Category: Ethics

Choose three (3) of the themes we have considered in this course (e.g., PRECISION, CONVERSION, etc.) and write an essay in which you explore how Nemo or another important character “keeps swimming” while demonstrating facets of the themes you have chosen.

Watch finding Nemo and write about this topic:

Dory’s consistent advice to Nemo (and others) is to “just keep swimming!” Choose three (3) of the themes we have considered in this course (e.g., PRECISION, CONVERSION, etc.) and write an essay in which you explore how Nemo or another important character “keeps swimming” while demonstrating facets of the themes you have chosen.

Themes we went over in this course are: memory, trauma, solidarity, strategy, obedience, failure, compassion, campaign, mission, truth, integrity.

Did the perpetrators of this act of fraud and thievery commit moral wrongdoing? Is it morally justifiable to steal from corporations and fund life-saving research for the betterment of society? Of children?

Week 11 discussion post

Discussion Prompt

In November of 1995, a McDonald’s game piece worth $1 million showed up in the mail at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. St. Jude’s Hospital is an organization whose mission is to find cures for dying children. McDonald’s generously waived the rules that only the winner could claim the winnings, and paid St. Jude’s $50,000 in annual installments. It was the largest anonymous gift in St. Jude’s history. No one ever took credit for the donation. Everyone just thought it just came from deep pockets with a big heart.

Twenty-one individuals were accused of rigging McDonald’s monopoly game, “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire”, and other promotional games. An indictment charged the perpetrators with embezzling more than $20 million in winning game pieces in an alleged fraud that began in the late 1980s.

Prosecutors stated that customers had little chance of winning before the FBI, with McDonald’s help, shut it down. Additionally, prosecutors argued that larceny, not charity, inspired the perpetrators to play Santa to St. Jude’s.

Both St. Jude’s and McDonald’s were surprised when CNN broke the story and identified the mystery Santa as the aforementioned team of thieves. Did McDonald’s ask for its money back? No, although St. Jude’s said it would do whatever McDonald’s wanted.

In an official statement, a spokesperson for McDonald’s stated that the restaurant chain had no intention of asking for its money back. McDonald’s kept its word and paid out the sum in full, sending the final check to St. Jude’s in 2014.

In your view, did the perpetrators of this act of fraud and thievery commit moral wrongdoing? Is it morally justifiable to steal from corporations and fund life-saving research for the betterment of society? Of children? Using one of the moral theories from this course to bolster support for your view, do your best to attempt to definitely answer whether or not the fraudulent actions of the perpetrators of this act of theft performed a morally right or wrong act.

Write a 3-5 page paper that reframes the argument in the article in terms of the ethical concepts we have been discussing so far in this class.

Ethics & COVID 19

Read this article in Fast Company and write a 3-5 page paper that reframes the argument in the article in terms of the ethical concepts we have been discussing so far in this class.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90470785/what-an-equitable-coronavirus-response-should-look-like?utm_campaign=eem524%3A524%3As00%3A20200304_fc&utm_medium=Compass&utm_source=newsletter

How should children be treated, including using them as means to an end?Ask what kind of moral theory best helps you answer the moral dilemmas in this story? Virtue theory? Kant’s categorical imperative? Utilitarianism? Something else, or some combination?

The Hunger Games Moral Issues

(100 points) Write a paper (4-5 pages). Select some of the moral issues presented in The Hunger Games saga (three to four issues would be a good range, depending on how fully you intend to talk about them).

You may use any of the installments in the trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay) or the movies based on them. Begin your paper with a statement about which book(s)/film(s) you are working with (some moral issues change over the course of the saga). Make direct references to situations or dialogue within these stories. a

Analyze the moral issues you have chosen, using your own logic and feelings along with references to philosophers covered in the class (this can include material from the student summaries about contemporary moral problems). Ask what kind of moral theory best helps you answer the moral dilemmas in this story? Virtue theory? Kant’s categorical imperative? Utilitarianism? Something else, or some combination?

Here are some examples of moral issues that are obvious in these stories, though you certainly do not need to limit yourself to the examples listed here:

Killing: When is it justified, if ever?

Civil disobedience (when is it right to resist authority, and by what means—nonviolent? Violent?)

Altruism and self-sacrifice. Why do people do good? Why do they sacrifice themselves for others or for a greater purpose than themselves?

How should children be treated, including using them as means to an end? (The Capitol uses children as a means of punishing the districts for rebelling, and as a way to keep them afraid of ever rebelling again.)

Poverty—the hoarding of resources by a privileged few, while the many work to make that possible.

The use of torture.

