Discussion 1
In Chapter 1 you studied the three ethical perspectives (relativism, emotivism, and ethical egoism), and in Chapter 2 you saw examples of how to apply ethical theories and perspectives to various concrete issues.
The purpose of this discussion is to understand and apply ethical perspectives.
Prepare and post a response to the following prompt:
Define and contrast the three ethical perspectives.
How do the perspectives differ from the ethical theories?
What does each ethical perspective tell us about morality and virtue?
Think of an issue that has occurred in your community over the past year. This may be a public issue that has generated interest in the press, or it may be something that has come up in your child's school, in your church, in a social club you belong to, or in your neighborhood.
Describe the issue, and then analyze the issue from the perspective of one of the ethical perspectives. Apply the perspective to understand the issue in the same way that the author applies the theories and perspectives to understand the issues in the text.
Discussion 2
The purpose of this discussion is to understand how to construct an ethical argument, and comparing ethical arguments to other types of arguments, such as arguments based on political or economic theories, rather than ethical theories.
Prepare and post a response to the following prompt:
Identify the basic themes, topics and concepts that make up the discipline of ethics. What are the themes or ideas that unite the different ethical theories? What is it that ethics aims to explain?
Describe how you might apply an ethical theme to one of the following topics:
Limiting smoking in public places, such as public buildings, restaurants or city parks.
Municipal governments using public funds to build stadiums for professional sports teams.
Requiring a private landowner to provide habitat for endangered species on their properties.
What is your goal when you apply an ethical theme to a specific real-world issue?
Distinguish how applying an ethical theme to understand the issue would differ from applying one of the following perspectives: economics, politics, or religion. What themes might represent the alternative perspective you have selected?