What would you do if given the power and the means to make a difference in the world?
For the final assignment of WEEK 3, please show what you have learned from the material by reading the attached prompt, and using each step of the (Links to an external site.)Deontology Decision-Making Guide to write your own analysis and conclusion. What decision would you make, and how would you ethically act in response to the case of Christopher Ahn?
In this prompt, we are covering the efforts of an American citizen to free North Korean from an oppressive regime, you should approach Mr. Ahn’s case as a U.S. government official deliberating on the right course of action from the perspective of Deontological ethics, following the provided guide.
Try beginning with a basic question like, “how should the U.S. government respond to the extradition request?” and jot down your thoughts to get started. Continue to ask yourself – how would Kant or a deontologist respond to these steps?
Next, follow the Deontology Decision Making Guide to write short paragraphs for each step (2-4 sentences per step, 10 steps total). Use these steps to guide your decisions about which side is right or wrong, what course of action to take, and then defend that position by offering an ethical course of action to solve the problem. In this case you might conclude: “Yes. The U.S. should allow Spain to extradite Mr. Ahn,” OR no, they should not, but either way, you must use the steps in the guide to “show your work.” Avoid any fallacies, and be sure that your conclusion is supported by solid premises.
As always, you are not required to do any additional research for your essay, and may rely solely on the information presented here. However, you are welcome to do additional research and gather facts, but you MUST cite any work that you include that is not either from your own thoughts or the prompt or our readings. These citations must be formatted in a way that the reader (me) can find your quotations or facts quickly.
The final product, your essay, will be a well-composed analysis written from the steps in the guide that lead you to a well-defended and ethical course of action, if you were in the position to act or make a recommendation.
Please submit your analysis in .doc or .docx format (if you need help converting from a Google doc, try this tutorial (Links to an external site.)). There is no word or page requirement, but failure to be thorough is a failure to meet the objectives!
Please note: You are not being graded on whether you come up with the correct answer. Ethical questions like this are complex, and it is difficult to truly know if there is one best answer. Instead, you are being graded on how well you grasp and analyze the situation, how well you explain all sides, and how well you argue for your own decision/action according to the specific theory you are given to analyze the situation.
