Reference no: EM132322646

Ethics Assignment -

TOPICS - FIRST PAPER - (Choose One Only)

1. Construct a dialogue between Evelyn, from The Shape of Things, and James and Stuart Rachels, the authors of your course texts. Have the dialogue focus on the morality of Evelyn's actions. Make certain that your dialogue addresses Rachels' "minimum conception of morality" at minimum. [Hint: You may want to view the entire movie or read the entire play by the same name.]

2. Consider the course material on female excision, Section 2.7 in The Elements of Moral Philosophy, and the related handouts (available on D2L). Do you think that female excision is a morally justified practice? Argue for what you think is in principle morally right.

3. Imagine that you are an employee at a local assisted living facility. One of the residents whom you provide care for has just offered to sell her 2019 Ford Explorer to you. It is a fully-loaded and desirable model. More importantly, she is willing to sell it to you for a fraction of its current market value because she "values your friendship and assistance." She also happens to be a close friend of your family. From what you can gather, she is in complete control of her rational faculties. That being said, do you think it would be ethical to purchase this vehicle from her? Explain and defend your position, while making connections with the course materials.

4. Through predictive analytics companies like Target are able to track, anticipate, and project consumer's purchases. Moreover, they can use those same analytics to determine lifestyle habits within a personal register, without the explicit consent of the consumer. Do you find such practices to be ethical? Why or why not?

5. Consider the Department of Homeland Security's controversial policy to separate parents from their children during illegal border crossings. Aside from the political implications of the policy, do you believe such a policy is ethical? Why or why not? Explain and defend your position.

6. Last year scientists from the Salk Institute in California successfully created a number of human-pig embryos which were intentionally destroyed shortly after their creation. Scientists believe this type of organism, sometimes referred to as a "chimera," may benefit humans by providing a viable source of various donor organs. Using a comprehensive ethical theory from our course texts, argue for or against the creation of such organisms.

7. Imagine that you are driving down to Minneapolis with one of your friends and you are both listening to the radio. An announcer comes on the air and reads off the winning lottery numbers for a multimillion dollar jackpot. Your friend takes a look at his lottery ticket and realizes that he is in possession of the winning numbers. Let us also say that your friend gets so excited that it unfortunately triggers an acute asthma attack. He has told you on several occasions that if he does not immediately get to his medical inhaler in time, then he will die. Both of you realize that his inhaler is in the trunk of your vehicle. You have the key to the trunk. Your friend is counting on you to retrieve his inhaler and save his life. At this point, a morbid and uncontrolled thought crosses your mind-if you do nothing, you can keep the winning lottery ticket and no one will be the smarter for it. What would you do in this situation? Offer an ethically-informed defense for your position.

8. A young woman by the name of Katherine Stone attempted to auction off her "virginity" to the highest bidder. She did so with the intention of helping her family pay for their home which was destroyed in a fire. Her "proposal" has caused such a stir that bids reached upwards of $400,000 dollars. Despite the high sum, do you think that what she is doing is ethical? Offer an ethical defense that makes connections to the course material and the Rachels' texts.

Discussion - After reflecting on the material pertaining to Cultural Relativism in The Elements of Moral Philosophy (Chapter 2), do you think female excision (also referred to as female genital mutilation) is an ethically justified practice? Why or why not? You may frame your argument against the backdrop of any of the following: Section 2.7 (Elements), Mary Winter's article, and/or the link from The New York Times.

Attachment:- Assignment File.rar