47 Application of Ethical Theory Assignment
Application of Ethical Theory Assignment
Deborah Holt, BS, MA and Paul Knoepfler TEDxVienna The Ethical Dilemma of Designer Babies https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_knoepfler_the_ethical_dilemma_of_designer_babies
- Watch Paul Knoepfler’s Ted Talk The Ethical Dilemma of Designer Babies.(18 minutes and twenty-three seconds in length)
Closed Captions are available and the transcript is available for download by clicking here Paul Knoepfler TEDxVienna The Ethical Dilemma of Designer Babies
- Identify the ethical dilemma being presented. To do this, you will need to identify the conflicting values that make this situation an ethical dilemma. (Hint: What is the overarching moral conflict that you have identified in the presentation?)
- Next, you need to identify the stakeholders. To do this, you will need to identify people or groups of people who are impacted by the ethical dilemma. (Hint: Who is impacted by the moral conflict and any possible resolves to this conflict?)
- Application of three ethical theories. To complete this part of the assignment, it is important that you apply each ethical theory separately to the dilemma. To apply ethical theory, you need to consider the questions associated with each specific ethical theory and use the characteristics of the specific ethical theory to develop a response to the question:
- Utilitarianism – “What would a utilitarian say should be done and why?” With utilitarianism, the focus is on the end results or consequences, and a utilitarian would do what would bring about the greatest happiness/pleasure for the greatest number of stakeholders.
- Deontology/ Kantian perspective ( the principle of universalizability, which is also known as deontology) – “What would a deontologist say should be done and why?” With deontology, the focus is on the action/decision itself. Do not forget to consider Kant’s Categorical Imperative when determining how a deontologist would respond to the ethical dilemma.
- Virtue Ethics – “What would a virtue ethicist say should be done and why?” It is important to remember that the focus of virtue ethics is person/agent centered versus action centered, which means that the virtue ethicist focuses on how the resolve to the ethical dilemma will offer the opportunity for the development of positive character traits/virtues. With virtue ethics, the hope is that by focusing on the development of positive character traits in oneself and others, is that naturally right/good action will follow. When making a decision on how to respond to an ethical dilemma, a virtue ethicist would focus how the proposed resolution or decision may demonstrate virtues such as, care, concern, and compassion.
