the discussion by introducing new ideas. Provide clarification to classmates’ questions and insight into the discussion. You can also access the discussion forum by using the Activities button.
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