Week 1 discussion
Helen wants to move to a new community, and she is applying for a job with a small retail establishment. She is confident that she is fully qualified and will be able to perform well if she gets the job. The employer, however, has advertised for someone with three years of retail experience, and Helen only has two-and-a-half years. She is considering whether to exaggerate slightly on her resume in order to improve her chances of getting the job.
Helen asks three friends to offer their advice on what she should do.
— Henry says, “Go ahead and claim three-and-a-half years of experience; they’re going to be so happy with your work that by the time they check (if they ever do) it won’t matter.”
— Jennifer says, “I’m sure you’ll arrive at the best decision on your own; I’ve always known you to be an honest person.”
— George says, “It is never all right to lie, even when you are unlikely to get caught and it seems relatively harmless to do so.”
To begin our discussion this week, let’s discuss some of the following questions:
1. Which of the Three Primary Schools of Ethics is each of Helen’s friends relying upon?
2. Can you imagine other people using the same approaches to arrive at different kinds of advice?
3. Do one of these Three Primary Schools of Ethics feel like the style you usually use already?
The study of Ethics and Philosophy is one which brings many different kinds of “thinkers” together. One person’s philosophy on Ethics is another person’s philosophy on Evil. We will be working this term on constructing personal ethical bases and understanding how Ethical Codes (both personal and professional) are created and followed.
To start us thinking about the different areas of philosophy and ethics, and how we fit into the different molds or world views, let’s discuss the differences and similarities between these views.
To do this, let’s look at the role of right and wrong, laws which regulate behavior, principles vs. morality, and the role of ethics in our society.
To start out we’ll answer some of these questions and create more of them as we go. Pick one of the following and respond to your classmates thoughts and views:
1. Do we need ethics if we have laws? Why or why not?
2. Is it ethical to change our own views of ethics based on the situation we are in?
3. Can we “legislate” ethics?
4. How doesAristotle’s “virtue ethics”mirror your ethical view, or how is it different?