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Ethics & Society 1
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Philosophy 1320: Ethics and Society 5
Academic Semester/Term: 2021 Fall 6
Aug. 23, 2021 – Dec. 10, 2021 7
15021 - PHIL 1320 – 023 8
12870 - PHIL 1320 – 049 9
16367 - PHIL 1320 - D01 10
Fully Distance Education—No campus visits 11
Asynchronous Instruction: There will be weekly deadlines, but students will not be required to 12
attend any scheduled events or class meetings, online or offline. 13
Open Educational Resources (OER) No textbook purchase required 14
Course description (from catalog): Study of ethics, its recent focus on social problems and new fields 15
of inquiry, including environmental ethics, ethics in business, professions, technology and sport. Also 16
such global issues as poverty, minority rights, and stem cell research. Emphasis on development and 17
application of principles of critical thinking and moral reasoning. 18
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PHILOSOPHY 1320: ETHICS AND SOCIETY ............................................................................................ 1 20
COURSE INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 3 21
Contact Info ............................................................................................................................................. 3 22
Zoom Office Hours ............................................................................................................................................... 3 23
University Core Statements........................................................................................................................ 4 24
Learning Outcomes ................................................................................................................................... 5 25
Online Course Requirements ...................................................................................................................... 6 26
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Course Policies .......................................................................................................................................... 7 27
ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES ................................................................................................................................. 8 28
Summary Guidelines ................................................................................................................................. 9 29
Dilemma Guidelines ................................................................................................................................ 11 30
Application Guidelines ............................................................................................................................. 15 31
WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT ARCHIVE ........................................................................................................................17 32
With Quick-Scan Deadlines ................................................................................................................................. 17 33
Assignment 01: Week One Orientation and Introduction ..............................................................................17 34
Wed. Aug. 25 / Thu. Aug. 26 ................................................................................................................................ 17 35
Assignment 02: Week Two - Demonstrating Habits of Careful Scholarship .................................................... 20 36
Wed. Sep. 1 / Thu. Sep. 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 20 37
Assignment 03: Week Three - First Summary of Ethical Teachings ............................................................... 22 38
Wed. Sep. 8 / Thu. Sep. 9 ..................................................................................................................................... 22 39
Assignment 04: Week Four – A Dilemma in the News.................................................................................. 24 40
Wed. Sep. 15 / Thu. Sep. 16.................................................................................................................................. 24 41
Assignment 05: Week Five - Second Summary of Ethical Teachings ............................................................. 27 42
Weds. Sep. 22 / Thurs. Sep. 23 ............................................................................................................................. 27 43
Assignment 06: Week Six - Application of One Summary to One Dilemma in the News .................................. 30 44
Weds. Sep. 29 / Thur. Sep. 30............................................................................................................................... 30 45
Assignment 07: Week Seven - Third Summary of Ethical Teachings .............................................................. 31 46
Weds. Oct. 6 / Thur. Oct. 7 ................................................................................................................................... 31 47
Assignment 08: Week Eight - Fourth Summary of Ethical Teachings............................................................. 33 48
Weds. Oct. 13 / Thur. Oct. 14 ............................................................................................................................... 33 49
Assignment 09: Week Nine – Another Dilemma in the News ........................................................................ 35 50
Wed. Oct. 20 / Thu. Oct. 21 .................................................................................................................................. 35 51
Assignment 10: Week 10 – Fifth Summary of Ethical Teachings ................................................................... 38 52
Weds. Oct. 27 / Thur. Oct. 28 ............................................................................................................................... 38 53
Assignment 11: Week Eleven - Application of One Summary to One Dilemma in the News ............................. 40 54
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Weds. Nov. 3 / Thur. Nov. 4 ................................................................................................................................. 40 55
Assignment 12: Week 12 - Summary of Ethical Teachings ........................................................................... 42 56
Weds. Nov. 10 / Thur. Nov. 11 .............................................................................................................................. 42 57
Assignment 13: Week 13 – Personal Summary of Ethical Values or Principles ................................................ 44 58
Weds. Nov. 17 / Thur. Nov. 18 .............................................................................................................................. 44 59
Assignment 14: Week 14 – Extra Credit Report on Philosophy Dialogues of Ethical Topics .............................. 46 60
Tue. Nov. 23 ....................................................................................................................................................... 46 61
Assignment 15: FINAL - Trending Dilemmas in The News ............................................................................ 46 62
Thu. Dec. 9 ......................................................................................................................................................... 46 63
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Course Introduction 65
Course section number, classroom, & meeting time: 66
15021 - PHIL 1320 – 023 67
12870 - PHIL 1320 – 049 68
16367 - PHIL 1320 - D01 69
Fully Distance Education—No campus visits 70
Asynchronous Instruction: There will be weekly deadlines, but students will not be required to 71
attend any scheduled events or class meetings, online or offline. 72
Open Educational Resources (OER) No textbook purchase required 73
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Contact Info 75
Instructor: Russell G Moses (Dr Mo) 76
Communication: Please communicate with your instructor, Dr. Mo, via email: [email protected] and 77
communications will be answered within 24 hours during weekdays. 78
Zoom Office Hours: Tue, Wed, Thu 5:00-6:00 PM Central (check CANVAS Announcements for a 79
link). Waiting Room will be enabled to ensure privacy of conversations. 80
Instructor’s Email: [email protected] 81
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Departmental phone: email preferred 82
Instructor’s office: Comal 115A (however, the instructor will be working online, not from the office) 83
Names & email addresses of TA’s, GA’s, laboratory assistants, graders, and supplemental instructors: 84
There are no TA’s, assistants, or graders for this course; the instructor will do all the grading. 85
University Core Statements 86
Mission: Texas State University is a doctoral-granting, student-centered institution dedicated to 87
excellence and innovation in teaching, research, including creative expression, and service. The 88
university strives to create new knowledge, to embrace a diversity of people and ideas, to foster 89
cultural and economic development, and to prepare its graduates to participate fully and freely as 90
citizens of Texas, the nation, and the world. 91
Shared Values: In pursuing our mission, we, the faculty, staff, and students of Texas State University, 92
are guided by a shared collection of values: 93
• Teaching and learning based on research, student involvement, and the free exchange of ideas 94
in a supportive environment; 95
• Research and creative activities that encompass the full range of academic disciplines—96
research with relevance, from the sciences to the arts, from the theoretical to the applied; 97
• The cultivation of character, integrity, honesty, civility, compassion, fairness, respect, and 98
ethical behavior in all members of our university community; 99
• A diversity of people and ideas, a spirit of inclusiveness, a global perspective, and a sense of 100
community as essential conditions for campus life; 101
• A commitment to service and leadership for the public good; 102
• Responsible stewardship of our resources and environment; and 103
• Continued reflection and evaluation to ensure that our strengths as a community always 104
benefit those we serve. 105
Campus Health, Wellness, and Safety: 106
• Reminder on 10 Guiding Principles for Health, Safety, and Wellness at Texas State, 107
including requirement to wear a cloth face covering and perform a self-assessment each day 108
before coming to campus. 109
• Importance of the Bobcat Pledge, including the shared responsibility to practice healthy 110
behaviors and follow the health and safety guidelines, which shows respect for others and 111
helps prevent the spread of COVID-19 on campus and in the surrounding community. 112
• Link to the Student Roadmap for more information on students’ return to campus. 113
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Statement on Civility and Compliance in the Classroom: Civility in the classroom is very important 114
for the educational process and it is everyone’s responsibility. If you have questions about appropriate 115
behavior in a particular class, please address them with your instructor first. Disciplinary procedures 116
may be implemented for refusing to follow an instructor’s directive, refusing to leave the classroom, 117
not following the university’s requirement to wear a cloth face covering, not complying with social 118
distancing or sneeze and cough etiquette, and refusing to implement other health and safety measures 119
as required by the university. Additionally, the instructor, in consultation with the department 120
chair/school director, may refer the student to the Office of the Dean of Students for further 121
disciplinary review. Such reviews may result in consequences ranging from warnings to sanctions 122
from the university. For more information regarding conduct in the classroom, please review the 123
following policies at AA/PPS 02.03.02, Section 03: Courteous and Civil Learning Environment, and 124
Code of Student Conduct, number II, Responsibilities of Students, Section 02.02: Conduct Prohibited. 125
Emergency Management: In the event of an emergency, students, faculty, and staff should monitor 126
the Safety and Emergency Communications web page. This page will be updated with the latest 127
information available to the university, in addition to providing links to information concerning 128
safety resources and emergency procedures. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to sign up for 129
the TXState Alert system. 130
Sexual Misconduct Reporting (SB 212): Effective January 2, 2020, state law (SB 212) requires all 131
university employees, acting in the course and scope of employment, who witness or receive 132
information concerning an incident of sexual misconduct involving an enrolled student or employee 133
to report all relevant information known about the incident to the university's Title IX Coordinator 134
or Deputy Title IX coordinator. According to SB 212, employees who knowingly fail to report or 135
knowingly file a false report shall be terminated in accordance with university policy and The Texas 136
State University System Rules and Regulations. 137
Learning Outcomes 138
General Education Core Curriculum (Code 040) 139
Language, Philosophy and Culture Component Outcomes 140
Students will explore behavior and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, and 141
events, examining their impact on the individual, society, and culture. 142
Core Objectives/Competencies Outcomes: 143
Critical Thinking 144
Students will demonstrate creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, 145
evaluation and synthesis of information. 146
Communication 147
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Students will effectively develop, interpret and express ideas through written, oral 148
and visual communication. 149
Social Responsibility 150
Students will demonstrate intercultural competence, knowledge of civic 151
responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global 152
communities. 153
Personal Responsibility 154
Students will relate choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making 155
Departmental Learning Outcomes for Phil 1320: 156
1) After completion of Phil 1320, students will be able to demonstrate improvement in 157
critical thinking skills. 158
2) After completion of PHIL 1320, students will be able to demonstrate improvement in their 159
understanding of the major approaches to ethics and their application to contemporary moral 160
problems in society. 161
Additional instructor course outcomes (optional): 162
• Students will learn how to research the history of ethical principles and values through active 163
critical inquiry into “primary source texts of ethical teachings,” learning how to distinguish 164
such materials from secondary source materials, encyclopedias, commentaries, summaries, 165
etc. 166
• Students will learn how to carefully document source materials according to standards of 167
