Discussion Prompt for Small Group Discussions
In the first half the course, we encountered a broad range of ethical theories from both Western and Eastern traditions (Consequentialist, Non-Consequentialist, Virtue Ethics, Feminist Ethics, Buddhist Ethics, Confucian Ethics, and Hindu Ethics).
Discussion Question 1. Before taking this class, how often did you have ethical discussions? Where did you normally have these conversations? Have you noticed any changes since enrolling in this course?
Discussion Question 2. Excluding the primary ethical tradition that you grew up within, which of these approaches to ethics frames life’s problems in a way that you can relate to the most? Why?
Discussion Question 3. Which approach to ethics (Consequentialist, Non-Consequentialist, Virtue Ethics, Feminist Ethics, Buddhist Ethics, Confucian Ethics, and Hindu Ethics) was the most difficult for you to relate to? Why?
Discussion Prompt For Small Group Discussions
Question One
In everyday life, people encounter situations that require one to evaluate what is ethical or unethical. Before taking this class, I had occasional ethical conversations within the school context regarding some of the situations that my friends and I face in our social life. While we still hold similar discussions to date, the way we analyze each ethical issue has changed since enrolling in this course, to incorporate a better understanding of the moral traditions that govern our decisions.
Enrollment in this course has changed the way my friends, and I discuss ethical situations. Initially, our conversations were based on brainstorming what was right or wrong in a given problem. However, this course has helped me understand the ethical traditions that drive our discussions on what is ethical or not.
Question Two & Three
While growing up, I was exposed to primary ethical traditions that guided my way of thinking regarding what is right and wrong. Furthermore, after enrolling in this course, I have learned several other moral traditions that frame life problems. Even though I have developed a considerable understanding of the majority of these approaches, consequentialist and virtue ethics are the ethical traditions that I can mostly and least relate to since the former provides practical moral judgment to problems, while the latter lacks the ability to provide solutions to real-life issues.
Based on my assessment, I can relate to the consequentialist ethical tradition since it is practicable in real-life issues. Notably, in ethics this approach suggests that the wrongness of an act depends on the act’s consequences (Gustafsson, 2016). Therefore, it provides people with a way to evaluate situations by analyzing the outcomes of every alternative.
However, virtue ethics does not provide rules for evaluating situations, which makes it difficult to relate to. In essence, the approach merely emphasizes the moral character that individuals ought to possess. Failure of the theory to provide a set of guidelines on how to handle practical situations makes it difficult to apply in real-life scenarios.
References
Gustafsson, J.E. (2016). Consequentialism with wrongness depending on the difficulty of doing better. Journal of Philosophy, 5(2), 108-118. https://doi.org/10.1002/tht3.200