Lying—the protagonists lie frequently. Is this justified? (Peeta, the hands-down “best” person in the story, lies skillfully to protect others, especially Katniss. Katniss also becomes adept at lying, and sometimes struggles more with being dishonest than with the rather obvious issue of killing.)

Genetic engineering—the Capitol’s “muttations” (“mutts”), genetically enhanced animals used as weapons.

What are the necessary criteria a being must possess to have rights? Given your answer, do any non-humans have rights? Evaluate your position (by explaining an opposing view and defending your view against it).

Write your essay as if you are writing to a friend who missed class on the day this was discussed. There is no bibliography or works cited page required.

You may write in first person or even write the essay as if it were a letter to your “friend” from class.

ESSAY TOPIC-Being human, being alive, the capacity to feel pain, consciousness, the ability to solve complex problems, gender, race and age are just a few of the criteria that have been used or have been suggested as important for a being to have rights.

What are the necessary criteria a being must possess to have rights? Given your answer, do any non-humans have rights? Evaluate your position (by explaining an opposing view and defending your view against it).

What is moral imagination? What does moral imagination mean to you? Think about examples of moral imagination in your own life. When did you or someone else use moral imagination to solve an ethical dilemma?How did learning about gender binaries, people who are intersex, and issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community broaden your understanding of business ethics (if at all)?

Respond to It’s Time to Reimagine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

What is moral imagination? What does moral imagination mean to you? Think about examples of moral imagination in your own life. When did you or someone else use moral imagination to solve an ethical dilemma? Best comments will show an understanding of the videos.
https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/moral-imagination
https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/video/moral-imagination

It seems that there are so many ways to spend money “unethically” these days. What’s your advice to people who want to do so without getting discouraged? (In terms of what’s discouraging, suppose thinking about sweatshop labor, industrial agriculture, shady banks, carbon footprints, authoritarian-controlled natural resources, toxic ingredients/waste, disposable items, businesses that support people/policies that might be viewed as politically incorrect, etc.) It can seem overwhelming, so how do you overcome it, and where do you start?

How did learning about gender binaries, people who are intersex, and issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community broaden your understanding of business ethics (if at all)?

Compare and contrast the Civil Rights Movement to the animal movement in terms of strategy, public perception, and legislation. Discuss the advantages and weaknesses (whether in terms of public perception, your own personal views, or otherwise) of such comparisons.

Compare and contrast the Civil Rights Movement to the animal movement in terms of strategy, public perception, and legislation.

Discuss the advantages and weaknesses (whether in terms of public perception, your own personal views, or otherwise) of such comparisons.

Identify 2 of the 6 ways that responding to climate change raises concerns for conservatives, according to Klein, and try to explain how responding appropriately to the realities of climate change poses a threat to conservative ideologies. Do you agree?

This SPW requires some cooperation for completion, and with more cooperation, the more possible points.

To complete this assignment respond to the following prompts in a single post. Then, respond to any other students post (though, try to respond to those without any responses first, of course).

Prompts Choose 1:

What, according to Klein is among the major reasons for climate change denial by Republicans and other conservatives?

What is it that they fear about “the climate-change hoax?” What about this conservative story regarding climate change does Klein believe is correct? (Note: not all conservatives or Republicans deny climate change.)

In the later portions of the essay (21ff) Klein references research that tries to understand why people may deny the realities laid out by science. What do you think of this explanation? What does this help Klein see as particularly dangerous about climate change denial (25)?

What are the concerns that Klein raises about the strategies of the major (large scale) environmental organizations in relation to this form of climate denial?

Prompts:

Identify 2 of the 6 ways that responding to climate change raises concerns for conservatives, according to Klein, and try to explain how responding appropriately to the realities of climate change poses a threat to conservative ideologies. Do you agree?

What the organization requires for safety, or gives as guidelines for safety, or how the organization supports safety.

FAA Safety

The organization is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The MS Word written report should include:
1. Overview / Summary of the organization

2. What the organization requires for safety, or gives as guidelines for safety, or how the organization supports safety.

3. Include a References or Works Cited Page. (Minimum of four sources must be used). You must use in-text citations with whichever method you choose.

Critical Evaluate the argument that includes an objection to one of its premises.Why abortion is immoral by Don marquis?

Choose one of the readings in the ‘Moral Problems’ section of The Ethical Life textbook and critical evaluate its main argument

Reading – why abortion is immoral by Don marquis
Your essay should have four parts:

1. Introduction that states what reading you will engage with and a clear thesis statement on its argument.

2. Explanation of the main argument of the reading that is accurate and fairly represents the author’s reasoning.

3. Critical Evaluate the argument that includes an objection to one of its premises.

4. Conclusion that summarizes the essay and statement.

Your essay should be 600-700 words written in MLA format.