Position Paper 3: Ethical Decision-Making—An Investigation

To demonstrate your engagement with course content, and to express your ethical decision making skills, please write an essay of 900-1100 words double-spaced that examines an ethical issue and explores how you would make decisions about your beliefs and actions. Please follow the prompts below as you craft your essay. You will write the essay in four distinct sections: you will provide an explanation of the ethical issue, share a personal inventory of your understanding of the issue, examine other voices (other positions) in the ethical debate, and finally arrive at conclusions about your own position and beliefs. Expect to draw quotations from at least two sources, and please follow APA in-text and References guidelines as you include other voices.

Step One: Select An Ethical Dilemma – DUE 11/20/18 First, please select one of the moral dilemmas we’ve explored in our course. You will explore the dilemma as you prepare to discuss the complexity and multiple perspectives that make the situation problematic. We are the ones who ultimately make ethical decisions; in our essay, we have the opportunity to explore and reason through one sticky situation and come to a reasoned conclusion. While the ethical dilemma you choose is up to you, please engage your instructor for guidance as well as inform him of the dilemma you have chosen by the date above.

Step Two: Write Your Draft – DUE 11/29/18 As you draft your ideas, please follow the outline bellow for each section. You should write paragraphs of 7 – 15 sentences on each topic, drawing on examples and details to keep your audience engaged and informed: Identify the Ethical Issue – In the first section, define the ethical issue, provide examples that create context, and help your reader to see “what’s at stake” and “why picking a side” matters. Ask yourself, “What are the questions about right and wrong included inside the ethical dilemma I have chosen?” Alternatively, you could ask yourself, “Where are all the places decisions/actions have gone wrong in my dilemma?” Seldom if ever does an ethical dilemma feature only one question of right and wrong; usually, no “right” choice exists—only choices with consequences. Identify the multiple perspectives inherent in your dilemma and consider the consequences for choosing one decision over another. Certainly, your personal perspective is important, but also think beyond your preferences and see the ethical choice as a larger issue with many possible outcomes. Take A Personal Inventory – In the second section, share with your reader your interactions with and thoughts about the ethical dilemma—a kind of history of your interaction with the problem. Ask yourself where you stand on these issues. Do you bring any biases or assumptions to the discussion? What is your knee-jerk reaction to the dilemma you have chosen? Your more reasoned thoughts? Are you unsure of your position or do you have a definite position? And after identifying your relationship to the dilemma, consider how the background you bring to the dilemma affects what you might choose to do. Inventory Other Voices – In the third section, consider and inventory the other positions in the debate. What other points of view define the problem? If they don’t have names, what would you call them? Now, identify the biases and/or assumptions that these other perspectives bring to the dilemma and discuss how these assumptions and biases affect how these other points of view would make decisions. Synthesize Your Beliefs – Finally (whew!), conclude your paper by identifying where you now stand in the debate and link your ideas to other philosophical/ethical perspectives. Perhaps you’ve changed your mind; perhaps one particular piece of evidence or idea altered your thinking. Help your reader understand where, finally, you’ve landed in the debate and why. Your reader will want to follow your thinking and see your choice as a reasoned, thoughtful response to the process of ethical thinking.