professional scholarship. 168
• Students will learn how to fairly represent ethical teachings from a variety of cultures and 169
historical periods. 170
• Students will learn how to formally present dilemmas of ethical choice between options of 171
action relevant to contemporary individuals and groups. 172
• Students will learn how to test the relevance of ethical values and principles to contemporary 173
ethical dilemmas through deliberations structured around formal application exercises. 174
• As a result, students will develop a critical, scholarly context for creating and assessing values 175
and principles that may be critically evaluated and applied to personal and social life before 176
us. 177
Online Course Requirements 178
This is an online-only course. Please make sure you are ready for online-only education: 179
Do you have access to the technology required? 180
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• Have you considered the time-management skills that are required? 181
• Here is a handy self-assessment: https://ready.distancelearning.txstate.edu/ 182
• You may access CANVAS via internet browser or mobile app. To access CANVAS via internet 183
browser, CHROME is recommended, FIREFOX is compatible; however, the following 184
browsers do not work well: MS EXPLORER and SAFARI. 185
• Here is the student guide to CANVAS: 186
https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10701-canvas-student-guide-table-of-contents 187
• If you are having difficulty with CANVAS functionality, please contact CANVAS support: 188
https://itac.txstate.edu/support/canvas 189
Course Policies 190
Syllabus: The complete syllabus is available for download under the CANVAS course main “Files” 191
menu. Relevant sections of the syllabus will also be posted separately under “Files” and “Discussions.” 192
Readings will be found via internet links at courselinks.cc (no registration or login required) or in the 193
library’s electronic materials (login required). No textbook purchase is required. For orientation on 194
how to evaluate links and carefully cite electronic sources according to MLA style, 195
see: Lesson "00 – Scholarship and Style” at courselinks.cc 196
Schedule of Weekly Assignments will be found below and will be organized at the CANVAS course 197
site in a series of Discussions labeled by Week. 198
Late penalties: 199
Assignments are usually due at midnight 11:59 pm on the due date listed. A letter grade 200
deduction will apply to late assignments, at the rate of one letter grade per day, beginning 201
after midnight, usually 12:01 a.m. Weekly Discussions will be locked at Sunday midnight; 202
after that, late work will no longer be accepted. 203
Comments on the work of three other students are also usually due at midnight a day or two 204
after the assignment due date. Missing or insufficient comments will suffer a penalty of 10 205
points each. Comments more than a day late will suffer a five-point penalty for the first day 206
late. After that, late comments will not be counted. 207
Academic Honesty is a matter of taking responsibility for the role you play in your own education. 208
This means preparing yourself and doing your part to establish a healthy educational learning 209
experience for everyone. Texas State University has an honor code, which you may review here: 210
http://www.dos.txstate.edu/handbook/rules/honorcode.html 211
Religious Holy Days: A full statement of university policy is available on-line: 212
http://www.txstate.edu/effective/UPPS/UPPS-02-06-01.HTML 213
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Classroom Civility in online-only communication: Please make a special effort to strike a tone of 214
respect and support. Also, be mindful of privacy issues. What students share online in the context of 215
the class stays online in the context of the class. What students may know about each other offline 216
stays offline. 217
The Course Grade will be determined by adding up points from weekly Assignments. Each 218
Assignment will be worth 100 points. The final grade will be determined on the basis of a percentage 219
of the final total: 90% =A; 80%=B; 70%=C; 60%=D; 50% or lower=F. Students may check grading 220
status at the CANVAS course Gradebook. For a discussion of late penalties that may be applied to 221
each Assignment, please see discussion of Assignments and Comments under the late penalties 222
section above. 223
Accessibility: Your well-being and success in this course are important to me. I recognize that there 224
are *multiple* ways to learn and that this multiplicity should be acknowledged in the design and 225
structure of university courses and the evaluation of their participants. Thus, I encourage students 226
registered in the course to communicate their learning styles and comprehension requirements. 227
Every student is entitled to a meaningful and stimulating learning experience. Disabled students are 228
also strongly encouraged to avail themselves of the services provided by the campus Office of 229
Disability Services (ODS: www.ods.txstate.edu) including the provision of note-takers, extra time for 230
assignments, transcribers, and sign-language interpreters. Official letters from ODS are welcome. 231
Academic Assistance is available at: 232
• the Student Learning Assistance Center (SLAC) www.txstate.edu/slac/ 233
• and the Writing Center www.writingcenter.txstate.edu/ 234
Assignment Guidelines 235
Before we get started, are you wondering, what is ethics? What are values and principles? 236
Ben Benjamin, PhD offers a concise overview at: 237
https://www.massagetoday.com/articles/10521/Ethics-Values-and-Principles 238
Values can be named in one word (“honesty”). Principles are stated in sentence form (“We 239
will be honest at all times”). Please see the TXST “Shared Values” statement above or online. 240
Do you share the values? 241
Also, please make sure that your schedule and computer access will not impede your progress 242
in this course. 243
Where documentation of sources is required, please get started at the courselinks.cc page on 244
Lesson 00-Scholarship and Style under the Study Topics menu. 245
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After our first-week introduction, assignments will be formally organized as Summaries, 246
Dilemmas, or Applications: 247
1. A Summary presents worthwhile ethical teachings from one “primary source text of 248
ethical teaching” that you will find linked to course resources at courselinks.cc or via 249
library search. 250
2. A Dilemma presents one problematic situation that calls for ethical deliberation. For 251
the purposes of this course, a “genuine ethical dilemma” presents a choice (a) between 252
two preliminary options for action, (b) where the choice is forced between options, 253
because they cannot both be carried out, and (c) where each option has some ethical 254
credibility or worthiness expressed in terms of ethical values or principles, but it is 255
difficult to determine which option constitutes the better ethical course of action. 256
3. An Application of summary to dilemma will explore how ethical teachings, presented 257
in a summary, would affect deliberation toward a difficult choice between two 258
options, as presented in a dilemma. Before starting work on an Application exercise, 259
please be sure that you have selected a Summary to apply to a Dilemma. 260
Summary Guidelines 261
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SUMMARY of Ethical Teachings from “One Primary Source Text” 263
A summary of ethical teachings presents ethical values or ethical principles for guiding human 264
actions or purposes. Material for a summary will be found in one “primary source text of ethical 265
teachings” taken from course readings. For an overview of how “primary source text” is defined, see 266
Assignment “00–Scholarship and Style” at courselinks.cc. The usual summary will be five paragraphs 267
(of at least five sentences each), with MLA style citations and work(s) cited. 268
In a summary of ethical teachings, the writer does not mention anything about a dilemma that is to 269
be deliberated. Neither does the writer take any strong position on the validity of the teaching. This 270
is just the place to listen with care and to learn from the ethical teachings of one primary source text. 271
Unless otherwise noted, a summary must be taken from course materials covered since the last 272
summary. 273
Minimum grading criteria: a summary of ethical teachings will be at least five paragraphs of five 274
sentences each, including at least three direct quotes, properly cited, with work cited. 275
Course requirements for MLA citations: 276
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Each direct quote from a “primary source text of ethical teachings” must be followed by a 277
required (parenthetical) in-text citation, and the in-text citation should include location 278
information where available. Since we are working with internet sources, location 279
information will often not come in the form of page numbers; however, locations should be 280
identified if the text is marked with book number, chapter number, section number, verse, 281
paragraph number, etc. If paragraphs are not numbered, you do not need to count them. 282
At the end of your assignment, you are required to list your work(s) cited by placing the 283
work(s) cited after the last paragraph of the assignment. For further reminders about “primary 284
source texts,” MLA style, and course rules see “00–Scholarship and Style” at courselinks.cc. 285
Some MLA style requirements may vary at the discretion of your grader. Please remember 286
that if the name of a person comes first in the work cited, it must be the name of the author, 287
not the editor, translator, or webmaster. 288
In summaries, direct quotes are required: for the purpose of this short assignment, a quote should be 289
one complete sentence that expresses a value or principle to guide ethical assessment of human 290
actions or purposes. The sentence should be carefully selected from a primary source text that offers 291
ethical guidelines for human actions or purposes. Do not use Wikipedia or other encyclopedic sources 292
here. Review guidelines for identifying “primary source texts” at “Lesson 00: On Scholarship and 293
Style” at courselinks.cc 294
For formal clarity, prepare a summary according to the following five paragraph template: paragraph 295
numbers are not required for summaries. 296
1. Introduction paragraph: Set the stage. What is the purpose of this short paper? Which 297
“primary source text of ethical teaching” will be summarized? (Make sure it’s not an 298
encyclopedia!) Who is the author? 299
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2. Second paragraph: begin to develop the main task. Present the first required quotation (of 301
your choosing) and discuss in your own words what you take the teaching to mean. 302
(Make sure you don’t refer to a dilemma!). Please be sure to introduce your quote, present 303
the direct quote, and discuss the meaning of the quote. The direct quote should be 304
embedded in a presentation that leads the reader toward the quote and helps the reader 305
understand why it has been selected as a worthwhile ethical teaching. For all body 306
paragraphs, a wholesome paragraph will be five sentences, and the quote will fall in the 307
second or third sentence, not the first or last. 308
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3. Third paragraph: continue to develop the main task. Present the second quote, etc. 310
(Remember, every quote requires an in-text citation in parentheses, with location 311
information when available, such as bk., ch., par., p.) 312
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4. Fourth paragraph: complete the main task. Present the third quote, etc. 314
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5. Fifth paragraph: conclusion. Summarize your overall findings. Considered all together, 316
what does the text teach us about ways to guide human purposes and actions? Your 317
conclusion should be specific in reference to the actual key teachings presented in the 318
materials covered, with at least one key term recovered per body paragraph. Beware of 319
using vague or general terms instead of precise, actual terms used in the primary source 320
text. Please remember, the purpose of the exercise is to listen carefully and fairly 321
represent the teachings of a primary source text. 322
Dilemma Guidelines 323
DILEMMA for ethical deliberation 324
General Guidelines: A Dilemma presents a problematic situation that calls for ethical 325
deliberation (a) between two preliminary options for action, (b) where the choice is forced 326
between options, because they cannot both be carried out, and (c) where each option has 327
some ethical credibility or worthiness expressed in terms of ethical values or principles, but 328
it is difficult to determine which option constitutes the better ethical course of action. 329
Depending upon the assignment, dilemmas may focus on discrete cases or general trends, and the 330
primary agent may be an individual or a group. Nevertheless, a dilemma preserves the three 331
parameters listed above: two options for action, forced choice, and balanced ethical credibility, 332
yielding a problematic situation where ethical deliberation is required. 333
Dilemmas should reflect some relevant, contemporary predicament that presents some possible 334
choice concerning “mature” experience going forward. Agents confronting choices should be college 335
graduates or older, at a calendar date no older than this week. Any dilemma that presents an 336
individual agent prior to college graduation or which presents options that have been resolved in 337
some time past will be subject to a 25 percent penalty. 338
Presentation of a formal dilemma includes a well-developed paragraph (paragraph two) that sets the 339
scene leading up to presentation of options for deliberation. 340
Note: a genuine ethical dilemma is different from knowing very well what is ethical but facing an 341
enticing—and clearly unethical—temptation. In other words, the ethical credibility of each option in 342
a dilemma should have nearly equal weight. If you find yourself using terms like cheat, lie, or steal to 343
describe a course of action, there is a high probability that there is a low level of ethical difficulty in 344
the dilemma, and the grade will suffer accordingly. 345
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Show the ethical difficulty of the deliberation facing the agent by presenting at least two preliminary 346
options for action. Explain why each option has ethical credibility, expressed in terms of ethical 347
values or ethical principles (not cost-benefit payoffs that can be calculated quite apart from any 348
ethical reflection). Discuss why it appears to be ethically difficult to choose between the options. For 349
clarity of formal presentation, label these preliminary options (a) and (b) as indicated in the five-350
paragraph template below. 351
Dilemma exercises developed for this course should not indicate which option is or should be chosen. 352
