20 Jan The Morality of Environmentalism

PHL203 Ethics

Unit 1 Discussion

Morality

What would you do if you had a ring like Gyges had? On what would you base your morality if given the opportunity to act under a cloak of invisibility? Read and respond to two classmates’ posts. Let them know if you would trust them with such a ring, and why or why not.

PHL203 Ethics

Unit 2 Discussion

Ethical Theory

Now that we have learned about the three main branches of ethical theory (consequentialism, nonconsequentialism, and virtue ethics), which approach would you want a President of the United States to excel at in his or her own life and work? Why do you think it is more important for a President to live in accordance with this approach to ethics as opposed to the other two? Read and respond to two classmates’ posts, preferably two students who have argued for a different ethical theory. Let them know why you agree or disagree with them.

PHL203 Ethics

Unit 3 Discussion

Freedom and Happiness

How is it possible that people cannot be happy as long as they and everyone around them has the freedom to act as they choose? Provide examples in which someone else’s freedom has kept you from being happy. Share any restrictions on your happiness that have been intended to keep you happy, but have actually prevented you from being happy. Where do you think the line should be when it comes to balancing freedom and happiness? Read and respond to two classmates’ posts contrasting your answers with theirs.

PHL203 Ethics

Unit 4 Discussion

The U.S. Penal System

Given your understanding of justice, rewards, and punishments, do you think the penal system in the United States is a just one? Why or why not? Read and respond to two classmates’ posts letting them know why you agree or disagree with them.

PHL203 Ethics

Unit 5 Discussion

Justifiable Suicide

Americans are living longer than ever before, living with chronic pain and suffering that might not, at least for some, make that life worth living. The example of Admiral Nimitz and his wife, for example, is one of two people of sound mind choosing to end their lives. Can suicide be morally justified in such circumstances, or do people have an obligation to continue living? Defend your position. If you believe people have an obligation to continue living, where does it come from? To whom is that obligation owed? If you believe that suffering justifies suicide in old age, what other contexts are there in which you think suicide is morally justifiable? Read and respond to two classmates’ posts, preferably two students with different views, being respectful of the strong opinions that may be shared and the experiences that led to them.

PHL203 Ethics

Unit 6 Discussion

Cheating

Consider the ethical problem of Maggie and her math test. What is the difference between the first and second scenario in regards to how you assess her moral culpability? Explain how her actions could be considered cheating or not. How are her actions, in either scenario, morally justifiable or not? How do you think she justified her actions to herself? What would you have done in her situation? Read and respond to two classmates’ posts.

PHL203 Ethics

Unit 7 Discussion

Reproduction Clinics

The National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 banned the buying and selling of human organs. However, the law still allows people to be compensated for “donating” blood, sperm, or eggs. Reproduction clinics often direct their marketing at female college students who are likely to have the traits desired by couples seeking a donor egg, and who might also have the financial burdens that come with being a college student. Advocates of compensating egg donors point to how these women are helping couples achieve their dreams of having a family. Those who are oppose it, on the other hand, argue that these companies are exploiting women who are desperate financial need, and that they are doing so without the donors fully understanding the pain and risks involved in the procedure. Do you think that paying women for their eggs should be legal? Why or why not? What moral responsibility do such clinics have for caring for donors who have complications from the procedure years down the road? Should companies that are targeting college students for such procedures be allowed to market directly to them with flyers, emails, or ads in student newspapers? Why or why not? Read and respond to two classmates’ posts.

PHL203 Ethics

Unit 8 Discussion

The Morality of Environmentalism

Some environmentalists claim that the ways we raise and collect animals and fish for food are fundamentally unethical. They point to the suffering of animals within the factory farming industry, the pollution caused by untreated animal waste, the use of hormones and antibiotics, the decimation of fish populations, and the fact that current farming practices are ultimately unsustainable in terms of their environmental impact. Making the changes that these environmentalists claim are necessary, however, would likely be devastating to the agricultural and fishing industries, to the chemical and biochemical companies that support them, and to the way of life of millions of people. These changes might also result in increased food prices and in less food being available to the ever-increasing human population. How do you think we should balance the moral claims on this issue? Should the concerns of environmentalists and animal rights activists impinge on your desire to eat however you so choose? Does the protection of jobs and communities trump environmental concerns? Why or why not? Read and respond to two classmates’ posts.