Ashford 3: - Week 2 - Discussion 2 Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. The Three Ethical Perspectives The purpose of this discussion is to help you understand how to construct an ethical argument. Prepare and post a response to the following prompt: · Identify the basic themes, topics, and concepts that make up the discipline of ethics. Explain the themes or ideas that unite the different ethical theories. · Describe how you might apply one of the ethical theories or perspectives we have discussed in this class to one of the following social issues: · Limiting smoking in public places, such as public buildings, restaurants, or city parks · Municipal governments using public funds to build stadiums for professional sports teams · Requiring a private landowner to provide habitat for endangered species on their properties In an effort to present a balanced discussion, describe an alternative perspective to the issue you have addressed. Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required resources and/or other scholarly sources, and properly cite any references in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7. Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread. Ashford 3: - Week 2 - Instructor Guidance Source: http://www.impactlab.net/2009/08/10/ are-local-and-state-governments-in-the-u-s-getting-too-big/ SOC 120 Ethics & Social Responsibility Week 2 Guidance Source: http://teachersletterstobillgates.com/ 2013/07/05/from-the-common-core-to-the- common-good-a-new-way-forward/ Weekly Activities Here is what you will be doing this week: · Review last week's Chapter 1 in the text: Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility · Review last week's Chapter 2 in the text: Ethical Questions in the Public Square · Read Chapter 8 in the text: The Environment · Read the article “Environmental Justice for All” by Leyla Kokmen, from Utne Reader (2008) · Post to Discussion Board 1 on The Three Ethical Perspectives (due by Day 3, Thursday) · Post to Discussion Board 2 on Constructing Arguments (due by Day 3, Thursday) · Respond to two discussion posts by classmates in each discussion (by Day 7, Monday) · Assignment: Applying Theory: Environmental Issues, PowerPoint slideshow (due by Day 7, Monday) Ethics, Responsibility and Society This week we take up the issue of individual rights, and how individual rights are mediated by the responsibilities we have to the social well-being―which includes both our responsibilities to other individuals who we interact with and our responsibilities to the collective good, or the well-being of everyone together. As is often noted, every ri.

1. Ashford 3: - Week 2 - Discussion 2
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and
you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates.
Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and
the depth of your responses.
The Three Ethical Perspectives
The purpose of this discussion is to help you understand how to
construct an ethical argument. Prepare and post a response to
the following prompt:
· Identify the basic themes, topics, and concepts that make up
the discipline of ethics. Explain the themes or ideas that unite
the different ethical theories.
· Describe how you might apply one of the ethical theories or
perspectives we have discussed in this class to one of the
following social issues:
· Limiting smoking in public places, such as public buildings,
restaurants, or city parks
· Municipal governments using public funds to build stadiums
for professional sports teams
· Requiring a private landowner to provide habitat for
endangered species on their properties
In an effort to present a balanced discussion, describe an
alternative perspective to the issue you have addressed.
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support
your claims with examples from the required resources and/or
other scholarly sources, and properly cite any references in
APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Respond
to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the

2. criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.
Ashford 3: - Week 2 - Instructor Guidance
Source: http://www.impactlab.net/2009/08/10/
are-local-and-state-governments-in-the-u-s-getting-too-big/
SOC 120 Ethics & Social Responsibility
Week 2 Guidance
Source: http://teachersletterstobillgates.com/
2013/07/05/from-the-common-core-to-the-
common-good-a-new-way-forward/
Weekly Activities
Here is what you will be doing this week:
· Review last week's Chapter 1 in the text: Introduction to
Ethics and Social Responsibility
· Review last week's Chapter 2 in the text: Ethical Questions in
the Public Square
· Read Chapter 8 in the text: The Environment
· Read the article “Environmental Justice for All” by Leyla
Kokmen, from Utne Reader (2008)
· Post to Discussion Board 1 on The Three Ethical Perspectives
(due by Day 3, Thursday)
· Post to Discussion Board 2 on Constructing Arguments (due
by Day 3, Thursday)
· Respond to two discussion posts by classmates in each
discussion (by Day 7, Monday)
· Assignment: Applying Theory: Environmental Issues,
PowerPoint slideshow (due by Day 7, Monday)
Ethics, Responsibility and Society
This week we take up the issue of individual rights, and how