That will be the subject of an application exercise. So be sure to stop the action at the moment of 353
choice, but prior to any decision or course of action. For clarity of formal presentation end the 354
dilemma with a question that rehearses the preliminary options which lie ahead. Where do we go 355
from here? 356
Minimum grading criteria call for five paragraphs in MLA style, with citations provided when 357
appropriate (for example, wherever the writer makes reference to public facts that can be 358
documented or when the writer draws upon dilemma materials published elsewhere). Personal 359
choice dilemmas commonly do not require documentation. Dilemmas that involve social choices 360
should document evidence of research into social behaviors or trends. 361
Ethical Dilemma Cases: In a “me dilemma” the primary agent is an individual facing an ethical choice 362
of a personal or professional nature. The agent asks, “what will I do?” In a “we dilemma” the primary 363
agent is a large group (at least as large as a town or town-sized corporation) facing an ethical choice of 364
collective action. In a “we dilemma” the question is “what will we do?” 365
In a “Me Dilemma,” an individual agent is facing a personal or professional choice. (Remember, the 366
agent must be a college graduate or older.) Imagine the scenario. Give the primary agent a name. 367
Name the major players or entities that are involved. Describe the particular actions and events that 368
have led to the need for some difficult ethical choice on the agent’s part. This exercise encourages 369
students to creatively preview difficult ethical choices that may confront them in life after 370
graduation, whether in the realm of the workplace, family, or personal relationships. If it is important 371
to your educational objectives (if you want this course to be directly related to your major) be sure to 372
consider professionals who are qualified in your major field of study facing individual choices that are 373
most relevant to your major field of expertise. However, if you look at your university education as a 374
“liberal arts” preparation for life more broadly considered, then you do not need to confine your 375
ethical interests to your major field of study. You may consider the human predicament in its widely-376
engaging variety. 377
In a “We Dilemma,” a large group is facing a choice of collective action. In this course the “we 378
dilemma” may involve a choice between social habits or patterns of behavior. Please see the 6-Step 379
(Heuristic) Thinking Method for Creating and Testing a “Social Habit” Dilemma below.* 380
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Five-paragraph template for dilemmas of any type: 381
1. Introduction: What is the purpose of this short paper? Preview the dilemma very briefly. Is it 382
a “me dilemma” or a “we dilemma”? Who is the primary agent (for a “me” dilemma, give the 383
primary agent a name; for a “we dilemma,” name the group or community that will be 384
making the collective choice; name the company, town, etc.). 385
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2. Second paragraph: begin to develop the main task. Summarize the situation that requires 387
some choice. Summarize the background story that leads up to a choice of action, with at least 388
one citation to a news source when a news source is required. Wholesome body paragraphs 389
will have at least five sentences: 390
For a personal choice (me) dilemma, name the individual who is the primary agent 391
and tell a particular story that has brought them to the point where a choice between 392
options is called for. 393
For the social habit (we) dilemma, name the community that is the primary agent and 394
tell the story that has brought them to the point where a choice between options is 395
called for. The community should be at least as large as a town or a town-sized 396
business. What is the problem that “we” face? 397
3. Third paragraph: Now that the background story has been told, present the first option for 398
action. Label this paragraph (a). Put the label at the very beginning of the first sentence of the 399
paragraph. In the first sentence, briefly state the action that is to be considered. What is the 400
first preliminary option for action? Present two ethical values or principles that would 401
support evaluating this action as ethically plausible, right, or good. Present one ethical value 402
or principle that would support evaluating this action as ethically implausible, wrong, or bad. 403
This should be an ethical deliberation, not a cost-benefit analysis. 404
4. Fourth paragraph: Present the second option for action. Label this paragraph (b). Put the label 405
at the very beginning of the fist sentence of the paragraph. In the first sentence, briefly state 406
the action that is to be considered. What is the first preliminary option for action? Present 407
two ethical values or principles that would support evaluating this action as ethically 408
plausible, right, or good. Present one ethical value or principle that would support evaluating 409
this action as ethically implausible, wrong, or bad. This should be an ethical deliberation, not 410
a cost-benefit analysis. 411
5. Fifth paragraph: Recap the options that are to be deliberated. Bring the reader to a state of 412
ethical suspense. Keep it open-ended. This exercise presents a problem; do not indicate a 413
solution. For formal clarity, end the dilemma with a question mark. Reinforce the question as 414
such: what is to be done? 415
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*A 6-Step (Heuristic) Method for Creating and Testing a Social Habit Dilemma 417
What is a dilemma between choices of social habits? Here is a recommended process for 418
generating a dilemma between choices of social habit. Recall the three requirements of an 419
ethical dilemma: there must be at least two options for action; the choice between options is 420
forced (one cannot do both); they present a balance of ethical credibility. 421
Step One: Identify a major problem facing humanity in the coming decades. This is an 422
important first step. The exercise will work with a significant social problem. 423
Step Two: consider a social habit that appears to accelerate the tendency toward the problem. 424
This may require some time to think about. What are some common practices that are widely 425
shared? 426
Step Three: does the social habit involved in Step Two have ethical credibility, nevertheless? 427
Are there ethical values and principles that support the social habit, despite the fact that it 428
may be contributing to a problem? If the social habit has ethical credibility, label the habit 429
(a). If the social habit leading to a problem has no ethical credibility, then we have a “follow 430
through problem” but not a dilemma. A “follow through” problem is a real problem, but not 431
the kind of problem that we are deliberating in these formal exercises. If there is no ethical 432
credibility for the social habit under consideration, reconsider steps one and two. 433
Step Four: once an option (a) is identified, is there a social habit that we could choose in place 434
of (a)? Test the choice between habits to see if it constitutes a genuine ethical dilemma (see 435
Step Five). 436
Step Five: Test the choice of habits for the criteria of a genuine ethical dilemma. Does the 437
second habit constitute a “forced choice” such that social habits (a) and (b) cannot be carried 438
forward together? Does the second social habit have ethical credibility of comparable weight 439
to that of the first social habit? 440
Step Six: If the second habit satisfies the requirements of an ethical dilemma in relation to (a), 441
label the second social habit (b). If the second habit fails one of the tests for a genuine ethical 442
dilemma, retrace the steps of this process and try again. 443
Write a five-paragraph dilemma using the dilemma template from assignment guidelines 444
above, using the (a) and (b) options discovered in this exercise. Remember that the strongest 445
dilemmas are the ones most difficult to decide from an ethical point of view and which 446
present choices that cannot both be carried out together. Look for difficult ethical dilemmas, 447
not colossal temptations or “follow-through” problems. 448
Ethics & Society 15
Application Guidelines 449
APPLICATION of Summary to Dilemma 450
Before you begin this exercise, be sure that you have selected (1) one completed summary (which 451
does not mention any dilemma); (2) and one completed dilemma (which does not include ethical 452
teachings from any summary). 453
In the application exercise, the writer will deliberate the dilemma AS IF the primary agent (whether 454
individual “me” or group “we”) in the selected dilemma were to be guided by teachings presented in 455
the selected summary. An application does not ask what you would do. An application does not ask 456
what a primary agent would do independently, on the basis of motivations that have nothing to do 457
with the summary. An application exercise asks how the summary would tend to guide deliberation 458
toward a course of action in dilemmas of difficult ethical choice. Therefore, for the purposes of this 459
assignment, be very clear about which course of action would be chosen. This is not the place to 460
evade or equivocate. In ethical deliberation of genuine dilemmas, a conclusion demands action. An 461
action must be chosen. In this exercise, action must be chosen on the basis of teachings found in a 462
summary. 463
Considering that summaries have at least three direct quotes, the usual application will have at least 464
three guidelines or criteria to consider. For each guideline or quote, the writer should clearly express 465
what the guideline indicates and how it would be applied to the facts of the particular dilemma under 466
deliberation. For formal clarity, number the three paragraphs that discuss the three main teachings 467
(1), (2), and (3), as shown in the five-paragraph template below. 468
For formal clarity introduce your ethical author or text by name early in each paragraph of the 469
application and make clear references to the author or text as you continue to apply the quotes and 470
criteria. This will help to clarify the task before you, which is to examine the relevance of ethical 471
teachings in light of a present-day problem. 472
In each deliberation paragraph, paraphrase the ethical teaching that is being applied and discuss the 473
meaning of the teaching’s values or principles in the context of the options under consideration. Do 474
not paste the direct quote. 475
End each deliberation paragraph and the concluding paragraph with a final sentence that describes 476
what action will be taken if the agent is guided by the values and principles discussed in the 477
paragraph. An action is different than a value or principle, so be sure to clarify the action (a or b, will 478
or won’t, do or don’t) that follows from the ethical deliberation. The conclusion of an ethical 479
deliberation is a course of action. Describe what the agent will do or won’t do. 480
Once again: for purposes of these graded application exercises, the agent must deliberate to a choice 481
of action. Even when the appropriate choice appears very difficult to decide, the agent must 482
Ethics & Society 16
deliberate toward the better action that would be indicated by the ethical values and principles of a 483
selected summary. Close calls make good deliberations, allowing the writer to develop a felt tension 484
between options. But in the end, if it is a genuine ethical dilemma, then some choice is forced upon 485
the agent. What is the better ethical choice? The writer has discretion in development of dilemmas, 486
in selection of primary source texts, and in selecting quotes from a text. Do your best to generate an 487
interesting and fruitful deliberation that guides action going forward. Exercises which evade ethical 488
choice will be subject to failing grades. 489
For formal clarity, conclude your application exercises with a clear choice of action. Make it clear: 490
your final sentence should state clearly – here is what should be done. 491
Five paragraph template for applications: 492
1. Introduction: What is the purpose of this exercise? Which summary will be applied to 493
which dilemma? Name the author and title of the ethical teachings. Include a one or two 494
sentence reminder of who the “me” or “we” agent is, and briefly identify the (a) and (b) 495
options under deliberation. 496
497
2. Second paragraph: begin to develop the main task. Label this paragraph (1). Place the 498
number at the beginning of the first sentence of the paragraph. Name the author or title 499
of the ethical teachings and remind the reader of the first quote you selected in your 500
summary by paraphrasing the quote. Do not re-paste the direct quote here. After 501
presenting a paraphrase of the first teaching, discuss how the ethical values and principles 502
of the teaching would apply to the context of this case. Then analyze how that ethical 503
teaching would guide deliberation toward a course of action in the dilemma under 504
consideration. Be very clear about the course of action. A wholesome body paragraph will 505
have five sentences. In the last sentence of the paragraph, declare the choice of action 506
that would follow: Here is what should be done (either a or b). 507
508
3. Third paragraph: continuing to develop the main task. Label this paragraph (2). Apply 509
guidelines above to the second quote of your summary. Conclude the paragraph with a 510
clear statement: Here is what should be done (either a or b). 511
512
4. Fourth paragraph: completing the main task. Label this paragraph (3). Apply guidelines 513
above to the third quote of your summary. Answer the question of what should be done 514
(either a or b). 515
516
5. Fifth paragraph: conclusion. If the primary agent were guided by the teachings presented, 517
which course of action would be chosen as a result of the above deliberations? Do not 518
simply restate or affirm general principles, values, or teachings. Be sure to show how 519
Ethics & Society 17
these ethical teachings would point to a course of action. The conclusion of an ethical 520
deliberation is action. The last sentence should describe that action. 521
Weekly Assignment Archive 522
With Quick-Scan Deadlines 523
524
The following materials provide an archive of Weekly Assignments as they are posted at the start of 525
the semester. But in an online course, Assignments may be slightly edited or revised as the course 526
goes forward. If the online version of an Assignment is edited or revised, it becomes the official 527
Assignment for grading purposes. 528
Monitor the CANVAS Announcements section and your txstate.edu inbox on a daily basis to keep up 529
with any changes, advisories, or other communications. 530
Assignment 01: Week One Orientation and Introduction 531
Wed. Aug. 25 / Thu. Aug. 26 532
Welcome to PHIL 1320 Ethics and Society! This week we will introduce ourselves to each other and 533
get a general orientation to our online-only course. 534
FIRST, some general info about the course: 535
