16 May Develop an outline Briefly state a clear position on the moral question presented. List relevant facts of the case. Identify clarifying conc
Develop an outline
- Briefly state a clear position on the moral question presented.
- List relevant facts of the case.
- Identify clarifying concepts you will use to analyze the case.
- Describe an ethical standard pertinent to the case.
Case Study: Business Ethics/CSR
Patenting Genetically Engineered Life Forms (4)
In 1873, Louis Pasteur received a U.S. patent for the manufacture of a yeast that was free of disease. The first patent in the United States for a genetically engineered life form was granted in 1980 when the Supreme Court, in Diamond vs Chakrabarty, held that a human-created micro-organism was a new and useful “manufacture,” and hence patentable. Since then, more than three million genome-related patents have been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), some of which cover genetically engineered humans. The year 2007 marked the first application for a patent for an artificial, human-created life-form, a microbe.Despite the legal status of biopatents, there is still considerable controversy about the morality of the practice. Canada does not permit patents for “higher life forms,” such as the OncoMouse. China, India, and Thailand prohibit the patenting of any animal. The European Union only permits such patents “provided the potential benefits of the ‘invention’ outweigh the ethical and moral considerations, in particular the suffering of animals."People who favor biopatents argue that researchers should be rewarded for their discoveries. People would not put the money and years into genetic research unless they had some mechanism for protecting their inventions and investment through patents. Those who are against it question the assumption that science will advance faster if researchers can have exclusive rights to their inventions. They also point out that the monopoly on certain products and the high royalty costs owed to patent holders may discourage product development, since the high costs would be passed on to the consumer, as is currently happening in the pharmaceutical industry. Finally, there is the question of whether it is moral to patent a part of nature or to own life forms.Myriad Genetics currently holds a patent on two human genes that have been linked to breast cancer. Religious leaders have called for a moratorium on the patenting of life-forms because they believe to grant patents on animal or plant genomes is to usurp the “ownership rights of God.”Choose one of the following questions:
- Question 1: Do humans have an inalienable right to ownership of their body and is the patenting of individual human genes a violation of human dignity?
- Question 2: Should companies hold patents on mammals or chimera (animals created with human DNA to make their organs harvestable and compatible with human DNA)?
[You do not need to include your chosen case study in your outline. It is included here so that you can align the case study with the sample outline starting on the next page.]
The Abandoned Cat
David had always wanted a cat. Although pets were forbidden in his dormitory, shortly after he moved to college, David went to the local animal shelter and adopted a young cat, which he kept confined in his room. At the end of the year, David moved back home and left the cat to fend for itself.
After several weeks of wandering around campus, the cat was taken in by one of the department secretaries, who took pity on it. By this time, the cat was near starvation; it also had a rash that had caused it to lose much of its fur. The secretary knew that one of the professors in the department, Professor Carey, was thinking of getting a cat. Professor Carey agreed to take the cat home.
Question: Was it morally acceptable for David to adopt a cat from the animal shelter, knowing that it was against the rules to keep a cat in the dormitory and knowing that he could not take the cat home with him once the school year ended?
Outline: Applied Ethics Essay
[Student Full Name]
Strayer University
PHI220 – Ethics
[Professor’s Name]
[Date]
1. Position: What is your position on this issue? This is the conclusion you came to.
a. It was not morally acceptable for David to adopt a cat knowing that it was unlikely he would be able to keep it permanently.
2. Relevant Facts of the Case: What facts (that is, premises or reasons) from the case support your conclusion?
a. It was against the rules for David to have a cat in his dormitory.
b. He knew that he did not have a permanent living situation after the school year ended.
c. He seemingly did not explore options for rehoming the cat before returning home at the end of the school year.
3. Clarifying Concepts: What ideas need to be clarified to ensure mutual understanding of the particular concepts relevant to the case?
a. Abandoned animals have a higher incidence of illness and injury and a shorter life-span.
b. Animals kept as pets are used to being cared for and do not know how to forage for food or protect themselves.
4. Ethical Standard Pertinent to the Case: The standard may be drawn from Virtue Ethics, Natural Law, Ethical Egoism, Utilitarianism, and Kantianism. Be sure to clearly state the standard from one of these moral theories in your set of premises.
a. The utilitarian principle of not causing pain is applicable here. “The pain and pleasure of animals must be considered in the calculation of the General Welfare.” Neither David nor any other group were at risk of pain if the cat had been rehomed humanely. Thus, that would have been the moral choice.
5. Source List
· Explains basic tenets of utilitarian thought.
2. Paige Anson. April 25, 2018. What Happens to Abandoned Pets: Why Students Should Think Twice Before Adoption. Iowa State Daily. https://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/what-happens-to-abandoned-pets-why-students-should-think-twice/article_eb12b93c-48d4-11e8-84c8-0f1e353b3cc0.html.
· Specific considerations for college students who want to be pet owners.
3. BBC. n.d. Animals as Pets. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/using/pets.shtml.
· Lists ethical issues involved in the care of pets.
4. Anne Fawcett. September 18, 2017. How to Care for Your Cats and Dogs (Ethically). University of Sydney News. https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2017/09/18/how-to-care-for-your-cats-and-dogs–ethically-.html.
· Highlights the responsibilities of pet owners.
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