| Date: January 15, 2011 |
Grade: VIRTUAL LIBRARY LESSON |
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| Teacher Name: Andrew White |
Subject: Ethics |
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1. Topic-
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Utilitarian Ethics: Truth and
Consequences |
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2. Content-
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OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit, the student will have the opportunity to:
o Course Objective 5: Compare and contrast types of utilitarian ethics.
• Enabling Objective 5.1: Compare and contrast act utilitarianism with
rule utilitarianism.
• Enabling Objective 5.2: Describe teleological ethics and how it relates
to utilitarianism.
• Enabling Objective 5.3: Explain the pros and cons of utilitarianism.
• Enabling Objective 5.4: Summarize Nozick’s challenge to
utilitarianism.
• Enabling Objective 5.5: Apply act/rule principles to affirmative action.
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3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
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At the end of the unit, the student will be able to learn:
o The utilitarian belief that consequences must be pleasurable and pain must be reduced for all the parties involved.
o Act utilitarians, who believe in setting up rules, but believe that each situation is different.
o Rule utilitarians, who believe that people set up rules for the greatest good using reason and experience.
o Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, the two key proponents of utilitarianism.
o Robert Nozick’s challenges to the utilitarian philosophy. |
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4. Objectives-
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Use the ITT Virtual Library to complete the assignments.
Using the ITT Library:
First, Use the ITT VL to access "Utility Ethics", then answer the following homework assignment:
Title: Biting Kids
Consider the following scenario:
You believe that children must learn to function in a society.
Your two year old, however, is constantly biting you and
other children.
Write a paper responding to this scenario from two points of
view:
1. From the point of view of an act utilitarian believing
in situational ethics, how would you handle this twoyear-
old? Would you deal with each individual
biting episode separately? Do you think that biting
adults is different from biting other children, and
would your opinion on this be a factor in
determining your response to your child?
2. Approach the situation from the point of view of a
rule utilitarian. How would you teach this child what
is right and wrong, and that biting is not acceptable?
Your paper should bring out the contrast between act and
rule utilitarianism. Submit your paper, in a Word document
(around two pages long), to your instructor next week. |
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5. Materials and Aids-
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ITT Tech Virtual Library > Periodicals > EBSCOHost > Academic
A Utilitarian Justification of Desert in Distributive Justice, Kristjánsson,
Journal of Moral Philosophy, Jul2005, Vol. 2 Issue 2, p. 147-170. |
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6. Procedures/Methods-
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A. Introduction-
Class Activity 4.1 – Introduction:
Discuss the question on end of life decisions, which was
assigned to students as a writing assignment in Week 3.
Invite responses from students with reference to reason and
feeling.
Transition from the idea of acting from reason and feeling to
the idea of acting for consequences will introduce the
topic – utilitarianism. |
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B. Development-
Class Activity 4.2 – Consequences for Utilitarianism:
To illustrate utilitarianism, you can bring in a scale. Show
that utilitarians believe that the good for everyone must
outweigh the bad. |
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C. Practice-
Class Activity 4.3 – Pros and Cons of Utilitarianism:
After presenting the pros and cons of utilitarianism, create
four groups of students. Have a large chart on the board or
on butcher paper with the outline of the pro/con chart. You
can obtain the chart online. Assign one of the following
topics to each group – lying, cheating, stealing, and
breaking promises. Each group will develop pros and cons
specific to their topic and write the same in on the chart. |
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D. Independent Practice-
Graded Assignment, Category: Writing
(Course Objective 5, Enabling Learning Objective 5.2,
5.5)
Title: Love, Marriage, and Human Sexuality
You are given the following three scenarios relating to the
subject of human sexuality. Analyze all the scenarios in the
light of truth and consequences. For each scenario, respond
to the questions that are asked, giving your reasons.
For each scenario, your written responses should be
approximately one page long. Submit your responses, in a
Word document, to your instructor next week.
Scenario one:
Jack, 21, and Barb, 20, have decided to live together for
sexual pleasure and also because they enjoy each other’s
company. Barb has decided to take birth control pills, and
they have agreed to share the expenses. They have both
agreed that if either one wants to break off the relationship,
they will part amiably.
Do you think what they are doing is moral? In your opinion,
what problems could arise from this arrangement? Justify
your answers with reasons.
Scenario two:
Victor works with Jeremy, whom he always considers to be
smart, witty, and athletic. One night Jeremy invites him to
his apartment that he shares with Russ. Victor is shocked to
learn that the two are lovers. They do not appear effeminate.
They are not child molesters either, nor do they march in
gay parades. They only have a quiet relationship.
Is what they are doing moral? Why or why not? What if
they did march in gay parades?
Scenario three:
A small city has one street that has several stores selling
pornographic films, books, and devices. The managers at the
stores do check IDs to make sure that no one underage
comes in. However, certain religious groups want
the license of these stores revoked because they
opinion that such stores are a bad influence on
community.
Should the licenses of these stores be revoked
they are doing is immoral? Why or why not? |
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E. Accommodations (Differentiated Instruction)-
| Use ITT Virtual Library - and classroom. |
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F. Checking for understanding-
Evaluation Criteria:
1. Did the students answer
each part of the question?
2. Did the students refer to
ideas from act
utilitarianism in the
response?
3. Did the students refer to
ideas from rule
utilitarianism in the
response?
4. Does the students’
response demonstrate
understanding of the
issue?
5. Did the students use
proper grammar? |
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G. Closure-
At the end of the unit, the student will be able to learn:
o The utilitarian belief that consequences must be pleasurable and pain must be reduced
for all the parties involved.
o Act utilitarians, who believe in setting up rules, but believe that each situation is
different.
o Rule utilitarians, who believe that people set up rules for the greatest good using
reason and experience.
o Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, the two key proponents of utilitarianism.
o Robert Nozick’s challenges to the utilitarian philosophy. |
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7. Evaluation-
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