• Welcome to Phil 1320 Ethics and Society! 536
• An online-only, asynchronous course. 537
• No campus activities required. No common meeting times online. 538
• Open Educational Resources (OER) No textbook purchase required. 539
• Weekly assignments due midnight Wednesdays; comments to fellow students due midnight 540
Thursdays. 541
Please make sure you are ready for online education 542
• Do you have the technology? 543
• How are your time-management skills? 544
• Here is a handy self-assessment: https://ready.distancelearning.txstate.edu/Links to an external 545
site. 546
• You may access CANVAS via internet browser or Mobile App. 547
• Via internet browser, CHROME is recommended, FIREFOX is okay; do not use MS EXPLORER 548
or SAFARI. 549
• Below is a link to the CANVAS student help guide: 550
Ethics & Society 18
https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10701-canvas-student-guide-table-of-contents (Links 551
to an external site.) 552
Communication Policy: If you have any questions or concerns, please email your instructor—Dr Mo 553
at [email protected]—and your email will be answered within 24 hours during weekdays. 554
SECOND, let’s begin work on this week’s Discussion 555
The first assignment is due by midnight Wednesday of the first week of class. 556
Objectives: This week we want to: 557
• preview materials for student success in this course, and 558
• introduce ourselves to each other, demonstrating that we can use the most important tool for 559
graded course work: CANVAS “Discussions.” 560
PREPARATION (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight): 561
(1) Locate the "Canvas Student Guide" and familiarize yourself with the resources available there: 562
https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10701-canvas-student-guide-table-of-contents (Links 563
to an external site.) 564
565
(2) Download the complete Syllabus from our CANVAS course site [in pdf format], located under the 566
“Files” tab in the left main menu, and read the course objectives and course policies (especially 567
penalties for late work.) 568
(3) Locate the curated archive of links to "surface web" readings at: 569
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/ (Links to an external site.) 570
(a) the courselinks.cc site requires no login or registration 571
(b) please pay special attention to the guidelines found under topic "00 -- Scholarship and Style" 572
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/00-scholarship-and-style/ (Links to an external site.) 573
574
• budget at least one hour of your time to familiarize yourself with basic features of MLA style 575
documentation (using direct quotes, providing in-text citations in parentheses, and supplying 576
a Work Cited). Some format issues such as double space, indents, or margins are not so 577
important for the work in this online course, but accurate, professional documentation of 578
direct quotations is required in MLA style. 579
• review courselinks.cc guidelines for identifying "primary source text of ethical teaching" at 580
the link above 581
Ethics & Society 19
GRADED TASKS: 582
1. Discussion DUE by Wednesday midnight (11:59 pm). 583
Open your favorite word processor and write two paragraphs as follows: 584
Caution: if you decide to compose directly into a CANVAS window, be sure to save often to prevent 585
loss of work. Technical difficulties with CANVAS should be addressed to CANVAS help. 586
(A) In a paragraph of at least 150 words, introduce yourself to your classmates, sharing only what you 587
are comfortable sharing. Typical information includes hometown, major, career ambitions, previous 588
interest in the subject of the course, relationship status, and things you are doing outside the course. 589
(B) In a short paragraph (no minimum word count) affirm or attest that you have (i) 590
reviewed CANVAS help for students, (ii) downloaded the course syllabus and reviewed the (a) 591
learning objectives and (b) course policies, especially the late penalties, and (iii) located and reviewed 592
(a) courselinks.cc guidelines on MLA documentation and (b) how to identify a "primary source text of 593
ethical teaching." 594
When you have composed and saved the two paragraphs, go to the Discussion for Assignment 01 and 595
"Reply to Discussion” (do not reply to another reply). Then paste your work into the text box for your 596
discussion (attachments will not be graded). You should be able to revise your work and tweak the 597
format. Just make sure that your revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or the work will be 598
subject to late penalties. 599
2. Comments DUE by Thursday midnight (11:59 pm). 600
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. Welcome at least three of your classmates with 601
supportive comments that demonstrate you have read their introductions carefully. Pick out some 602
features of their introduction for acknowledgment and response. 603
Please keep comments upbeat and supportive. Please do not pile into the first few discussions. Please 604
be sure to observe “the scroll down rule”⎯ if a discussion already has 3 comments, keep scrolling, 605
and spread the attention to others. 606
Grading advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 607
5pm Tuesday after the "comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 608
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are a day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After one 609
day late (after midnight Friday), comments do not count. 610
Please pay attention to formal guidelines. Did you write two recognizable paragraphs? Did you meet 611
word-count requirements when stipulated? Was your answer complete? Did you cover all the 612
Ethics & Society 20
questions asked? Multiple letter grade deductions will be applied to poor formatting, failure to meet 613
word counts, or incomplete responses. 614
Also, please pay attention to comment requirements. Multiple letter grade deductions will apply to 615
invalid, late, or missing comments—or to comments that ignore “the scroll down rule." 616
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is time-617
stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 618
Assignment 02: Week Two - Demonstrating Habits of Careful Scholarship 619
Wed. Sep. 1 / Thu. Sep. 2 620
Objectives: in this Assignment we will focus on three skills necessary for student success in this 621
course. 622
• Identify which readings may be counted as a "primary source text of ethical teachings" 623
• Identify which sentences convey ethical values or principles. 624
• Present direct quotes of ethical teachings from primary source texts with quote marks, 625
parenthetical in-text citation, and a Work Cited in MLA (9th Edition) format. 626
PREPARATION (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 627
(1) Budget time for of review topic "00 - Scholarship and Style" at courselinks.cc to refresh your 628
memory of guidelines for MLA style citation and location of "primary source text of ethical teaching." 629
Link below: 630
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/00-scholarship-and-style/ (Links to an external site.) 631
(2) Navigate to the first study topic, "01 - Ancient Egypt" at Courselinks: (https://courselinks.cc/study-632
topics/01-ancient-egypt/ (Links to an external site) 633
Look over the whole page, then budget time to browse a half-dozen links presented there. 634
Identify which links or readings count as "background, encyclopedia, or summary" (useful to read, 635
but not "primary source texts of ethical teachings")? 636
Identify which links or readings count as "primary source texts of ethical teachings" because they 637
directly convey the voices of ancient Egyptian authors. In a “primary source text” the author speaks 638
for themself. 639
(3) Select "one primary source text of ethical teaching" from the Egypt links or readings and budget 640
time to locate a sentence that conveys an ethical teaching. An ethical teaching conveys an ethical 641
value or principle that suggests an ethical guide to human activity, e.g., “love your enemies.” 642
GRADED TASKS 643
Ethics & Society 21
1. Discussion DUE by Weds. midnight (11:59 pm). 644
Open your favorite word processor and write one paragraph and one work cited as follows: 645
(A) In a paragraph of at least 150 words, introduce one quote of ethical teaching from “a primary 646
source text of ethical teachings” from Ancient Egypt and present the quote in proper MLA style with 647
direct quote marks followed by a parenthetical in-text citation. A wholesome paragraph has five 648
sentences. When presenting direct quotes for this class, a well-selected quote of one sentence should 649
appear in the second or third sentence, never the first or last. Avoid an opening sentence like “the 650
quote I found;” instead write a sentence that presents an idea. Write a sentence or two explaining 651
why you selected the quote and what you think it is teaching. Please do not agree or disagree with 652
the teaching; just listen carefully and then convey with fairness and empathy what you think the 653
teaching is trying to communicate. 654
(B) After a clear line break and line space, compose a Work Cited in the format indicated by MLA 9th 655
edition. (Do not worry about the hanging indent.) 656
Here is a reminder of the usual order of elements: Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of 657
Source. Title of Container, Other Contributors (such as Editor or Translator), Name of Publisher or 658
Website, Date, URL. 659
When you have composed and saved the paragraph and work cited, go to the Discussion for 660
Assignment 02 and "reply” to the Discussion guidelines (do not reply to another reply). Then paste 661
your work into the text box for your discussion (attachments will not be counted). You should be 662
able to revise your work. Just make sure that your revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or 663
the work will be subject to late penalties. 664
(C) Double-check your citations and work cited. If there is a name in the first position of the work 665
cited, is it the name of the author (not editor, translator, or webmaster). Is every direct quote 666
followed by an in-text citation? If location information is provided by your source (paragraph 667
numbers, section numbers, etc.) did you place the number that locates your quote in the in-text 668
citation? Did you spell out the name of the web site or web publisher prior to the URL? 669
670
2. Comments DUE by Thursday midnight (11:59 pm). 671
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment has three sentences that (a) name 672
and thank your fellow student for their work, (b) paraphrase an ethical teaching presented in the 673
student's work, (c) state a problem that the ethical teaching would resolve, and (d) say why the 674
resolution indicated by the teaching would be ethically valuable. The reason you give should “add 675
value” to the discussion. Do more than redefine or reword the teaching. Do more than restate reasons 676
already provided by the text or student. Add value: put something into the discussion that was not 677
there before your comment. 678
Ethics & Society 22
Please keep comments upbeat and supportive. Please do not pile into the first few discussions. If a 679
discussion already has 3 comments, keep scrolling down, and spread the attention to others (the 680
“scroll down” rule). 681
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion discussions and comments will be posted no later than 5pm 682
Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 683
subject to ten-point deductions. 684
Please pay attention to formal guidelines. Did you write a paragraph with a quote taken from a 685
“primary source text of ethical teaching”? Did you supply an in-text citation (in parentheses) and a 686
Work Cited in MLA style? Did you adhere to word counts when they are stipulated? 687
Also, please pay attention to comment requirements. Multiple letter grade deductions will apply to 688
invalid, late, or missing comments. Did you remain mindful of the "scroll down" rule? 689
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 690
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties may apply. 691
Assignment 03: Week Three - First Summary of Ethical Teachings 692
Wed. Sep. 8 / Thu. Sep. 9 693
Objectives: this week we will extend the summary skills necessary for student success in this course. 694
• Identify which links at courselinks.cc lead to one "primary source text of ethical teachings" 695
• Identify which sentences convey ethical values or principles. 696
• Present direct quotes of ethical teachings from primary source texts with quote marks, 697
parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited in MLA 9th Edition format. 698
• Compose a 5-paragraph essay that presents the sense of what the teachings say to us. 699
Preparation (budget time to complete this homework no later than Tuesday midnight) 700
(1) Look again at topic "00 - Scholarship and Style" to refresh your memory of guidelines for MLA 701
style citation and location of "primary source text of ethical teaching" 702
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/00-scholarship-and-style/ 703
(2) Select a topic: either "02 - Hinduism" 704
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/02-hinduism/ 705
or "03 - Buddhism" 706
Ethics & Society 23
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/03-buddhism/ 707
(3) Browse a half-dozen links from either topic, Hinduism or Buddhism 708
Which links lead to "background, encyclopedia, or summary" (which are not "primary source texts of 709
ethical teachings")? 710
Which links lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings"? 711
(4) Select "one primary source text of ethical teaching" from Hinduism or Buddhism and locate three 712
sentences that convey ethical teachings. 713
(5) Under the main course “Files” menu, review syllabus guidelines for writing a Summary, including 714
the 5-paragraph template. 715
Graded Tasks 716
(A) Discussion DUE by Wednesday midnight (11:59 pm). 717
Open your favorite word processor and write a five-paragraph summary, following syllabus 718
guidelines, with clear line breaks between paragraphs. 719
After a clear line break and line space following the last paragraph compose a Work Cited in the 720
format indicated by MLA 9th edition. (Don't worry about the hanging indent.) 721
Here is the usual order of elements: Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Source. Title of 722
Container, Other Contributors (such as Editor or Translator), Name of Publisher or Website, Date, 723
URL. 724
When you have composed and saved the paragraphs, go to the Discussion for Assignment 03 and 725
"reply” to the Discussion guidelines (do not reply to another reply). Then paste your work into the 726
text box for your discussion (attachments will not be counted). You should be able to revise your 727
work. Just make sure that your revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or the work will be 728
subject to late penalties. 729
(B) Comments DUE by Thursday midnight (11:59 pm). 730
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment has three sentences that (a) name 731
