Ethical Dilemma Analysis- Capstone Project (300 POINTS)
This capstone project is an approximately 8-10 paged, double-spaced, 12 point font, 1″ margins essay analyzing an ethical dilemma from your own field of study. The analysis is a series of exercises which will demonstrate your level of understanding of several of the tools we have acquired through our study of our textbook.
I. Real-life ethical dilemma from your field of study (Chapter 1 and Chapter 12)
– indicate your field of study.
– State a real-life ethical dilemma from your field of study as a question. (form: “Should we do X or Y?”)
– Detail a scenario in your professional life in which this dilemma could arise. (describe a plausible scenario in which this dilemma could arise for a professional in your field)
– Explain why this is an “ethical” dilemma. (make use of definition of “ethics”)
– Explain why this is a “right vs. right” dilemma. (make use of Weston’s notion of “right vs. right”, meaning that each side has some reasons to recommend it)
II. Values in this ethical dilemma (Chapter 4)
-Explain which specific non-moral values are important in this ethical dilemma and why. (understand distinction between moral and non-moral values, detect which non-moral values are important in a dilemma)
– Explain which specific moral values are in conflict in this ethical dilemma, and what families of moral values they belong to. (understand distinction between moral and non-moral values, detect which specific moral values are important in a dilemma, categorize them by family)
III. Ethical theories and this ethical dilemma (Chapters 5-8)
Your ethical dilemma was stated earlier as a question of the form “Should we do X or Y?”, where X and Y are both actions that have some reason to recommend them. Yet we cannot do both.
– Pick one of the ethical theories we studied in detail (Kantian ethics, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and ethics of care) and make an argument from it to support choosing action X. (understand differences between theories, how to make a moral argument from a theory, aligning an ethical theory with an action)
– Pick one of the ethical theories we studied in detail (Kantian ethics, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and ethics of care) and make an argument from it to support choosing action Y. (understand differences between theories, how to make a moral argument from a theory, aligning an ethical theory with an action)
IV. Relevant facts for this ethical dilemma (Chapter 9)
– List three questions you would research to discover the most relevant facts for this ethical dilemma. (understand the types of questions relevant to researching an ethical dilemma, posing questions clearly and succinctly)
– Why are these three questions the most important to research for this dilemma? Why are the facts they would lead to the most relevant for this dilemma? Explain. (understanding what distinguishes a relevant from an irrelevant fact in an ethical dilemma)
V. Invented cases and consistency (Chapter 10)
– Invent a “like case” to your ethical dilemma. Explain how it is relevantly similar to your dilemma. (understand notion of “invented cases” in ethics, show relevant similarities between cases)
– Detail your moral intuitions and moral reasoning on this invented “like case.” Explain how these moral intuitions and moral reasoning should apply to your dilemma. (demonstrate use of invented cases, understanding of moral intutions and moral reasoning based on invented cased)
VI. Bringing Values into Congruence/Value Integration (Chapter 12)
– Choose one of the value integration methods from Chapter 12 (see page 422) and explain how it may be used to integrate the values in conflict in your dilemma. (understand methods for bringing values into congruence, demonstrate their use)
– Choose another of the value integration methods from Chapter 12 and explain how it may be used to integrate the values in conflict in your dilemma. (understand methods for value integration, demonstrate their use)
VII. Creative problem-solving (Chapter 13)
– Employ the “exotic associations” method to your dilemma. Document what random words you chose and what creative ideas they led to regarding your dilemma. (understand and demonstrate “exotic associations” creative problem-solving method and its use in ethics)
– Employ the “reversal and exaggeration” method to your dilemma. Document what normal features of the dilemma you chose to reverse and exaggerate and what creative ideas they led to regarding your dilemma. (understand and demonstrate “reversal and exaggeration” creative problem-solving method and its use in ethics)
VIII. Reframing problems (Chapter 13)
– Employ the “think prevention” method to your dilemma. What are the root causes that give rise to this dilemma? Explain what might be done to avoid the dilemma or lessen its severity. (understand and demonstrate “think prevention” reframing method and its use in ethics)
– Employ the “lateral thinking” method (revisiting outlying aspects of the problem) to your dilemma. What assumptions are we making when we formulate this dilemma? What new ideas emerge when we question these assumptions? Explain. (understand and demonstrate “lateral thinking” reframing method and its use in ethics)
IX. Resolution of the dilemma
– Indicate in a couple of paragraphs how you would resolve the dilemma, and what reasons you have for your resolution. Indicate which of the tools in I-VIII above were most influential in your decision. (give a reasoned defense of how you would resolve an ethical diilemma