Instructions
Select a Modern Philosophy or Ethics Individual or Belief, or complete the final Case Study. Both options will require a paper and a recorded presentation of the research/case study
- The paper will be deliverable and
- the presentation will be the final discussion; allows everyone to share their work with others and also see others work for additional ideas or conversations for future research. share the work/knowledge.
RESEARCH PAPER – discuss topic with instructor prior to beginning work to ensure related research topic for course (just to confirm it will be something related to your research or related to a topic in the course to further research; not to deny anyone just to confirm, thank you)
Case Study –
The purpose of this assignment is to give you a chance to work out your own views about the issues raised by a case study involving an ethical dilemma and, more generally, to practice the procedure for analyzing ethical dilemmas. This assignment requires you to prepare a written analysis of a case you choose in which you develop then defend your own ethical analysis.
Your case analysis should be written in essay format and be approximately 1200-2400 words in length (about 5-10 max. typed double-spaced pages). The papers are due Sunday, Aug 3 by midnight.
From the total of case studies read in the textbook.
- Choose the one you found to be the most interesting,
- for what reason, and
- expand more on that with the guidelines provided from previous case studies but at a much more detailed view point for the one case you have selected.
- references to back up your rationale for decision and
- selection of a final resolution for the conflict.
While your paper will be you own independent work, it is often very useful to discuss your case with a small group of students who are considering the same problem. This gives you the opportunity to consider different aspects of the case and to hear different positions you might not otherwise consider. You may also want to continue the discussion outside class. Remember however, that your position need not agree, and often will not agree, with that of others with whom you discuss the case.
The Case
-Briefly summarize the important points and the decision that needs to made.
Issues
What is the most significant moral or ethical issue raised by the case?
Are there other significant moral issues that deserve consideration? What?
What essential facts are known? What, if any, facts important to the issues
raised are not known? (If such facts are determinable, attempt to find
answers from external sources. If they are not, make reasonable
assumptions. (Note: Describe your findings or assumptions about the facts
that are not given in the case in the Options section rather than here.)
Are there any conceptual issues–such as what a key concept means or
whether it applies? If so, what are they and why are they relevant to this
case?
Who are the major stakeholders–individuals whose interest could
reasonably be affected by the decision made in the case–and how might they
be affected? Which of the stakeholders deserves the most consideration? Why?
Does technology play a role in the case? If so, how? Has this changed recently?
Options
Resolve the factual issues that are not given in the case description. These
may involve questions about technology, medicine, safety, the law or
other issues. Use research to resolve those that are determinable. Make
plausible assumptions–and state them clearly–about factual issues that
cannot be determined.
Describe each option that you believe could reasonably be taken.
In some cases, these may only include those explicitly suggested in the
case description. However, in most cases you will think of other alternative
actions that are reasonable or even preferable. (Simply describe rather
than evaluate the options in this section.)
Ethical Arguments
Identify moral standards (ex: Rule Egoism, Natural Law, Utilitarianism, Respect for Persons, and any others) that you believe can be appropriately applied to the case.
Describe the essential ideas of the theory and its pertinence to the case.
Using this theory, give the arguments for and against each of the
alternative actions (options) that you identified. You must include as one
of these alternatives the action that you will later recommend be taken.
(Note: Defer evaluating these arguments until the next section.)
Evaluating the arguments
Based on the theory you chose, evaluate the arguments you developed for each
option. Which arguments should be considered most important, which
seem moderately important or of only minor importance?
Are there any factual assumptions or unresolved conceptual issues that
that are critical to the case?
Does applying this theory tend to yield converging or diverging judgments
about what action ought to be taken?
Consider similar or related situations to those in this case where there is
reasonable consensus about what action is ethically appropriate.
Conclusion/Decision
Decide which of the options you would recommend or judge to be ethically
the best way to deal with the issues presented in this case.
Defend your decision by a brief summary of the arguments that you
believe are most compelling including their relationship to the moral
theory you have selected.
Present the strongest arguments that a critic of your position might try to
use to argue against it using other ethical reasons or another ethical theory.
Then, present a rebuttal or counter argument in defense of your decision.
Could you personally live with this decision?
Compare what your initial reaction was to this case when you first
read it (initial reaction/thoughts) to the final decision you reached after applying the moral theories and completing the analysis.