and thank your fellow student for their work, (b) paraphrase an ethical teaching presented in the 732
student's work, (c) state a problem that the ethical teaching would resolve, and (d) say why the 733
resolution indicated by the teaching would be ethically valuable. The reason you give should “add 734
Ethics & Society 24
value” to the discussion. Do more than redefine or reword the teaching. Do more than restate reasons 735
already provided by the text or student. Add value: put something into the discussion that was not 736
there before your comment. 737
Please keep comments upbeat and supportive. Please do not pile into the first few discussions. If a 738
discussion already has 3 comments, keep scrolling down, and spread the attention to others (the 739
“scroll down” rule). 740
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 741
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 742
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 743
one day late, comments do not count. 744
Please pay attention to formal guidelines. Did you select "one primary source text" of "ethical 745
teachings"? Did you write five recognizable paragraphs? Did you include three quotes properly 746
formatted with quote marks, parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited? Multiple letter grade 747
deductions will be applied to selection of texts that are not "primary source texts" or "ethical 748
teachings." Grade deductions will continue to apply to poor formatting or incomplete responses. 749
Also, please pay attention to comment requirements. Multiple letter grade deductions will apply to 750
invalid, late, or missing comments. Did you observe the “scroll down rule”? 751
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 752
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 753
Assignment 04: Week Four – A Dilemma in the News 754
Wed. Sep. 15 / Thu. Sep. 16 755
Objectives 756
• How to recognize, create, and formally present a genuine ethical dilemma 757
• How to distinguish ethical problems from non-ethical problems 758
• How to distinguish between two kinds of ethical problems: (1) temptations or trivial 759
problems of analysis, where what to do ethically is clear enough to guide ethical action; (2) 760
genuine ethical dilemmas or significant problems of analysis. 761
• How to formally clarify options of a genuine ethical dilemma. 762
Preparation (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 763
A. Read this (10 minutes): 764
Ethics & Society 25
For purposes of this course, we will want to explore ethical difficulties, and improve our ability 765
to formally clarify options for ethical deliberation. 766
In the first instance we want to distinguish between problems that have obvious ethical 767
emphasis and problems that don’t. Let's use a football analogy. It’s fourth down, five seconds 768
on the game clock, and the coach needs to call a play. What play should he call? Pass or run? 769
This is a difficult situation, some choice should be made, but it raises no obvious ethical 770
emphasis. The coach needs to call the best play possible. And the pressure is on. Many 771
problems of action are difficult, but they do not raise ethical questions. We just want to do our 772
best. 773
For purposes of this course, an ethical problem will be identified when the choice between (at 774
least) two options for action involves ethical questions of moral right or good (dictionary 775
definitions will be good enough here). But once we have eliminated problems that have no real 776
ethical focus, there are two general kinds of problems that do have ethical emphasis that we 777
want to consider, so that we can focus on one kind and discard the other. We will call these 778
two general kinds of ethical problems (1) problems of how to follow through with a choice 779
that is ethical; we’ll call them follow-through problems and (2) problems that involve choosing 780
what is ethical within a genuine ethical dilemma, or dilemma problems. 781
Follow-through problems will not be a focus for formal exercises in this course. In this kind of 782
ethical difficulty, the agent has a sense that an option for action is ethical while other options 783
are not; follow-through appears difficult, but not because we are puzzled about what is ethical. 784
Perhaps unethical options have tempting features of pleasure or enrichment such that the 785
agent experiences “a feeling of difficulty" in overcoming the temptation. Perhaps the ethical 786
option involves risk, pain, or self-sacrifice, so we say it is a “difficult situation.” But the 787
difficulty does not arise from trying to discover what is ethical in the first place. These are real 788
human difficulties, to be sure, but they present no real problem in knowing which course of 789
action is ethically preferable. The problem lies in carrying through on one's ethical assessment, 790
doing the right thing despite temptation or fear. 791
My favorite example of a follow-through problem is the found wallet. If the wallet has two 792
dollars in it, we recognize that the right thing to do is return it with the money inside. If the 793
wallet we find is stuffed with hundred-dollar bills, we begin to waver, but not because we are 794
confused about what is the right thing to do. We are simply tempted by the cash payoff. If we 795
decide to keep the money, we will probably also decide to keep it quiet, because we know it's 796
not the right thing to do. If we give it back with all the money intact, we may tell a story of 797
how “difficult it felt.” But it was not an ethical dilemma. It was a follow-through problem. 798
A genuine ethical dilemma satisfies three parameters: (1) there are at least two options for 799
action, (2) the choice between options is forced because we cannot do both, and (3) each 800
choice is ethically credible because it could be considered right or good in some aspect. I won't 801
Ethics & Society 26
give any examples for this kind of ethical difficulty because I will be asking you to generate 802
examples. And if I do not give an example, your responses will be much more diverse and 803
interesting. But in general, you can think of a genuine ethical dilemma as taking the form of 804
“to do or not to do” when each option has ethical credibility. 805
Formal presentation of an ethical dilemma will have at least two options for action. For formal 806
clarity, we will label them (a) and (b). And we will consider how each option, if carried out, 807
would have some ethical credibility to it, in other words, it would be right or good in some 808
respect. When evaluating the (a) and (b) options we will want to explore ethical strengths and 809
weaknesses—why it would be right or good to do, and why it would be wrong or hurtful. 810
To sum up the discussion so far, a genuine ethical dilemma satisfies three criteria: An ethical 811
dilemma presents a primary agent facing some difficult deliberation between (1) at least two 812
courses of action (a or b) going forward, (2) a choice is forced between the options because 813
both cannot be carried out, and (3) each option has some ethical credibility, which makes 814
ethical choice between options difficult to decide. Depending upon the dilemma, the primary 815
agent may be an individual or a group. It can be a “me dilemma” or a “we dilemma”. In either 816
case, deliberation between at least two preliminary options appears difficult to decide from an 817
ethical point of view. 818
Finally, in order to achieve full credit for formal presentation of an ethical dilemma, please 819
make sure that the dilemma is a current one, representing a real future going forward, 820
involving an adult who is at least of college-graduate age looking forward in history. 821
Significant penalties (two or three letter grades) will be applied to dilemmas where agents are 822
college age or younger, or where choices reflect reruns of settled issues in history. In other 823
words, for purposes of this course, genuine ethical problems pertain to actual forced choices for 824
the future of our human experience (after graduation from college); otherwise, dilemmas will 825
face several grade penalties for irrelevance. The study of Ethics is only necessary when we are 826
deliberating difficult ethical choices for a real future. 827
B. Only after reading the above (10 mins.) read the syllabus breakout for Dilemma Guidelines 828
under the main course Files menu. 829
830
C. Scroll news articles posted no earlier than Sat., Sept. 11, 2021. Look for an article that suggests 831
a “genuine ethical dilemma” for a group or individual. Identify (a) and (b) options for action 832
and test them to be sure that they pose a genuine ethical dilemma, not a follow-through 833
problem. 834
Graded Tasks 835
I. DISCUSSION DUE Weds. midnight (11:59 pm). 836
Ethics & Society 27
Based upon a recent news article, create a 5-paragraph Dilemma (“me dilemma” or “we dilemma”) 837
following syllabus guidelines. In the second paragraph, be sure to name your primary agent and 838
summarize the specific news event or situation that inspires the dilemma (with citation and work 839
cited to your news source). After that, be sure to clearly label the (a) and (b) paragraphs. And don't 840
forget to leave the dilemma open ended; this week you just want to present the dilemma fairly, in a 841
way that does not betray any preferred solution on your part. Save your work and then go to the 842
CANVAS Discussion for this week’s Assignment and "reply" to the discussion guidelines. Paste your 843
dilemma and revise as necessary; just remain mindful of the time stamp, because revisions after the 844
deadline will result in late penalties. 845
II. COMMENTS DUE by Thur. midnight (11:59 pm). 846
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment has three sentences that (a) name 847
and thank your fellow student for their work, (b) briefly restate the ethical dilemma in the student's 848
work, and (c) assess an ethical strength or weakness of the dilemma, i.e. what feature of the dilemma 849
best meets the 3 criteria for a “genuine ethical dilemma.” Add value with your reason. Put something 850
into the discussion that has not already been stated as such. 851
Please keep comments upbeat and supportive. Focus on strengths. Please do not pile into the first few 852
discussions. If a discussion already has 3 comments, keep scrolling down, and spread the attention to 853
others (the “scroll down” rule). 854
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 855
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 856
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 857
one day late, comments do not count. 858
Please pay attention to formal guidelines. Did you write five clearly distinguishable paragraphs? Did 859
you name your primary agent? Are paragraphs three and four labeled (a) and (b)? Did you leave the 860
choice between options open-ended so that the reader is left wondering what should be done? Is this 861
a genuine ethical dilemma, not a follow-through problem? Multiple grade deductions will be made 862
for poor formatting, incompleteness, or failure to present a genuine ethical dilemma. 863
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 864
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 865
866
Assignment 05: Week Five - Second Summary of Ethical Teachings 867
Weds. Sep. 22 / Thurs. Sep. 23 868
Objectives: this week we will reinforce skills necessary for student success in this course. 869
Ethics & Society 28
• Identifying which links at courselinks.cc lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings" 870
• Identifying which sentences convey ethical teachings 871
• Presenting direct quotes of ethical teachings from primary source texts with quote marks, 872
parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited in MLA 9th Edition format. 873
• Composing a 5-paragraph essay that presents the sense of what the teachings say to us. 874
Preparation (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 875
(1) Look again at topic "00 - Scholarship and Style" to review guidelines for MLA style citation 876
and location of "primary source text of ethical teaching" 877
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/00-scholarship-and-style/ 878
(2) Select a topic: either "04 – Confucianism and Taoism" 879
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/04-confucianism-and-taoism/ 880
or 881
"05(a) – Classical American" 882
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/05-classical-american-philosophy/ 883
or 884
"05(b) – Norse Eddas" 885
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/05b-indigenous-legacies-norse-eddas/ 886
(3) Browse a half-dozen links from either topic above. 887
Which links lead to "background, encyclopedia, or summary" (which are not "primary 888
source texts of ethical teachings")? 889
Which links lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings"? 890
(4) Select "one primary source text of ethical teaching" from a topic above and locate three 891
sentences that convey ethical teachings. 892
(5) Review syllabus guidelines for writing a Summary, including the 5-paragraph template. 893
Graded Tasks 894
I. Discussion DUE by Wednesday midnight (11:59 pm). 895
Open your favorite word processor and write a five-paragraph summary, following syllabus 896
guidelines. 897
After a clear line break and line space compose a Work Cited in the format indicated by MLA 9th 898
edition. (Don't worry about the hanging indent.) 899
Ethics & Society 29
Here is the usual order of elements for a work cited: Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of 900
Source. Title of Container, Other Contributors (such as Editor or Translator), Name of Publisher or 901
Website, Date, URL. 902
When you have composed and saved the paragraphs and Work Cited, go to the Discussion Topic for 903
this week and "reply" to the Discussion guidelines. Then paste your work into the text box for your 904
discussion (attachments will not be counted). You should be able to revise your work. Just make sure 905
that your revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or the work will be subject to late 906
penalties. 907
II. Comments DUE by Thursday midnight (11:59 pm). 908
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment has three sentences that (a) name 909
and thank your fellow student for their work, (b) paraphrase an ethical teaching presented in the 910
student's work, (c) state a problem that the ethical teaching would resolve, and (d) say why the 911
resolution indicated by the teaching would be ethically valuable. The reason you give should “add 912
value” to the discussion. Do more than redefine or reword the teaching. Do more than restate reasons 913
already provided by the text or student. Add value: put something into the discussion that was not 914
there before your comment. 915
Please keep comments upbeat and supportive. Please do not pile into the first few discussions. If a 916
discussion already has 3 comments, keep scrolling down, and spread the attention to others (the 917
“scroll down” rule). 918
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 919
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 920
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 921