3. individual rights are mediated by the responsibilities we have to
the social well-being―which includes both our responsibilities
to other individuals who we interact with and our
responsibilities to the collective good, or the well-being of
everyone together. As is often noted, every right implies a
responsibility; without responsibilities rights are essentially
unenforceable, because in exercising individual rights, people
would always be infringing on the rights of others, thereby
negating the others’ rights. So, we can see that the concept of
responsibility links ethics to society, since our ethical
responsibilities provide guidelines for behavior as we interact
with others.
As noted in the reading for this week, regardless of which
theory of ethics you use, if we apply ethical standards we have
the means to find moral solutions to difficult and often
intractable problems. This begs the question, what do we mean
by moral? To many, moral simply means doing what is right
(which of course simply creates a different question: what is
right?) Others would say moral is doing what is just or fair.
Some look to religion for guidance to understand what is moral.
Others search philosophical texts for principles of morality.
Sociologists would argue that morality is a social construct
(Etzioni, 1993; Taylor, 1991). The criteria we use for assessing
morality revolve around the idea of the common or social good.
Something is moral if it serves the interests of everybody,
rather than the interests of specific individuals or groups.
Morality is therefore reflected in society.
What is the “Common Good?”
Morality is tied to the common or collective good, but what do
we mean by the “common good?”
Emile Durkheim, one of the founders of the discipline of
Sociology, developed a concept that he called social facts.
Today, some sociologists use the term emergent properties in a
similar way. According to Durkheim (1895/1982), social facts
are “a category of facts with very distinctive characteristics: it

4. consists of acting, thinking, and feeling, external to the
individual, and endowed with a power of coercion, by reason of
which they control him” (p. 52). Durkheim argued that “it is to
them exclusively that the term ‘social’ ought to be applied.”
Emile Durkheim
Source: http://www.emiledurkheim.org
You can learn more about
social facts at the
University of Chicago's
Durkheim Pages:
http://durkheim.uchicago.edu/
Summaries/rules.html.
Source: http://www.joelp.com/art.html
So, essentially, what Durkheim is saying is that society is its
own entity; it has its own form and its own reality. It is not
merely the sum of all the individuals who comprise a society―it
is more than this. It is the product (or entity) that emerges when
people interact. And often, what is good for individuals is not
good for society, or vice versa. Taxes provide an easy
illustration of this idea. To any individual, paying taxes is
harmful, in that it reduces each person’s overall income. Yet, if
everyone pays taxes, taxes provide many social goods, some
tangible (e.g., schools, roads, police) and some intangible (e.g.,
leadership, rules, defense). All of these benefit everyone
together, and increase the social welfare.
The concept of social facts can help us understand the social
nature of morality. If we think of morality as a social concept,
then to say something is moral implies that it possesses the
properties of a social fact. Morality refers to what is good for
everyone together (Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler, &
Tipton, 1991). Morals provide a set of guidelines for behavior

5. that maintains the common good. Like social facts, morality is a
form of social control; by setting guidelines, morals channel
people’s behavior into actions that are “right,” and provide the
justification for punishing those who engage in behavior that is
“wrong.” Morality, the common good, is represented by ethics,
which offer individuals the means to access and apply moral
principles in their daily lives. Most importantly, ethics offer
guidelines for behavior in challenging or ambiguous situations.
Just like ethical principles, moral guidelines may not always be
clear cut. Different groups have different senses of what is
moral, and morality may change over time. Moreover, there may
be conflicts among different social institutions over what is
moral. Churches, governments, families and businesses may
express conflicting views of morality, and may act in different
ways depending on their definitions of morality. However, in all
cases morality has a unifying characteristic: it is a socially
constructed fact which is embedded in social structures, and
which defines the common good.
Here are some videos which may help you understand these
concepts further and also help with the assignments this week...
References:
Bellah, R. N., Madsen, R., Sullivan, W. M., Swidler, A., &
Tipton, A. M. (1991). The good society. New York: Vintage
Books.
Durkheim, E. (1895/1982). The rules of sociological method.
New York: The Free Press.
Etzioni, A. (1993). The spirit of community: Rights,
responsibilities and the communitarian agenda. New York:
Crown Publishers.
Taylor, C. (1991). The ethics of authenticity. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.

6. Ashford 3: - Week 2 - Discussion 1
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and
you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates.
Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and
the depth of your responses.
Theory or Opinion Challenge
In Chapter 1, you studied the three ethical perspectives
(relativism, emotivism, and ethical egoism), and in Chapter 2,
you saw examples of how to apply ethical theories and
perspectives to various concrete issues. The purpose of this
discussion is to help you understand and apply ethical
perspectives. Prepare and post a response to the following
prompt:
Define and contrast the three ethical perspectives. How do the
perspectives differ from the ethical theories? What does each
ethical perspective tell us about morality and virtue?
Think of an issue that has occurred in your community during
the past year. This may be a public issue that has generated
interest in the press, or it may be something that has come up in
your child’s school, in your church, in a social club you belong
to, or in your neighborhood. Describe the issue, and then
analyze the issue from the viewpoint of one of the ethical
perspectives. Apply the perspective to the issue in the same way
that the author applies the theories and perspectives to the
issues in the text.
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support
your claims with examples from the required resources and/or

7. other scholarly sources, and properly cite any references in
APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Respond
to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the
criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.