I will provide a cases from the media that have ethical implications.
Please prepare a ppt presentation that:
a) describes the issue/story (Clearly identify which case you are using, Describe it briefly in your own words (dot points are fine)
b) explains why it has ethical implications (Why is this an ethics issue? And What sorts of ethical implications may it have/has it had?)
c) describes egoism (ethical theory) - Part of this task involves using theory to determine whether the actual actions of the relevant parties were ethical OR discussing what actions the parties should have taken . If you choose to do the former, use egoism to assess the actions, a description of the relevant ethical theory is required. More marks are awarded for describing the theory in your own words to show that you understand, rather than merely reiterating what is in the text book.
d) applies egoism to the case in order to assess whether the actions of the participants are ethical OR describe what the participants should have done to your resolution to assess whether it is ethical. (The majority of the marks awarded in this subject are for your application and understanding of ethical theory. E.g. An application of egoism requires you to discuss all the positive and negative consequences for the relevant person/organisation and then weigh these up rather than merely stating "They were following their long-term interests so were applying egoism" Such a statement not only fails to provide evidence of your mastery of relevant concepts, it shows a fundamental lack of understanding of ethical theory. Please access the resources that I provide to ensure that you understand how to apply theory and be active on the forums)
Applying theories Egoism:
The best long-term interest for the moral actor (The person/organisation making the decision or taking an action)
Egoism is a Consequentialist theory so positive and negative consequences must be weighed up to assess an action's morality.
E.g. Lying on a resumé:
Positives may include: getting the job, impressive resume etc.
Negatives may include: getting found out, guilt over lying, getting the job but not being able to perform, getting sacked, bad feelings from work colleagues who may have to ‘carry' you
Weigh up positives and negatives to assess morality of the action.
Tip: some consequences may have more weight than others e.g. guilt may override any other consideration - so even if you identified 2 negatives and 4 positives, if guilt would ‘weigh you down' then the negatives would outweigh the positives.