one day late, comments do not count. 922
Please pay attention to formal guidelines. Did you select one primary source text of ethical teachings? 923
Did you write five recognizable paragraphs? Did you include three quotes properly formatted with 924
quote marks, parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited? Multiple letter grade deductions will be 925
applied to selection of texts that are not "primary source texts of ethical teachings." Grade deductions 926
will continue to apply to poor formatting or incomplete responses. 927
Also, please pay attention to comment requirements. Multiple letter grade deductions will apply to 928
invalid, late, or missing comments. 929
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 930
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 931
Ethics & Society 30
Assignment 06: Week Six - Application of One Summary to One Dilemma in 932
the News 933
Weds. Sep. 29 / Thur. Sep. 30 934
Testing the relevance of ethical teachings to contemporary ethical dilemmas. What can we learn by 935
asking the question: What would ____ do? Just keep in mind that our question is more precise: what 936
would ____ do if they were simply following their own ethical teachings? 937
Objectives: this week we will focus on skills necessary for student success in this course. 938
1. How to test the value of ethical teachings in deliberations of contemporary ethical dilemmas. 939
2. How to compose a 5-paragraph essay that presents a sense of how a set of ethical teachings 940
would guide deliberation in a contemporary ethical dilemma. 941
Preparation (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 942
(1) Read syllabus guidelines for Application exercise 943
(2) Review the “Dilemma in the News” that you wrote for Week 4 or ask the professor’s 944
permission (via email or CANVAS message) to select another student’s “Dilemma in 945
the News.” In the message, be sure to name the student and the (a) and (b) choices of 946
the dilemma that you would like to work with. 947
(3) Select one summary that you have written for this course (see Week 3, or Week 5, 948
pick one). 949
(4) Be prepared to answer the question, if the primary (“me” or “we”) agent in the 950
Dilemma were to be guided by nothing but the ethical teachings of the selected 951
Summary, what would they choose to do? 952
Graded Tasks 953
I. Discussion DUE by Weds. midnight (11:59 pm). 954
Open your favorite word processor and write a five-paragraph application exercise, following syllabus 955
guidelines. Be sure that the introductory paragraph briefly restates the (a) and (b) options of your 956
“Dilemma in the News.” Be sure that you have "paraphrased" (not re-quoted) the ethical teachings of 957
the Summary that you selected; be sure that you have labeled three body paragraphs 1, 2, 3 where 958
you apply the three teachings from your summary. And be sure that the last sentence in each of the 959
last four paragraphs clearly states what is to be done, (a) or (b). 960
When you have completed the exercise, go to the Discussion Topic for this week’s Assignment and 961
"reply" to the Discussion guidelines. Then paste your work into the text box for your discussion 962
(attachments will not be counted). You should be able to revise your work. Just make sure that your 963
revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or the work will be subject to late penalties. 964
II. Comments DUE by Thurs. midnight (11:59 pm) Jul. 8 965
Ethics & Society 31
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment is at least one complete sentence 966
that (a) thanks the fellow student for their work, (b) restates an ethical application of teaching to 967
dilemma, and (c) assesses a strength of that application. ("I think the application of teaching (y) to 968
dilemma (x) was really instructive because . . .”) Please keep comments upbeat and supportive. Please 969
do not pile into the first few discussions. If a discussion already has 3 comments, keep scrolling down, 970
and spread the attention to others (the “scroll down” rule). 971
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 972
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 973
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 974
one day late, comments do not count. 975
Please pay attention to formal guidelines for applications. Did you write five paragraphs? Are the 976
middle three paragraphs labeled (1), (2), and (3)? Do you make clear reference to the author 977
and teaching at the beginning of each paragraph? In the numbered paragraphs do you paraphrase 978
teachings from the summary you selected? Do you clearly apply the teaching to indicate which 979
option of action would be selected? Does each of the numbered application paragraphs conclude with 980
a clear course of action -- what would be done? Does the final summary paragraph briefly summarize 981
results of the above deliberations and clearly conclude with an action - what would be done? 982
Multiple grade deductions will be made for poor formatting, incompleteness, or failure to clearly 983
communicate deliberation of action. 984
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 985
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 986
Assignment 07: Week Seven - Third Summary of Ethical Teachings 987
Weds. Oct. 6 / Thur. Oct. 7 988
Objectives: this week we will reinforce skills necessary for student success in this course. 989
• Identifying which links at courselinks.cc lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings" 990
• Identifying which sentences convey ethical teachings 991
• Presenting direct quotes of ethical teachings from primary source texts with quote marks, 992
parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited in MLA 9th Edition format. 993
• Composing a 5-paragraph essay that presents the sense of what the teachings say to us. 994
Preparation (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 995
(1) Look again at topic "00 - Scholarship and Style" to review guidelines for MLA style citation 996
and location of "primary source text of ethical teaching" 997
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/00-scholarship-and-style/ 998
Ethics & Society 32
(2) Select a topic: either "06 – Plato" 999
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/06-plato/ 1000
or 1001
"07 - Aristotle" [Ethics only; NOT Metaphysics, or On the Soul, or Poetics, etc.] 1002
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/07-aristotle/ 1003
(3) Browse a few links from either topic above. 1004
Which links lead to "background, encyclopedia, or summary" (which are not "primary 1005
source texts of ethical teachings")? 1006
Which links lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings"? 1007
ADVISORY: BE SURE TO SELECT TEXTS OF ETHICAL TEACHINGS (Aristotle’s 1008
Ethics, not Aristotle’s "Metaphysics," “On the Soul,” or “Poetics,” etc.) 1009
(4) Select "one primary source text of ethical teaching" from a topic above and locate three 1010
sentences that convey ethical teachings. If you chose Aristotle, please be sure that no more 1011
than one quote is from Book One. 1012
(5) Review syllabus guidelines for writing a Summary, including the 5-paragraph template. 1013
Graded Tasks 1014
I. Discussion DUE by Weds. midnight (11:59 pm). 1015
Open your favorite word processor and write a five-paragraph summary, following syllabus 1016
guidelines. 1017
After a clear line break and line space compose a Work Cited in the format indicated by MLA 9th 1018
edition. (Don't worry about the hanging indent.) 1019
Here is the usual order of elements: Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Source. Title of 1020
Container, Other Contributors (such as Editor or Translator), Name of Publisher or Website, Date, 1021
URL. 1022
When you have composed and saved the paragraphs and Work Cited, go to the Discussion Topic for 1023
this week’s Assignment and "reply” to the Discussion guidelines. Then paste your work into the text 1024
box for your discussion (attachments will not be counted). You should be able to revise your work. 1025
Just make sure that your revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or the work will be subject 1026
to late penalties. 1027
II. Comments DUE by Thurs. midnight (11:59 pm). 1028
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment has three sentences that (a) name 1029
and thank your fellow student for their work, (b) paraphrase an ethical teaching presented in the 1030
Ethics & Society 33
student's work, (c) state a problem that the ethical teaching would resolve, and (d) say why the 1031
resolution indicated by the teaching would be ethically valuable. The reason you give should “add 1032
value” to the discussion. Do more than redefine or reword the teaching. Do more than restate reasons 1033
already provided by the text or student. Add value: put something into the discussion that was not 1034
there before your comment. 1035
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 1036
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 1037
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 1038
one day late, comments do not count. 1039
Please pay attention to formal guidelines. Did you select one primary source text of ethical teachings? 1040
Did you write five recognizable paragraphs? Did you include three quotes properly formatted with 1041
quote marks, parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited? Multiple letter grade deductions will be 1042
applied to selection of texts that are not "primary source texts of ethical teachings." Grade deductions 1043
will continue to apply to poor formatting or incomplete responses. 1044
Also, please pay attention to comment requirements. Multiple letter grade deductions will apply to 1045
invalid, late, or missing comments. 1046
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 1047
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 1048
1049
Assignment 08: Week Eight - Fourth Summary of Ethical Teachings 1050
Weds. Oct. 13 / Thur. Oct. 14 1051
Objectives: this week we will demonstrate mastery of skills necessary for student success in this 1052
course. 1053
• Identifying which links at courselinks.cc lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings" 1054
• Identifying which sentences convey ethical teachings 1055
• Presenting direct quotes of ethical teachings from primary source texts with quote marks, 1056
parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited in MLA 9th Edition format. 1057
• Composing a 5-paragraph essay that presents the sense of what the teachings say to us. 1058
Preparation (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 1059
(1) Look again at topic "00 - Scholarship and Style" to review guidelines for MLA style citation 1060
and location of "primary source text of ethical teaching" 1061
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/00-scholarship-and-style/ 1062
Ethics & Society 34
(2) Select a topic: either "08(a) – Philosophy in Religion - Platonism" 1063
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/08a-philosophy-in-religion-platonism/ 1064
or 1065
1066
"08(b) ) – Philosophy in Religion - Aristotelianism" 1067
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/08b-philosophy-in-religion-aristotelianism/ 1068
(3) Browse a few links from either topic above. 1069
Which links lead to "background, encyclopedia, or summary" (which are not "primary 1070
source texts of ethical teachings")? 1071
Which links lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings"? 1072
(4) Select "one primary source text of ethical teaching" from a topic above and locate three 1073
sentences that convey ethical teachings. 1074
(5) Review syllabus guidelines for writing a Summary, including the 5-paragraph template. 1075
Graded Tasks 1076
I. Discussion DUE by Wednesday midnight (11:59 pm) Jul. 21 1077
Open your favorite word processor and write a five-paragraph summary, following syllabus 1078
guidelines. 1079
After a clear line break and line space compose a Work Cited in the format indicated by MLA 9th 1080
edition. (Don't worry about the hanging indent.) 1081
Here is the usual order of elements: Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Source. Title of 1082
Container, Other Contributors (such as Editor or Translator), Name of Publisher or Website, Date, 1083
URL. 1084
When you have completed the paragraphs and Work Cited, go to the Discussion Topic for this 1085
Assignment and "reply” to the Discussion guidelines. Then paste your work into the text box for your 1086
discussion (attachments will not be counted). You should be able to revise your work. Just make sure 1087
that your revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or the work will be subject to late 1088
penalties. 1089
II. Comments DUE by Thurs. midnight (11:59 pm) Jul. 22 1090
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment has three sentences that (a) name 1091
and thank your fellow student for their work, (b) paraphrase an ethical teaching presented in the 1092
student's work, (c) state a problem that the ethical teaching would resolve, and (d) say why the 1093
resolution indicated by the teaching would be ethically valuable. The reason you give should “add 1094
Ethics & Society 35
value” to the discussion. Do more than redefine or reword the teaching. Do more than restate reasons 1095
already provided by the text or student. Add value: put something into the discussion that was not 1096
there before your comment. 1097
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 1098
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 1099
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 1100
one day late, comments do not count. 1101
This week’s grading is based upon an expectation of mastery. This is your fourth summary. Have you 1102
mastered the formal guidelines? Did you select one primary source text of ethical teachings? Did you 1103
write five recognizable paragraphs? Did you include three quotes properly formatted with quote 1104
marks, parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited? Multiple letter grade deductions will be 1105
applied to selection of texts that are not "primary source texts of ethical teachings." Grade deductions 1106
will continue to apply to poor formatting or incomplete responses. 1107
Also, please pay attention to comment requirements. Multiple letter grade deductions will apply to 1108
invalid, late, or missing comments. 1109
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 1110
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 1111
1112
Assignment 09: Week Nine – Another Dilemma in the News 1113
Wed. Oct. 20 / Thu. Oct. 21 1114
Objectives 1115
• How to recognize, create, and formally present a genuine ethical dilemma 1116
• How to distinguish ethical problems from non-ethical problems 1117
• How to distinguish between two kinds of ethical problems: (1) temptations or trivial 1118
problems of analysis, where what to do ethically is clear enough to guide ethical action; (2) 1119
genuine ethical dilemmas or significant problems of analysis. 1120
• How to formally clarify options of a genuine ethical dilemma. 1121
Preparation (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 1122
