Ethics: do the right thing

 

 

“THINK THINK THINK ABOUT IT…”

Directions:  Come up with your own answers for the following and be prepared to address them when called on in class discussion (as part of your participation grade).

 

·         What does it mean to be ethical? 

·         What role do ethics play in your life?

·         How do you know what you should do in any given situation?

·         How do we make the tough decisions in our lives when the time comes?

·         What do we base our beliefs on?

·         How do we know what is right and wrong, good and evil?

·         Socrates via Plato postulates that if we truly understand the Good, we will do good.  How does he justify that claim?  And would you agree?  Why or why not?

 

These are the fundamental concerns of ethics, and they may just be the most difficult challenges we will ever face.  Philosophers throughout history have given spilled a lot of ink on the critically important subject of ethics.  Simply stated, ethics is the study of moral behavior, its underlying moral principles, and their rational justifications.

 

Personally, I believe that ethics should be taught in tandem with every subject right from the get-go because ethics are crucial and relevant to every place at every time.  In light of this, I hope you’ll engage this section on ethics with excitement and conviction.

 

 

PART I.  “THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!”

Directions:  Come up with a moral dilemma that seems impossible to solve for each of the following categories:

 

1)      Personal life / relationships

2)      Medicine

3)      Education

4)      Career / financial

5)      Environment

 

PART II.  “WHAT WOULD YOU DO?”

Directions:   

·         Identify a career that interests you. (This needn’t be the career you’ve chosen, but rather one you’re interested in.  An example:  detective, judge, exotic dancer, etc.)

·         Identify 3 or more ethical challenges faced by that particular occupation. 

·         Write up one moral dilemma as a scenario. (See “Ethical Dilemmas” for some good examples.)

·         Select and apply 5 of the “isms” to resolve the moral dilemma.

·         Explain your personal opinion on how to best resolve the moral dilemma.