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ETHICSRoots of Civ. Joshi/Fetko

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What is Ethics?

Write down your ideas for question 1.

Be prepared to share these ideas with the class!!

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Which of the following are ethical questions? Why?

1-What’s the best route to take to go from Manchester, CT to Providence, RI if I want to make the best time?

2-Is it ever OK to kill another human being?3-Should I study for my exam tomorrow or play

another hour on my PS3?4-What happens after I die?5-Is is alright to frame a guilty person?6-Is it better for a society if everyone drove on

the right or left side of the road?7-If you found a ring of invisibility, what would

you do?

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“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil

deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and

destroy them. But the line that dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of

every human being.”

-Alexander Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago

Thanks to Drs. Richard and Linda Elderhttp://openedpractices.org/files/Ethical_Reasoningpub_0.pdf

What do you think of this quote?

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So, a question is one of ethics if it deals with issues of being…

“kind, open-minded, impartial, truthful, honest, compassionate, considerate, and honorable”

AND avoiding being…“selfish, greedy, egotistical, callous, deceitful,

hypocritical, disingenuous, prejudiced, bigoted, spiteful, vindictive, cruel, brutal, and oppressive.”

Thanks to Drs. Richard and Linda Elderhttp://openedpractices.org/files/

Ethical_Reasoningpub_0.pdfThat’s easy, right?

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Maybe….

Think about this ethical question…

When, if ever, is it right to take someone’s life?

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Try this one

A runaway train is barreling down the tracks. Tied to the tracks are 5 individuals. You are

in control of the lever that switches the track and will save the 5 individuals. However,

there is one person tied to the other track.

Do you switch the track? Killing the one person. Or let fate take its course and kill

the 5 individuals?

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Let’s make it a little tougher

Same scenario…Runaway train, 5 people tied to one track and you have the ability to switch the track saving their lives. However, on the other track there is a 3 –YEAR-OLD CHILD tied to the tracks.

Do you switch the tracks? Killing the 3 year old. Or do you let the 5 individuals meet their doom?

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One more time!

There is a runaway train barreling down the tracks… 5 people tied down to the tracks. HOWEVER, this time there is no lever to

switch the tracks. You are on a bridge with a man standing next to you. In order to save

the 5 individuals, you must push the man in front of the train to stop it from killing the five

people. Do you push the man killing him?

Or allow five individuals tied down to the tracks to die?

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Is it ever right to steal?

Let’s Ask Mr. Heinz

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The “Heinz” Dilemma

Mr. Heinz is ordinarily a law-abiding man. One day, his wife becomes gravely ill. Heinz takes her to the doctor, who prescribes a medication for her. She does quite well on this medication and begins to

recover. However, Heinz has no insurance and runs out of money quickly paying for this expensive

medication. After a few months, he can no longer purchase the medication and his wife begins to take a turn for the worse. One day, he is in the pharmacy and notices that no one is behind the

counter. The medication is in plain view. Should he steal the medication to help his sick wife?

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1. You go to IndoChinastan to build a new factory for your

company. The local politician there hints that you need to bribe him for you get your

permit to build. You inform your boss and he/she tells you to do

what it takes to get the job done. Do you pay the bribe?

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The final three scenarios are a bit more descriptive…

Thanks very much to Mr. Robert Cooper, former social studies teacher here at MHS for these scenarios.

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2. It is a balmy spring day in Manchester. You and four other friends decide to enjoy the unexpected Spring thaw by having a picnic on Case Mountain. As you are walking through the winding pathways

on the mountain your group suddenly stumbles upon the wreckage of a small, twin engine

airplane, partially buried among the underbrush. The state of the wreckage indicates that the plane

has been for a considerable amount of time. Indeed, there has not been any news mentioned about a lost or crashed plane. Curiosity compels

your group to inspect the plane. Inside the cockpit is the badly decomposed body of what was

probably the pilot. Also, within the wreckage, is a very large duffel bag. There is no form of

identification to be found. Upon inspection of the duffel bag, your intrepid group discovers bundles of $100 bills, neatly stacked and wrapped - four million dollars in all!!! You guess it to be drug money. What good fortune! Do you hand the

money in to the police?

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3. You enter an exclusive clothing store with your best friend. After a casual stroll around the store, your attention is

directed to a collection of leather coats on a rack. A salesperson offers assistance, but you politely refuse. Your best friend soon approaches you and whispers into your ear for you to move a bit closer to the dressing room entrance. As you approach the dressing room, you notice out of the

corner of you eye that your best friend is attempting to stuff a coat into a backpack! Your friend whispers to you to meet her/him at the record store, and then leaves. As your friend

approaches the door, the alarm suddenly sounds! Your friend bolts from the store and is quickly lost in the crowd. The security guard and the salesperson angrily collar you and

lead you into the mall’s police station. You passionately try to tell them that you did not steal anything and have not

committed a crime, but they are not listening. They inform you that unless you give them the name of the person that

stole the coat, you will be charged with being an accessory to larceny and other criminal charges. Do you give them the

name of your friend?

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Now, turn to a partner and compare your responses to the questions.

Where did you agree and disagree? Was it clear why your partner would

respond the way they did? Did talking to your partner change your

view on any question?

Please take no more than 10 minutes…

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You go to IndoChinastan to build a new factory for your company. The local politician there hints that you need to bribe him for you get your permit to build. You inform your boss and he/she tells you to do what it takes to get the job

done. Do you pay the bribe?

A – Yes, you do as you’re told to do by your boss , it is his/her responsibility.B – Yes, this is what is accepted in that culture so “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”C – Yes, because if you don’t do this, you might be fired.D – No, giving in to the bribe would only make that official want to ask for more and more money down the line.E – No, bribery is wrong anywhere, anytime, for any reason.

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Airplane scenario – Do you turn in the money to the police?

A – Yes, it isn’t yours.B – Yes, the police might be looking for it for

an investigation and you don’t want to get into trouble.

C – Yes, you hope there might be a reward.D – No, whoever was involved with this

crash might find out who turned in the money and want to “talk” to you about what else you know.

E – Are you dumb? Take the money and run.

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At the mall, do you name names?

A – No, friendship means being loyal.B – No, you might lose many friends if you

turned them in after word got out.C – Yes, they left you in the lurch so you

owe them no loyalty.D – Yes, your friend is a minor, this won’t

impact his/her record when they turn 18.E – Your friend stole, they deserve to get

caught.

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Based on this exercise, we can say that ethical reasoning is…

Complicated – there are many possible reasonable responses to any ethical situation.

Important – how we answer these kinds of questions for ourselves as individuals and as a society determines the kind of life and society we have. Ethics has consequences.

Useful – If you want to know how you see the world, examining ethical questions is a great way to do so.

Contextual – The response any one person has in a situation is dependent on their context, their upbringing (culture), their maturity, their material wealth, their having thought about it beforehand, and so on.

Ever Present – Ethical situations come up literally hundreds of times a day.

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Kinds of Ethical Reasoning 1-PERSONAL BENEFIT/HARM

Would I get caught? Stand up in court? 2-MORAL PRINCIPLE

Does it violate some moral principle or personal code? (Think morality, Golden Rule, principles of secular humanism, human rights, etc.)

3-IMPACT Does my action (or inaction) impact the bigger

problem? 4-CALCULATION

Is it worth the time/money/resources (something measurable)?

5-CULTURE What does my family or group’s tradition say?Are there better and worse kinds of ethical

reasoning?

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Hmmm….

How do Laws differ from Ethics?

How are Laws similar to ethics?

Could they be related in some way?

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So does that mean a diagram of ethics would look like…

Ethics

Laws

Ethics Laws