1. Read this refresher (10 minutes): 1123
For purposes of this course, we will want to explore ethical difficulties, and improve our ability 1124
to formally clarify options for ethical deliberation. 1125
Ethics & Society 36
In the first instance we want to distinguish between problems that have obvious ethical 1126
emphasis and problems that don’t. Let's use a football analogy. It’s fourth down, five seconds 1127
on the game clock, and the coach needs to call a play. What play should he call? Pass or run? 1128
This is a difficult situation, some choice should be made, but it raises no obvious ethical 1129
emphasis. The coach needs to call the best play possible. And the pressure is on. Many 1130
problems of action are difficult, but they do not raise ethical questions. We just want to do our 1131
best. 1132
For purposes of this course, an ethical problem will be identified when the choice between (at 1133
least) two options for action involves ethical questions of moral right or good (dictionary 1134
definitions will be good enough here). But once we have eliminated problems that have no real 1135
ethical focus, there are two general kinds of problems that do have ethical emphasis that we 1136
want to consider, so that we can focus on one kind and discard the other. We will call these 1137
two general kinds of ethical problems (1) problems of how to follow through with a choice 1138
that is ethical; we’ll call them follow-through problems and (2) problems that involve choosing 1139
what is ethical within a genuine ethical dilemma, or dilemma problems. 1140
Follow-through problems will not be a focus for formal exercises in this course. In this kind of 1141
ethical difficulty, the agent has a sense that an option for action is ethical while other options 1142
are not; follow-through appears difficult, but not because we are puzzled about what is ethical. 1143
Perhaps unethical options have tempting features of pleasure or enrichment such that the 1144
agent experiences “a feeling of difficulty" in overcoming the temptation. Perhaps the ethical 1145
option involves risk, pain, or self-sacrifice, so we say it is a “difficult situation.” But the 1146
difficulty does not arise from trying to discover what is ethical in the first place. These are real 1147
human difficulties, to be sure, but they present no real problem in knowing which course of 1148
action is ethically preferable. The problem lies in carrying through on one's ethical assessment, 1149
doing the right thing despite temptation or fear. 1150
My favorite example of a follow-through problem is the found wallet. If the wallet has two 1151
dollars in it, we recognize that the right thing to do is return it with the money inside. If the 1152
wallet we find is stuffed with hundred-dollar bills, we begin to waver, but not because we are 1153
confused about what is the right thing to do. We are simply tempted by the cash payoff. If we 1154
decide to keep the money, we will probably also decide to keep it quiet, because we know it's 1155
not the right thing to do. If we give it back with all the money intact, we may tell a story of 1156
how “difficult it felt.” But it was not an ethical dilemma. It was a follow-through problem. 1157
A genuine ethical dilemma satisfies three parameters: (1) there are at least two options for 1158
action, (2) the choice between options is forced because we cannot do both, and (3) each 1159
choice is ethically credible because it could be considered right or good in some aspect. I won't 1160
give any examples for this kind of ethical difficulty because I will be asking you to generate 1161
examples. And if I do not give an example, your responses will be much more diverse and 1162
Ethics & Society 37
interesting. But in general, you can think of a genuine ethical dilemma as taking the form of 1163
“to do or not to do” when each option has ethical credibility. 1164
Formal presentation of an ethical dilemma will have at least two options for action. For formal 1165
clarity, we will label them (a) and (b). And we will consider how each option, if carried out, 1166
would have some ethical credibility to it, in other words, it would be right or good in some 1167
respect. When evaluating the (a) and (b) options we will want to explore ethical strengths and 1168
weaknesses—why it would be right or good to do, and why it would be wrong or hurtful. 1169
To sum up the discussion so far, a genuine ethical dilemma satisfies three criteria: An ethical 1170
dilemma presents a primary agent facing some difficult deliberation between (1) at least two 1171
courses of action (a or b) going forward, (2) a choice is forced between the options because 1172
both cannot be carried out, and (3) each option has some ethical credibility, which makes 1173
ethical choice between options difficult to decide. Depending upon the dilemma, the primary 1174
agent may be an individual or a group. It can be a “me dilemma” or a “we dilemma”. In either 1175
case, deliberation between at least two preliminary options appears difficult to decide from an 1176
ethical point of view. 1177
Finally, in order to achieve full credit for formal presentation of an ethical dilemma, please 1178
make sure that the dilemma is a current one, representing a real future going forward, 1179
involving an adult who is at least of college-graduate age looking forward in history. 1180
Significant penalties (two or three letter grades) will be applied to dilemmas where agents are 1181
college age or younger, or where choices reflect reruns of settled issues in history. In other 1182
words, for purposes of this course, genuine ethical problems pertain to actual forced choices for 1183
the future of our human experience (after graduation from college); otherwise, dilemmas will 1184
face several grade penalties for irrelevance. The study of Ethics is only necessary when we are 1185
deliberating difficult ethical choices for a real future. 1186
2. After refreshing yourself on the above discussion (10 mins.) also refresh yourself on 1187
the syllabus breakout for Dilemma Guidelines under the main course Files menu. 1188
1189
3. Scroll news articles posted no earlier than Sat., Oct. 16, 2021. Look for an article that 1190
suggests a “genuine ethical dilemma” for a group or individual. Identify (a) and (b) 1191
options for action and test them to be sure that they pose a genuine ethical dilemma, 1192
not a follow-through problem. 1193
Graded Tasks 1194
I. DISCUSSION DUE Weds. midnight (11:59 pm). 1195
Based upon a recent news article, create a 5-paragraph Dilemma (“me dilemma” or “we dilemma”) 1196
following syllabus guidelines. In the second paragraph, be sure to name your primary agent and 1197
summarize the specific news event or situation that inspires the dilemma (with citation and work 1198
Ethics & Society 38
cited to your news source). After that, be sure to clearly label the (a) and (b) paragraphs. And don't 1199
forget to leave the dilemma open ended; this week you just want to present the dilemma fairly, in a 1200
way that does not betray any preferred solution on your part. Save your work and then go to the 1201
CANVAS Discussion for this week’s Assignment and "reply" to the discussion guidelines. Paste your 1202
dilemma and revise as necessary; just remain mindful of the time stamp, because revisions after the 1203
deadline will result in late penalties. 1204
II. COMMENTS DUE by Thur. midnight (11:59 pm). 1205
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment has three sentences that (a) name 1206
and thank your fellow student for their work, (b) briefly restate the ethical dilemma in the student's 1207
work, and (c) assess an ethical strength or weakness of the dilemma, i.e. what feature of the dilemma 1208
best meets the 3 criteria for a “genuine ethical dilemma.” Add value with your reason. Put something 1209
into the discussion that has not already been stated as such. 1210
Please keep comments upbeat and supportive. Focus on strengths. Please do not pile into the first few 1211
discussions. If a discussion already has 3 comments, keep scrolling down, and spread the attention to 1212
others (the “scroll down” rule). 1213
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 1214
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 1215
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 1216
one day late, comments do not count. 1217
Please pay attention to formal guidelines. Did you write five clearly distinguishable paragraphs? Did 1218
you name your primary agent? Are paragraphs three and four labeled (a) and (b)? Did you leave the 1219
choice between options open-ended so that the reader is left wondering what should be done? Is this 1220
a genuine ethical dilemma, not a follow-through problem? Multiple grade deductions will be made 1221
for poor formatting, incompleteness, or failure to present a genuine ethical dilemma. 1222
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 1223
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 1224
Assignment 10: Week 10 – Fifth Summary of Ethical Teachings 1225
Weds. Oct. 27 / Thur. Oct. 28 1226
Objectives: this week we will demonstrate mastery of skills necessary for student success in this 1227
course. 1228
• Identifying which links at courselinks.cc lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings" 1229
• Identifying which sentences convey ethical teachings 1230
Ethics & Society 39
• Presenting direct quotes of ethical teachings from primary source texts with quote marks, 1231
parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited in MLA 9th Edition format. 1232
• Composing a 5-paragraph essay that presents the sense of what the teachings say to us. 1233
Preparation (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 1234
(1) Look again at topic "00 - Scholarship and Style" to review guidelines for MLA style citation 1235
and location of "primary source text of ethical teaching" 1236
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/00-scholarship-and-style/ 1237
(2) Select a topic: either "09 – Epicurean Family" 1238
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/09-epicurean-family/ 1239
or 1240
"10 – Stoic Family" 1241
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/10-stoic-family/ 1242
(3) Browse a few links from either topic above. 1243
Which links lead to "background, encyclopedia, or summary" (which are not "primary 1244
source texts of ethical teachings")? 1245
Which links lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings"? 1246
(4) Select "one primary source text of ethical teaching" from a topic above and locate three 1247
sentences that convey ethical teachings. 1248
(5) Review syllabus guidelines for writing a Summary, including the 5-paragraph template. 1249
Graded Tasks 1250
I. Discussion DUE by Wednesday midnight (11:59 pm). 1251
Open your favorite word processor and write a five-paragraph summary, following syllabus 1252
guidelines. 1253
After a clear line break and line space compose a Work Cited in the format indicated by MLA 9th 1254
edition. (Don't worry about the hanging indent.) 1255
Here is the usual order of elements: Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Source. Title of 1256
Container, Other Contributors (such as Editor or Translator), Name of Publisher or Website, Date, 1257
URL. 1258
When you have completed the paragraphs and Work Cited, go to the Discussion Topic for this 1259
Assignment and "reply” to the Discussion guidelines. Then paste your work into the text box for your 1260
discussion (attachments will not be counted). You should be able to revise your work. Just make sure 1261
Ethics & Society 40
that your revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or the work will be subject to late 1262
penalties. 1263
II. Comments DUE by Thurs. midnight (11:59 pm). 1264
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment has three sentences that (a) name 1265
and thank your fellow student for their work, (b) paraphrase an ethical teaching presented in the 1266
student's work, (c) state a problem that the ethical teaching would resolve, and (d) say why the 1267
resolution indicated by the teaching would be ethically valuable. The reason you give should “add 1268
value” to the discussion. Do more than redefine or reword the teaching. Do more than restate reasons 1269
already provided by the text or student. Add value: put something into the discussion that was not 1270
there before your comment. 1271
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 1272
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 1273
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 1274
one day late, comments do not count. 1275
This week’s grading is based upon an expectation of mastery. This is your fourth summary. Have you 1276
mastered the formal guidelines? Did you select one primary source text of ethical teachings? Did you 1277
write five recognizable paragraphs? Did you include three quotes properly formatted with quote 1278
marks, parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited? Multiple letter grade deductions will be 1279
applied to selection of texts that are not "primary source texts of ethical teachings." Grade deductions 1280
will continue to apply to poor formatting or incomplete responses. 1281
Also, please pay attention to comment requirements. Multiple letter grade deductions will apply to 1282
invalid, late, or missing comments. 1283
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 1284
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 1285
1286
Assignment 11: Week Eleven - Application of One Summary to One Dilemma 1287
in the News 1288
Weds. Nov. 3 / Thur. Nov. 4 1289
Testing the relevance of ethical teachings to contemporary ethical dilemmas. What can we learn by 1290
asking the question: What would ____ do? Just keep in mind that our question is more precise: what 1291
would ____ do if they were simply following their own ethical teachings? 1292
Objectives: this week we will focus on skills necessary for student success in this course. 1293
1. How to test the value of ethical teachings in deliberations of contemporary ethical dilemmas. 1294
Ethics & Society 41
2. How to compose a 5-paragraph essay that presents a sense of how a set of ethical teachings 1295
would guide deliberation in a contemporary ethical dilemma. 1296
Preparation (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 1297
(1) Read syllabus guidelines for Application exercise 1298
(2) Review the “Dilemma in the News” that you wrote for Week 9 or ask the professor’s 1299
permission (via email or CANVAS message) to select another student’s “Dilemma in 1300
the News.” In the message, be sure to name the student and the (a) and (b) choices of 1301
the dilemma that you would like to work with. 1302
(3) Select one summary that you have written for this course from Week Seven, Week 1303
Eight, or Week Ten (just pick one of them). 1304
(4) Be prepared to answer the question, if the primary (“me” or “we”) agent in the 1305
Dilemma were to be guided by nothing but the ethical teachings of the selected 1306
Summary, what would they choose to do? 1307
Graded Tasks 1308
I. Discussion DUE by Weds. midnight (11:59 pm). 1309
Open your favorite word processor and write a five-paragraph application exercise, following syllabus 1310
