28 Jan Finally, show how and why

Question
Assessment 1

Normative Theories

You are called to consult in the Critical Care Unit of your local hospital. 53-year-old JoEllen was admitted after taking an overdose of prescription medications with alcohol. On admission, she said, “Not supposed to be here . . . ,” but soon became uncommunicative, and her condition is deteriorating rapidly. Her son has arrived with a notarized advance directive in which JoEllen specifically asks not to be placed on life support. What should you recommend to the attending health professionals?

Write a paper addressing this topic, supporting your position with credible research. You may begin your research with suggested Resources, but you are also expected to conduct your own independent research into the scholarly and professional resources of the field. The Capella library is recommended as a source for reliable materials.

In explaining your position, address each of the following questions:

What features of the situation are relevant for making a moral decision?

What would a deontologist like Immanuel Kant recommend?

What would a consequentialist like John Stuart Mill recommend?

How do you justify your own decision about what to do?

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.

APA formatting: Include a title page and a references page, formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.

References: A typical paper will include support from a minimum of 3–5 references. You may use some of the materials recommended in the Resources, but you should also include support from your independent research of scholarly or professional materials.

Length: A typical paper will be 4–6 typed, double-spaced pages in length.

Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.

Assessment 2

Making a Moral Decision

For this assessment, you will invent a practical circumstance of your own choosing that illuminates differences among the three approaches to normative theory; a circumstance in which the duties, consequences, and virtues do not align with each other. It does not need to be a grand, controversial social issue; an everyday moral dilemma will make the conflict clearer. Just look for an example where doing your duty might cause lasting harm, or where caring about people requires breaking the rules.

Write a paper addressing this topic, supporting your statements with credible research on the three approaches to normative theory. You may begin your research with the Suggested Resources for this unit, but you are also expected to conduct your own independent research into the scholarly and professional resources of the field.

Begin by describing a concrete situation that calls for someone to make an ethical decision about what to do. Choosing your example carefully will make it easier to draw an interesting contrast between the theoretical applications. Be sure to describe the situation with enough detail to provide adequate information for arriving at a responsible choice. You are welcome to choose a case in which you are personally involved, but you may find it easier to think objectively with a little detachment.

Next, think about the kinds of normative theory that could be applied to the situation you have chosen. If we are not to surrender to ethical relativism, what should guide our decision here—duties, outcomes, or virtue? You should select the approaches in a way that heightens the dilemma of deciding on a course of action that would be right or wrong. Support your presentation by considering alternative ways of applying each theory to the case. Use your example to compare and contrast the theoretical approaches in practical terms.

Finally, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these normative theories as methods for making moral decisions in practical cases. Use what you have written about the application of each theory to your example as evidence of the merits of each way of thinking about everyday choices. What makes the most sense, and how would you decide yourself? State your own position on which normative theory works best, and defend that position with clear arguments in its support.

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.

APA formatting: Include a title page and a references page, formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.

References: A typical paper will include support from a minimum of 3–5 references. You may use some of the materials recommended in the Resources, but you should also include support from your independent research of scholarly or professional materials.

Length: A typical paper will be 4–6 typed, double-spaced pages in length.

Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.

Assessment 3

Social and Political Ethics

Many states require that motorcyclists wear helmets while operating their vehicles. This is not like forbidding the use of cell phones or intoxicants, which might impair the rider and endanger other people on the roads. The helmet laws impose a governmental regulation that can, at most, be held to protect only the individual citizen whose behavior is being restricted. Why should the government be able to tell individuals what to do while riding their own motorcycles?

Write a paper assessing these helmet laws in terms of the social contract theories of Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Support your assessment with research on their social contract theories. You may begin your research with suggested Resources, but you are also expected to conduct your own independent research into the scholarly and professional resources of the field.

Consider the following in your paper:

Should the government provide security by overcoming the selfish desires of the individual citizen, or should citizens cooperate voluntarily in service of the general welfare of all?

What justifies the imposition of governmental authority on individual citizens?

Are individuals always obligated to obey the dictates of their government?

Which elements of the traditional theories are relevant to this case?

Is it unethical for individual citizens to ignore this governmental requirement?

You may also wish to apply other conceptions of the basis for social and political order.

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.

APA formatting: Include a title page and a references page, formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.

References: A typical paper will include support from a minimum of 3–5 references. You may use some of the materials recommended in the Resources, but you should also include support from your independent research of scholarly or professional materials.

Length: A typical paper will be 4–6 typed, double-spaced pages in length.

Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.

Assessment 4

Professional Ethics

Identify a professional association that oversees people engaged in your chosen vocation, and locate the formal code of conduct statement endorsed by that association. Write a reflective essay in which you assess the profession’s code of conduct. Apply it to your current or future workplace experience, and discuss your plan for dealing with potential conflicts. Support your essay with research.

Consider the following in your essay:

Summarize the features of this code and examine it critically. Are there vital ethical principles that it fails to mention? Does it overemphasize elements that are not really important? What large- or small-scale revisions might improve the code?

Consider your own relationship with the code of conduct you have identified. As a working professional, which of the code’s principles will be most difficult for you to comply with? In what situations might your personal morality come into conflict with the strictures of professional ethics? How will you productively discuss these conflicts with employers, professional colleagues, and clients?

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.

APA formatting: Include a title page and a references page, formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.

References: A typical paper will include support from a minimum of 3–5 references. You may use some of the materials recommended in the Resources, but you should also include support from your independent research of scholarly or professional materials.

Length: A typical paper will be 4–6 typed, double-spaced pages in length.

Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.

Assessment 5

Personal Morality

Write a paper in which you explain your own basis for making ethical decisions. You are welcome to employ what you have learned from your study of traditional approaches, but you may also develop your own distinctive approach. In either case, explain in some detail exactly what foundation and process you rely on for choosing the right course of action, and support your statements with research from professional or scholarly resources.

As part of your paper, select a contemporary ethical issue about which you have strong convictions. It may be a social issue—such as environmental ethics, marriage equality, or bioethics—or a more personal issue—sexual morality, familial obligations, or care for the elderly, for example. The choice is up to you, but make it something you care about enough to make this project interesting and worthwhile. Address the following in regard to your chosen ethical issue:

Summarize the issue and explain alternative views about its resolution.

Assess both sides of the issue, critically analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Finally, show how and why your own position is correct. Think of this as an opportunity to persuade potential opponents of the reasonableness of your view.

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.

APA formatting: Include a title page and a references page, formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.

References: A typical paper will include support from a minimum of 3–5 references. You may use some of the materials recommended in the Resources, but you should also include support from your independent research of scholarly or professional materials.

Length: A typical paper will be 4–6 typed, double-spaced pages in length.

Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.