4. Explain ethics.
• Ethics are conceptual (born in the mind)
• The rules and standards by which you personally govern your life
• Help us understand the concepts of right and wrong
o This may vary by environment, religion, and other external factors
• Any ethical system is based on the moral tenets we feel obliged to uphold
• Ethics are subjective
5. Constructing an Ethical Argument
• Use a frame for either:
o Principles-based evaluation
o Consequences-based evaluation
• Principles-based: an act is right/wrong because it follows/violets principles A,
B, and C
• Ex: Eating dessert before dinner is wrong because it violates the rules of the house, is
an act of blatant rebellion, and does not follow good diet habits.
• Consequences-based: an act is right/ wrong because it will lead to
consequences A, B, and C, which are good/bad
• Ex: Eating dessert before dinner is wrong because it will spoil your appetite, cause
poor eating habits, and cause you to gain weight.
6. Group Work
• Work with your group to decide if your ethical claim will follow the
principles-based framework or the consequences based framework. On a
Construct 1-3 sentences showing how your argument fits into this
framework.
o Principles-based: an act is right/wrong because it follows/violets principles A, B, and C
o Consequences-based: an act is right/ wrong because it will lead to consequences A, B,
and C, which are good/bad
7. Evaluation Arguments
• In evaluation arguments the writer evaluates a given act from the perspective
of some system of morality or ethics
• Many types of ethical systems exist within a single culture
• Usually your personal ethics are specific to your own experiences and self-
reflection
• Some ethical codes can be rigid, others can be unrecognized
o Christianity would be an example of a rigid code of morality
• Rules on morality are spelled out and followed faithfully
o Personal ethics can be unrecognized
• Feelings such as intuition and doubt are examples of unrecognized ethics
8. Common Problems in Evaluation Arguments
• What is commonplace vs. what is ideal
o When a dilemma has a solution that is better, but highly unlikely
o Example: Is it better to hand out contraceptives to high school students because they are,
most likely, going to be sexually active?
• Mitigating circumstances
o When unusual circumstances should alter our usual standards of judging
o Ex: You are all out of excused absences but you missed class to be at the hospital with
your sick child.
• Choosing between two goods or two bads
o Finding common ground between a rock and a hard place
o Ex: You promised your elderly mother you would never put her in a nursing home, but
she can no longer live independently without being a danger to herself
9. Common Problems in Evaluation Arguments
• Seductive Empirical Measures
o Seeking quantifiable measures that can be weighed mathematically
o This excludes non-quanitfiable traits
o Ex: When an university only gives scholarships to students who have high ACT scores.
• Cost:
o When the best option costs too much
o Ex: Offering free tuition would greatly benefit the economy and overall standard of
living.
10. Group Work
• Identify your audience!
o Turn to page 298. As a group, answer
the 5 prompts under the heading
“Identifying Your Audience and
Determining What’s at Stake”. Answer
each prompt in 1-3 sentences.
• Create an Outline
o Create an outline of your group paper.
Show the outline to your instructor, then
you are free to go!
DUE:
• Final Draft of APA Paper
• To drop box 11/17
• Thesis and Outline for Research Paper
• To drop box 11/17
• Journal #9 due by midnight 11/20
