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In CORE 101, you completed the Approaches to Written Argument assignment, which asked you to analyze two or more arguments in order to compare the authors’ approaches. In CORE 102 you completed the Approaches to Oral Argument assignment, and in CORE 201, you completed an Argument Analysis. Now, in CORE 202, you will apply the analytical skills that you have been practicing and strengthening to an analysis of an argument that addresses an issue that involves ethical reasoning.
The Ethical Analysis assignment is designed to help you meet two objectives that are important for analyzing an ethical issue. It will help you to
- apply critical reasoning to an ethical issue and
- utilize reasons and arguments appropriate to debate over an ethical issue.
In addition, this project provides an opportunity to revisit an objective that was introduced earlier in the University Core A sequence:
- use tone, mechanics, and style appropriate to an academic audience.
This chapter deals with the following questions about ethical reasoning:
- What is meant by “ethics”?
- What is not “ethics”?
- What does it mean to be ethical?
- Do “ethical” and “moral” mean the same thing?
- What are values?
- What are some examples of ethical issues?
- How can I effectively apply critical reasoning to an ethical issue?
- When I debate ethical issues, what is my responsibility to people who are part of the dialogue?
- What are ethical judgments?
- How can I distinguish ethical judgments from other kinds of value judgments?
- What are ethical arguments?
- What is an ethical dilemma?
- What is the role of values in ethical dilemmas?
- What ethical dilemmas are more common in real life?
- What is an ethical violation?
- How does self-interest affect people’s ethical choices?
- What is the difference between good ethical reasoning and mere rationalization?
- What kinds of rationalizations do people make for their actions?*
- What fallacies are most prevalent in debates over ethical issues?
- How can I tell what is the “right” thing to do?
- What is moral relativism?
- What is the main weakness of moral relativism?
- What is universalism?
- What is consequentialism?
- What is utilitarianism?
- How does utilitarian reasoning operate?
- How has utilitarian reasoning been applied?
- What is the main weakness of utilitarianism?
- How do I apply utilitarianism in real life?
- What is deontology?
- What is duty-based ethics?
- What is rights-based ethics?
- What is the appeal of deontology?
- What is the main weakness of duty and rights-based ethics?
- How can I apply deontology in real life?
- What is virtue ethics?
- What is care ethics?
- How does virtue ethics operate?
- What kinds of questions are asked by virtue ethics?
- How has virtue ethics been applied in the real world?
- What is the main weakness of virtue ethics?
- How can I apply virtue ethics in real life?
- How do these theories fit into my ethics toolbox?
- How do I use ethical reasoning to make decisions?
- How do I recogn