Week 7 assignment

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Week 7 Assignment Ethics Issue

Select one ethics issue from the presentation, the options listed below, or an issue of your own choosing. Find a source or sources or use the ones provided and read arguments on either side of the issue.

Write a 4MAT covering:

  1. Provide a factual summary of the issue and key positions and arguments.

  2. Reflect on the issue and the source of your morality. Then provide your opinion based on tracing from your source of morality (1-10 on chart 5) to reasons for your position. Apply one or more of the ethics tests. Also, try to craft a relevant syllogism for your position.

  3. Provide 2 or 3 remaining questions you have related to the issue.

  4. Make an action plan for specific actions you plan to take as a result of your analysis of this ethics issue.

Be sure to write in a logical fashion that makes your case. It does not help if you pick a topic that makes you angry and causes you to vent rather than stating your case and reasoning in a calm rational manner.

Optional Ethics Issue for this weeks 4MAT: Inappropriate Interview Questions

Read the two articles linked below on inappropriate interview questions as your ethics issue for this weeks 4MAT:

      Optional Ethics Issue prompts for this weeks 4MAT: You may select one from below

      1. Since the cloning of the sheep Dolly, there has been much debate over whether or not human beings should be cloned. Many people feel this is a violation of the natural order of things and that all research in the area of human cloning should be banned. Others feel that this is a natural progression of science and human evolution and that research in the area of human cloning should be a priority. Choose the side you believe to be the ethical side and make the ethical case for it.

      2. The paper we read the first week stated that unaddressed cheating by undergraduates leads to further cheating in graduate school and unethical professional practice. Others have argued that cheating is justified by the poor behavior of elites in society and that students should be permitted to do anything in pursuit of good grades. Choose the side you believe to be the ethical side and make the ethical case for it.

      3. Many people volunteer their time to help others, either through non-profit organizations, churches, or other charitable venues. Because all such organizations are run by people, some, even with the best intentions may engage in counterproductive activities. Choose an organization. Determine if you think they are producing ethical or unethical outcomes and make the case for your position.

      4. All-girl schools have been gaining popularity because of the belief that girls learn better when they are not competing with or intimidated by boys. Part of the argument in favor is that boys statistically get more attention in the classroom. Do you think single-sex schools are an ethical approach to improving educational outcomes for girls? Why or why not? Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

      5. Some companies offer a paternity leave that allows fathers to stay home with their newborns for several weeks while still earning partial pay and benefits. CSULB does this for their tenure track faculty and staff. One side argues that this promotes basic fairness in the workplace in that Dads deserve time off too and it is not fair to give a benefit to just the Moms. An opposing argument is that the Moms have medical needs and biological reasons for needing the time off and giving time off to the Dads wastes limited resources and, in effect, reduces the potential benefits available to the Moms. A third view is that this constitutes a subsidy by single people for the "Breeders" and argues that the childless singles should be permitted sabbaticals to keep it fair. Select one of these positions or another of your choosing and argue why it is the ethical position.

      6. Representatives of credit card companies can often be found on college campuses offering special incentives to get students to fill out credit card applications. Many people feel that this takes advantage of students, who are often low on cash during their college years. Others feel that it is an excellent way to help students begin to build credit and learn financial responsibility. Select the position you believe to be ethical and argue for it.

      7. For centuries, people have wondered about the possibility of life on other planets in the universe. This has led to significant funds spent on the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program. One argument in favor is that there are so many possible suns and planets, there is bound to be intelligent life elsewhere in our universe. The counter-argument is that the narrow ranges of parameter values required for life to exist requires a fine-tuning that has a probability of less than 10^(-32) and therefore, money spent on SETI is wasted. Make an ethics-based and/or a scientific integrity-based argument for or against funding SETI.

      8. Currently, Americans pay taxes based upon how much they earn: the higher their income, the higher the percentage of that income they must pay in taxes. Many people have been arguing that a flat tax, in which everyone pays the same rate regardless of income, would be a more equitable and desirable tax system. One argument for the current progressive income tax rate system is that people who make more money can afford to pay a higher tax rate. One argument against is that the progressive rates are a disincentive to working hard or extra to try to get ahead and that the progressive tax rates are designed by the elites to keep the upper middle class from accumulating wealth. The test question is the following: Should a cab driver who works 2 shifts a day to put his child through college pay a higher tax rate than a cab driver who works one shift? Using this question, formulate an ethical argument for either the flat or progressive rate income tax.

      9. The poet W. H. Auden wrote, “Machines are beneficial to the degree that they eliminate the need for labor, harmful to the degree that they eliminate the need for skill.” Replace the word machines with robots, self-driving vehicles, etc. Use this saying to help you think about ethical issues in robotics. Identify the issues you identify and argue the ethical cases for or against.

      10. The federal tax cut enacted in 2017 eliminates deductions for state and local taxes. For Californians that means state income tax and property tax. Because the same law also increases the standard deduction, that results in a tax increase only for high income individuals in high tax states such as California. The argument against this is that it substantially increases the tax paid by high income earners in high tax states. The argument in favor is essentially, it is not fair for farmers in Iowa to subsidize expensive homes in high tax states by having to pay more in federal taxes to make up for those deductions. Which do you believe is more ethical, deductions for high property taxes and high state income taxes with a low standard deduction or a high standard deduction and no deductions for state and local taxes? Make the ethical argument for your position.

      11. Is socialism ethical:

      12. San Bernardino County vs. Solar Energy projects

      13. Is it ethical that Lecturers in California are able to collect unemployment benefits over the summer and in some cases at Christmas time and during the Winter session?

      14. More to come

      [1] Some prompts adapted from 501 Writing Prompts, LearningExpress LLC, 2003. ISBN 1-57685-438-8.