ASSIGNMENT 2: FOUR DOMAINS OF ETHICAL ASSESMENT

Directions:

1. Follow format of activities

2. Date of submission: March 6, 2019, during the class
3. Orientation: computerized

TOPIC: APPLICATION OF FOUR DOMAINS OF ETHICAL THEORIES

Reference: Cengage Advantage Ethics: Discovering right and Wrong*pp.7-11

Directions:

1. Choose 2 of the given case to evaluate. Copy the case in your answer sheet.
2. Use the four domains of ethical theories to evaluate the chosen
( (1) action,
(2) consequences,
(3) character traits, and
(4) motive.)

Case number 1:

On the first day of class, Hassan’s professor in a required class in his major handed
out a syllabus that assigned a book a week. She explicitly said that the readings
would be discussed in detail and that “participation points” would be a separate part
of the grade. During the first couple of weeks of class, however, all Hassan’s professor
did was lecture. There were no discussions. No one was called on. Not only that, the
books were never mentioned in the lectures, and the professor frequently went off
on tangents describing episodes in her career. (Hassan got the impression that she
wanted to impress the class with how important she was in her field and that they
should feel fortunate she was their teacher.) After a month, Hassan, like everyone
else in class, stopped reading the books. A week before the final, however, his
professor announced that the class would be responsible for all the readings, even
though they hadn’t been discussed. Upset and annoyed, some of the students
suggested that the class create and share a study guide so that everyone wouldn’t
have to go back and do all the readings before the exam. They did this knowing that,
from the professor’s perspective, this kind of cooperation was a form of cheating.
Hassan had to decide whether to participate. He had never cheated before and took
pride in being honest. He was a highly motivated student with an excellent Grade
Point Average. He never complained about having to work hard. But he was very
frustrated with his teacher’s behavior. After assigning the readings, she ignored
them. Her personal tangents kept her from covering important material he needed
for his major. The fact that his teacher seemed to be taking the course so lightly
made him feel he could do the same. At the same time, he had some very rigorous
classes with professors who worked hard to make sure everyone was learning what
they were supposed to. Hassan could have scrambled to read all the books before
the exam, but he felt that this would shortchange what he owed his professors who
took their courses more seriously. So he decided to help with the study guide and
then use it. He did well on his finals because the study guide let him devote more
time to preparing for his other finals. Looking back on things, he doesn’t feel good
about how things unfolded and, if something similar happens in the future, he’s
decided that he will talk to the professor immediately and explain his frustrations. He
doesn’t want things to get to the point where he’ll feel the need to cheat again.

Assess the action of Hassan using the four domains of ethical assessment.

Case number 2

Jim and Sue have been planning to have a child for two years. Finally, she becomes
pregnant. However, their marriage has been a rough one, and by the time she is in
her third month of pregnancy they have decided to divorce. At this point, both parents
are ambivalent about the pregnancy. They had both wanted the child, but now things
are different. Sue finally decides that she does not want to raise a child alone and
does not want to raise Jim’s child. She wants to get on with her life. However, Jim
has long wanted a child, and he argues that the developing fetus is partly his own
because he has provided half of its genetic makeup. He does not want Sue to end
the pregnancy. He wants to keep and raise the child.

Evaluate Jim’s action using the four domains of ethical assessment

Case number3:

Early one Sunday morning, Dalia opens her dorm room door and finds her friend Amy
standing there, her eyes red from crying. Inside Dalia’s room, Amy begins talking
about what happened to her the night before. She had been at a large party in
another dorm, drinking beer and dancing with a group of friends, until the party
started winding down around 2:00 a.m. Then a guy she’d been flirting with invited
her back to his room down the hall from the party. She said goodbye to her friends
and went with him. In his room, they had another beer and started making out. Amy
tells Dalia that everything was fine until the guy pushed her down hard onto his bed
and began pulling off her clothes. “It happened so fast,” Amy said. “I was in shock
and was scared because all of a sudden he was acting so rough. I just sort of let it
happen, but it was awful.” Amy begins to cry. “Did you tell him to stop?” Dalia asks.
“I didn’t say anything,” Amy says. “But inside, I was screaming ‘no.’ I just lay there
completely still until it was over. “Are you saying he raped you?” Dalia asks. “I don’t
know,” Amy says. “Maybe.”

Question: Do you think what happened to Amy was rape? Why or why not?
What do you think is required for true consent to a sexual encounter? Use
the four domains of ethical assessment.