Ethics & Social Responsibility

Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility

Applying Theory: Environmental Issues

Your goal for this assignment is to apply an ethical theory to a real-world situation. You will examine an environmental issue and apply one of the ethical theories to understand how human interactions with the natural environment raise ethical concerns. You will do this by preparing and posting a PowerPoint slideshow consisting of 12 slides and a separate section under each slide for notes.

Choose one of the following topics/issues and read about it at the indicated place:
Environmental justice/environmental racism (Article: Environmental Justice for All)
Environmental harm/pollution of air and water (Chapter 8 in the textbook)
Waste reduction (Chapter 8 in the textbook)
Select one philosophical theory (utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics). Consider the following questions pertaining to the theory you have selected:
What does the theory tell us about how things operate in the real world?
What is the focus of the theory? That is, what aspects of everyday life (or what questions) does the theory address?
The focus (or questions) helps you think about the topical boundaries of the theory. This course is about ethics and social responsibility, so you should concentrate on the ethical and moral aspects of the theory and of the topic you are analyzing. It may help to think in terms of different realms or institutions. Does the theory help to explain people’s behavior from a political, economic, religious, or ethical perspective? Try to sort through everything that does not represent an ethical question, and address only the ethical issues.
How does the theory simplify complex issues to make them more understandable? Another way to think about this is to consider the elements or concepts that make up the theory. Identify the concepts and how they are related to each other.
Develop one thesis question that applies your philosophical theory to your environmental issue. You will address this question in developing an argument that links the theory to the issue (through your notes and pictures), so make sure you word your question carefully to accomplish this task. Indicate this thesis question on your second slide (the one after the title slide).
Next, develop an ethical argument that addresses your question. Use the text and/or look for academic sources to support your position. Build your argument by writing nine sentences. Each sentence should make one important point about the ethical aspects of the environmental issue you are analyzing and should be placed on one slide each.
Underneath each slide you will also add presentation notes. The notes are written information that you would normally say or share with an audience during a presentation, but that they do not actually see on the slide. Your notes should also make use of at least two academic sources and elaborate on the image and sentence in each slide.
To add notes to your slide, go the section at the bottom of each slide in Power Point and click on the option that says “Click to add notes.” Type your notes into that section.
Make sure your presentation focuses on ethical arguments and avoids personal opinion, arguments based on politics, economics, religion, or topics other than ethics.
Find a photo to illustrate each slide, and post the photo on the slide above the sentence. Search the Internet for photos that are appropriate. Make sure the photos you use are not copyright protected; you should only use photos that are in the public domain. Also, make sure you cite the sources from which you retrieved your photos directly underneath the photo on each slide.
The slideshow should be 12 slides long; one slide for title page, one for the thesis question, nine slides for your arguments (i.e., main sentences) and notes, and one slide for your references. You should use at least two academic sources other than the textbook as references. All citations and references must be in the APA format as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. This assignment must be submitted as a PowerPoint presentation. Other formats are not acceptable. If you are unfamiliar with how to use PowerPoint, see: Basic tasks in PowerPoint 2010.

In this course, you have looked at classical ethical theories of utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. You have also examined different perspectives on ethical issues introduced by relativism, ethical egoism, and emotivism. For this paper, you will apply these theories and perspectives to a current issue, selected from the list of issues below.

Choose one of the ethical issues from the list to research and write about. It is recommended that you choose a topic you are familiar with or that you have thought about previously, if possible. For example, you might choose an issue that either worries you or enrages you; you might choose one that you have worked on; or you might choose one that relates to recent events in your community.

Possible Issues

Corporate executive compensation
Corporate contributions to political campaigns
Affirmative action
The media and its responsibilities
Domestic surveillance
Whistle blowing in government or in a business
Religion in the workplace
Pornography
Consumer tracking
Ethical problems of gambling
Progressive taxation rates
Immigration
Women’s equality
In your paper, you will apply the ethical theories and perspectives to the issue that you select. You do not have to use all six, but you should apply at least two ethical theories and at least one ethical perspective in your paper. Make sure that you write primarily on ethical topics and concepts; do not get distracted by doing analyses that apply political, economic, religious, or legal perspectives. Describe, compare, and apply the ethical theories and perspectives to the topics. Explain your analysis of the issue using these theories and perspectives. What are the ethical issues? Where there breaches of ethical behavior? How could each theory help people think about what constitutes virtuous or ethical behavior?

To understand more about preparing this assignment, please review the SOC120 Library Research Tutorial.

Your draft must include at least three pages of text plus a title page and a references page. Your draft should include a clear thesis statement that states what you plan to argue. Also include a list of the sources you intend to use. You can also use the Sociology Research Guide located in the Ashford University Library. Format your rough draft according to APA style and properly cite and reference all your sources according to APA format. If you would like to refer to APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, located within the Learning Resources tab in the left navigation bar of your online course.

Final Paper
In this course, you will look at classical ethical theories of utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. You will also examine different perspectives on ethical issues introduced by relativism, ethical egoism, and emotivism. For this paper, you will apply these theories and perspectives to a current issue, selected from the list of issues below.

Choose one of the ethical issues from the list below to research and write about. It is recommended that you choose a topic you are familiar with or have thought about previously. For example, you might choose an issue that either worries you or enrages you; you might choose one that you have worked on; or you might choose one that relates to recent events in your community.

Possible Issues

Corporate executive compensation
Corporate contributions to political campaigns
Affirmative action
The media and its responsibilities
Domestic surveillance
Whistle blowing in government or in a business
Religion in the workplace
Pornography
Consumer tracking
Ethical problems of gambling
Progressive taxation rates
Immigration
Women’s equality
In your paper, you will apply the ethical theories and perspectives to the issue you select. You do not have to use all six, but you should apply at least two ethical theories and at least one ethical perspective in your paper. Make sure you write primarily on ethical topics and concepts; do not get distracted by doing analyses that apply political, economic, religious, or legal perspectives. Describe, compare, and apply the ethical theories and perspectives to the topics. Explain how the theories and perspectives would analyze the issue. What are the ethical issues? Where are there breaches of ethical behavior? How could each theory help people think about what would constitute virtuous or ethical behavior?

The paper must be eight to ten pages in length (excluding title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least five scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library other than the textbook to support your claims. You can also use the Sociology Research Guide located in the Ashford University Library. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference page. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar in your online course.
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