guidelines. Be sure that the introductory paragraph briefly restates the (a) and (b) options of your 1311
“Dilemma in the News.” Be sure that you have "paraphrased" (not re-quoted) the ethical teachings of 1312
the Summary that you selected; be sure that you have labeled three body paragraphs 1, 2, 3 where 1313
you apply the three teachings from your summary. And be sure that the last sentence in each of the 1314
last four paragraphs clearly states what is to be done, (a) or (b). 1315
When you have completed the exercise, go to the Discussion Topic for this week’s Assignment and 1316
"reply" to the Discussion guidelines. Then paste your work into the text box for your discussion 1317
(attachments will not be counted). You should be able to revise your work. Just make sure that your 1318
revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or the work will be subject to late penalties. 1319
II. Comments DUE by Thurs. midnight (11:59 pm) Jul. 8 1320
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment is at least one complete sentence 1321
that (a) thanks the fellow student for their work, (b) restates an ethical application of teaching to 1322
dilemma, and (c) assesses a strength of that application. ("I think the application of teaching (y) to 1323
dilemma (x) was really instructive because . . .”) Please keep comments upbeat and supportive. Please 1324
do not pile into the first few discussions. If a discussion already has 3 comments, keep scrolling down, 1325
and spread the attention to others (the “scroll down” rule). 1326
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 1327
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 1328
Ethics & Society 42
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 1329
one day late, comments do not count. 1330
Please pay attention to formal guidelines for applications. Did you write five paragraphs? Are the 1331
middle three paragraphs labeled (1), (2), and (3)? Do you make clear reference to the author 1332
and teaching at the beginning of each paragraph? In the numbered paragraphs do you paraphrase 1333
teachings from the summary you selected? Do you clearly apply the teaching to indicate which 1334
option of action would be selected? Does each of the numbered application paragraphs conclude with 1335
a clear course of action -- what would be done? Does the final summary paragraph briefly summarize 1336
results of the above deliberations and clearly conclude with an action - what would be done? 1337
Multiple grade deductions will be made for poor formatting, incompleteness, or failure to clearly 1338
communicate deliberation of action. 1339
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 1340
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 1341
Assignment 12: Week 12 - Summary of Ethical Teachings 1342
Weds. Nov. 10 / Thur. Nov. 11 1343
Objectives: this week we will demonstrate mastery of skills necessary for student success in this 1344
course. 1345
• Identifying which links at courselinks.cc lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings" 1346
• Identifying which sentences convey ethical teachings 1347
• Presenting direct quotes of ethical teachings from primary source texts with quote marks, 1348
parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited in MLA 9th Edition format. 1349
• Composing a 5-paragraph essay that presents the sense of what the teachings say to us. 1350
Preparation (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 1351
(1) Look again at topic "00 - Scholarship and Style" to review guidelines for MLA style citation 1352
and location of "primary source text of ethical teaching" 1353
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/00-scholarship-and-style/ 1354
(2) Select a topic: either "11 – Modern Contract Theory" 1355
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/11-modern-contract-theory/ 1356
or 1357
"13 – Women’s Age in Philosophy" 1358
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/13-womens-age-in-philosophy/ 1359
or 1360
Ethics & Society 43
"14 – Liberation Philosophy" 1361
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/14-liberation-philosophy/ 1362
or 1363
"15 – Civil Rights" 1364
https://courselinks.cc/study-topics/15-civil-rights/ 1365
1366
(3) Browse a few links from either topic above. 1367
Which links lead to "background, encyclopedia, or summary" (which are not "primary 1368
source texts of ethical teachings")? 1369
Which links lead to "primary source texts of ethical teachings"? 1370
(4) Select "one primary source text of ethical teaching" from a topic above and locate three 1371
sentences that convey ethical teachings. 1372
(5) Review syllabus guidelines for writing a Summary, including the 5-paragraph template. 1373
Graded Tasks 1374
I. Discussion DUE by Wednesday midnight (11:59 pm). 1375
Open your favorite word processor and write a five-paragraph summary, following syllabus 1376
guidelines. 1377
After a clear line break and line space compose a Work Cited in the format indicated by MLA 9th 1378
edition. (Don't worry about the hanging indent.) 1379
Here is the usual order of elements: Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Source. Title of 1380
Container, Other Contributors (such as Editor or Translator), Name of Publisher or Website, Date, 1381
URL. 1382
When you have completed the paragraphs and Work Cited, go to the Discussion Topic for this 1383
Assignment and "reply” to the Discussion guidelines. Then paste your work into the text box for your 1384
discussion (attachments will not be counted). You should be able to revise your work. Just make sure 1385
that your revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or the work will be subject to late 1386
penalties. 1387
II. Comments DUE by Thurs. midnight (11:59 pm). 1388
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment has three sentences that (a) name 1389
and thank your fellow student for their work, (b) paraphrase an ethical teaching presented in the 1390
student's work, (c) state a problem that the ethical teaching would resolve, and (d) say why the 1391
resolution indicated by the teaching would be ethically valuable. The reason you give should “add 1392
Ethics & Society 44
value” to the discussion. Do more than redefine or reword the teaching. Do more than restate reasons 1393
already provided by the text or student. Add value: put something into the discussion that was not 1394
there before your comment. 1395
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 1396
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 1397
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 1398
one day late, comments do not count. 1399
This week’s grading is based upon an expectation of mastery. This is your fourth summary. Have you 1400
mastered the formal guidelines? Did you select one primary source text of ethical teachings? Did you 1401
write five recognizable paragraphs? Did you include three quotes properly formatted with quote 1402
marks, parenthetical in-text citation, and Work Cited? Multiple letter grade deductions will be 1403
applied to selection of texts that are not "primary source texts of ethical teachings." Grade deductions 1404
will continue to apply to poor formatting or incomplete responses. 1405
Also, please pay attention to comment requirements. Multiple letter grade deductions will apply to 1406
invalid, late, or missing comments. 1407
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 1408
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 1409
Assignment 13: Week 13 – Personal Summary of Ethical Values or Principles 1410
Weds. Nov. 17 / Thur. Nov. 18 1411
Objectives: this week we will demonstrate mastery of skills necessary for student success in this 1412
course. 1413
• students will develop a critical, scholarly context for creating and assessing values and 1414
principles that may be critically evaluated and applied to personal and social life before us 1415
• composing a 5-paragraph essay that presents a student’s personal sense of values and 1416
principles 1417
Preparation (this homework should be completed no later than Tuesday midnight) 1418
• Review syllabus guidelines for writing a Summary, including the 5-paragraph template. 1419
• Instead of harvesting three quotes from course readings, make a note of three values or 1420
principles that characterize your own personal approach to ethical purpose. 1421
Graded Tasks 1422
I. Discussion DUE by Wednesday midnight (11:59 pm). 1423
Ethics & Society 45
Open your favorite word processor and write a five-paragraph summary of three values or principles 1424
that characterize your own personal approach to ethical purpose. The three body paragraphs will 1425
present your values or principles instead of presenting harvested quotes from primary source texts of 1426
ethical teachings. If you feel like it is necessary, you may harvest one quote that is really important to 1427
your own personal approach. However, the intent of this exercise is to empower you to speak from 1428
your heart in your own words. 1429
If you did harvest one quote, please be sure to use quote marks, in-text citation, and a Work Cited in 1430
the format indicated by MLA 9th edition. (Don't worry about the hanging indent.) 1431
Here is the usual order of elements: Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Source. Title of 1432
Container, Other Contributors (such as Editor or Translator), Name of Publisher or Website, Date, 1433
URL. 1434
When you have completed the paragraphs and Work Cited, go to the Discussion Topic for this 1435
Assignment and "reply” to the Discussion guidelines. Then paste your work into the text box for your 1436
discussion (attachments will not be counted). You should be able to revise your work. Just make sure 1437
that your revisions are time-stamped prior to the deadline, or the work will be subject to late 1438
penalties. 1439
II. Comments DUE by Thurs. midnight (11:59 pm). 1440
Comment on three discussions by fellow students. A valid comment has three sentences that (a) name 1441
and thank your fellow student for their work, (b) paraphrase a value or principle presented in the 1442
student's work, (c) state a problem that the value of principle would resolve, and (d) say why the 1443
resolution indicated by the teaching would be ethically valuable. The reason you give should “add 1444
value” to the discussion. Do more than redefine or reword the teaching. Do more than restate reasons 1445
already provided by the text or student. Add value: put something into the discussion that was not 1446
there before your comment. 1447
Grading Advisory: Grades for Discussion conversations and comments will be provided no later than 1448
5pm Tuesday after the "Comments due" deadline. Missing, late, or incomplete comments will be each 1449
subject to ten-point deductions. Comments that are one day late will suffer a 5-point penalty. After 1450
one day late, comments do not count. 1451
Also, please pay attention to comment requirements. Multiple letter grade deductions will apply to 1452
invalid, late, or missing comments. 1453
Finally, please remain mindful of late penalties. If you revise your work, make sure the revision is 1454
time-stamped prior to the deadline, or late penalties will apply. 1455
Ethics & Society 46
Assignment 14: Week 14 – Extra Credit Report on Philosophy Dialogues of 1456
Ethical Topics 1457
Tue. Nov. 23 1458
1459
No comments are required this week. And deadlines for timely reports have passed. Happy 1460
Thanksgiving! 1461
To earn up to 100 points of extra credit you may: 1462
1. Attend a talk scheduled for the Philosophy Dialogue Series (but not a Talk of the 1463
Times discussion) 1464
1465
2. The Philosophy Dialogue Series will offer programs from Sept. 13 through Nov. 1466
5. Here is a link to the updated schedule, which will be published in early Sept. 1467
http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/dialogue-series/Dialogue-Schedule.html 1468
1469
3. Write a “Summary” style report (of five paragraphs) citing three key ideas that 1470
may be considered useful for ethical evaluation. The ideas may be direct quotes 1471
or paraphrases. The work cited will reference the dialogue session. See MLA 1472
guidelines on how to write a work cited for “Speeches, Lectures, or other Oral 1473
Presentations. 1474
1475
4. Post your work to this Discussion in a timely manner, within two weeks of the 1476
Dialogue that you attended. 1477
Assignment 15: FINAL - Trending Dilemmas in The News 1478
Thu. Dec. 9 1479
Testing the relevance of dilemma, summary, and application skills to news of the week. 1480
Write a 5-paragraph “opinion piece” in your favorite word processor and paste it into this week’s 1481
forum: 1482
Paragraph 1: Very briefly summarize a story that has appeared in the news no earlier than 1483
Nov. 27. 1484
Paragraph 2: Explain why this particular story exemplifies a larger trend in ethical dilemmas 1485
(either of the “me” or “we” kind) that we will likely face in the future. It may be just one 1486
story, but explain why there are likely to be many stories like it to come in the next decade or 1487
two. Therefore, how the story suggests (a) and (b) choices for a trending dilemma. 1488
Ethics & Society 47
Paragraph 3: Present a quote from any “primary source text of ethical teaching” from any 1489
summary that you have written this semester (including the quote you selected from Ancient 1490
Egypt) and show how it would guide action in the direction of the first option (a), indicating 1491
the importance of the value or principle in addressing not only this story but a larger trend 1492
that the story represents. 1493
Paragraph 4: Present a quote from any other summary of a “primary source text of ethical 1494
teaching” that you have written this semester (including the quote you selected from Ancient 1495
Egypt, if you did not use it in paragraph 3) and show how it would guide action in the 1496
direction the second option (b), indicating the importance of the value or principle in 1497
addressing not only this story but a larger trend that the story represents. Please be sure that 1498
paragraphs 3 and 4 work with quotes from two different weeks not two quotes from the same 1499
week. 1500
Paragraph 5: Present a value or principle of your own, in your own words, and show how it 1501
would guide action toward one of the options, therefore, agreeing with one of the choices 1502
above but disagreeing with the other. State briefly a defense of your contribution to the 1503
storehouse of wisdom. And state briefly why you find it ethically preferable to the competing 1504
alternative. Be sure to show how your evaluation pertains to the ethical values and principles 1505
involved, not just the outcome. And say why you think it is ethically preferable to meet the 1506
trending dilemma in this way. 1507
For grading purposes, please do not neglect citations and works cited in MLA style. You will 1508
have three works cited: two primary sources of ethical teachings and one news story. 1509
No comments due 1510
Grading Advisory: In paragraphs 3 and 4, did you select two quotes from two different weeks? In 1511
paragraph 5 did you speak from your heart in your own words? 1512
Have a Great Break and a Wonderful Life! 1513