• Moral Reasoning
For our assignment this week, we will be looking at the complexities of moral reasoning. To begin, complete the interactive experiment, based on the famous Trolley Dilemma, from Philosophyexperiments.com (linked below). Be sure to keep a record of your answers as you work through the questions, and then read the analyses of your answers at the end of the experiment.
Note: The final page of this activity is titled: "Is it Because He's Fat: A Piece of Bigotry" - you do not need to continue beyond that page.
https://www.philosophyexperiments.com/fatman/Default.aspx
For your essay this week, discuss what you learned about your own moral reasoning compared with the moral reasoning of others who participated in this experiment (this will be available to you in the analysis section).
The following questions should help guide your writing:
• In the preliminary questions, what answers did you select and why did you select them?
• In the scenario questions, (The Runaway Train, The Fat Man on the Bridge, The Saboteur, and The Fat Man and the Ticking Bomb), what answers did you select and why did you select them?
• In the analysis section, were your preliminary answers and your scenario answers consistent? If not, why not?
• How do your answers compare with the answers of others who also participated in this experiment?
• What does this experiment tell you about yourself and others in terms of moral reasoning?
Your completed assignment should be written primarily in first person and should be 500-750 words in length. If you use sources in your writing, be sure to identify them. If you use any direct language from a source, be sure to place those words in quotation marks.
• Ethical Reasoning
Please respond to EACH of the following discussion topics and submit them to the discussion forum as a single post. Your initial post should be 75-150 words in length.Then, make at least two thoughtful responses to your fellow students' posts. If you haven't recently, please review the
Rules of Discussion.
Start with the types of ethical reasoning discussed in the reading. Describe an ethical decision in your life, and identify its type (utilitarian, egoism, deontology, relativism, justice) and why you feel it is that type of decision making. Use the readings to define the terms and connect them to your life.
Do you think you made the right decision? Why?
• Kohlberg's Three Levels of Morality
This week's lecture focused on moral development and ethical reasoning. As part of your readings for the week, Kohlberg's three levels of morality were discussed. How would you have answered Heinz's dilemma? (See readings for the week for the full dilemma). Which of Kohlberg's three levels of morality do you feel you are in? Do you feel you are in a different level of morality in different settings (i.e. work vs. personal life?) How has your morality (if it has) progressed from your adolescence?
Your work should be at least 500 words, but mostly draw from your own personal experience. This should be written in first person and give examples from your life. Be sure if you are using information from the readings that you properly cite your readings in this, and in all assignments.