Discussion Directions
There is one discussion you will need to participate in this week. Select the button below to access the thread.
IN THE SUBJECT HEADER PLEASE INDICATE THE OPTION YOU’VE CHOSEN.
Week 1 Discussions
To receive full credit for Discussions this week, you must post:
One (1) “Original Post” addressing one
of the three question choices. Minimum of 250 words. Due Sunday at
11:59PM ET. Your Original Post must answer the question fully in all its
parts and address possible objections
to your ethical reasoning. You must also connect your Original Post to
the course by having at least one full sentence quote and citation from
one of the Required Readings of the week or the Case Study. The quote
should be word for word and contained inside quotation marks and then
followed by an inline citation. Once
you quote something or even reword something you did not originally
write then you need to have it in a reference section at the end of the
post (again in MLA format). Please refer to the following resources for
help on MLA citation.
MLA Citation
MLA Citation Examples
Two (2) “Response Posts”
to classmates who answered the other two questions (one each). Minimum
of 100 words. Due Monday at 11:59PM ET. Your Response Post needs to
analyze and consider the ethical reasoning of two of your classmate’s
Original Posts. In addition to your reaction to your classmate’s
Original Post, your Response Post must ask one or two questions
of your classmate’s Original Post. Consider how you might disagree with
your classmate’s Original Post, or ask your classmate to clarify some
part of their Original Post that you didn’t understand.
Two (2) “Reply Posts”
answering the questions of two classmates who asked questions in their
Response Posts to your Original Post. Minimum of 50 words. Due Tuesday
at 11:59PM ET. In your Reply Posts, answer as best you can the questions
raised by your classmates. It is in the interactions of Original,
Response and Reply posts that you will achieve the learning goals of the
week.
Notes:
Please refer to the Discussion Guidelines and Rubric for
further guidance on how your discussions will be graded. (70% of your
Discussion Grade is in the quality of your Original Post, 30% in your
Responses and Replies)
Do not cite or use internet sources other than those provided under the Readings and Learning Materials. In other words, use only the learning materials and links provided in this course.
No
one can get full credit unless all three questions have an Original
Post; since everyone is required to make one Original Post to answer one
question and two Response Posts to the other two questions they did not
answer, but that their classmates did. Thus, it is a group effort to
make sure that all three questions have Original Posts, so please help
us achieve this goal each week.
If
no one, or only one person, posts a Response Post to your Original Post
you will not be penalized for lacking two Reply Posts.
Discussion questions labeled normative ethics will ask you to think about the practicality of the “rules” of the moral theory you are studying that week; questions labeled applied ethics will ask you to think about how to apply the moral theory in a contemporary dilemma; questions labeled meta-ethics
will ask you to consider the meaning and significance of the principal
ethical concepts. Choosing one kind of question one week, and another in
another week will help you gain the ability to discuss ethics from a
variety of perspectives.
IN THE SUBJECT HEADER PLEASE INDICATE THE OPTION YOU’VE CHOSEN.
DISCUSSION QUESTION CHOICE #1: Normative Ethics; What rules?
Describe
the context of an ethical dilemma that you had in private life, at home
among members of your family, your spouse or children, or in
professional life, at work, among co-workers, your boss or employees.
What ethical decision did you make, and what was the reasoning or rules
you used to come to that decision? What were the consequences of this
ethical action, and what would have been the consequences if you had
chosen another decision? Use your understanding of the required readings
and examples from your own experiences to answer these questions. Make
sure to address possible objections to your argument
DISCUSSION QUESTION CHOICE #2: Applied Ethics: Gathering Facts
Read the following short ethical case study from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics:
Is it ethical for Facebook to detect emotional states using AI then sell that information to companies? Raicu, Irina, “Targeting a Broken Heart.” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (2017)
In order to do applied ethics well, you will need first to analyze the wider context of the ethical dilemma. What facts
(not opinions) do you believe are relevant to solving the ethical
dilemma presented in this case? (If you believe Facebook is wrong, what facts (not
opinions) lead you to believe this?) Who are all the stakeholders
involved in this ethical dilemma and how might any ethical decision in
this matter affect them? Use your understanding of the required
readings and examples from your own experiences to address these
questions. Make sure to address possible objections to your argument.
DISCUSSION QUESTION CHOICE #3: Meta-ethics: What does morality mean?
Argue the following meta-ethical questions: What
does it mean to be moral? and should reason alone be used to determine
which actions are morally right and morally wrong? What about
conscience? or emotions? Use your understanding of the required
readings and examples from your own experiences to address these
questions. Make sure to address possible objections to your argument.
