Following are some suggestions about how to proceed in cooperation with your group to achieve an effective presentation.After making contact with email and phone numbers, select one of your group to be the Group Communicator. I should emphasize that this title is descriptive of
function - that of a communicator of important information both to and from the Group. The person agreeing to perform that function should have capacious email boxes and voice mail or its equivalent on the phone line.
This person is not responsible in any way for the work of others. Each member of the Group is responsible for his or her own work.
The Group should attempt in all cases to operate on the basis of consensus. Thus, the initial meeting of the Group, for which time will usually be made at the end of class, should be to solicit ideas about what areas would be most fruitful for exploration.
Each Group is to be regarded as the class "expert" in the general subject matter covered by the Group assignment. The Group's job is to research and present an informative, detailed description of the elements of the topic and its historical background, identifying the major issues and
analyzing them in light of the principal moral theories studied in the course. By consensus, each Group should divide up the research and presentation effort according to the skills and preferences of the members, to the maximum extent possible. Those whose English speaking skills are uncomfortably limited may want to have their role assigned more to research and design of presentation rather than the public presentation aspect, but this is a matter for decision by the individual. I will participate in at least one Group meeting of each Group to help you shape your presentation and resolve any conflicts or other issues.
Applying these general instructions, let me suggest a few directions for the consideration of each Group, which will for this semester, try to use our present "wartime" condition as the milieu within which to orient our thinking.
Group 1
Abortion usually dominates the work of Group 1, but this year, owing to the developments in the Catholic clergy and elsewhere, I have added reading assignments in pornography and children's
issues as well. See Chapters 9, 10 and 11 of your text for a discussion and
readings on these issues, as well as bibliographic references. For the abortion coverage,
the Group may well wish to consider how complicated the choice can get for a woman, using perhaps the example I mention in class, that of a pregnant woman by a man who was killed in terrorist attacks or the war in Afghanistan
or Iraq whose attitudes about carrying the pregnancy to term might be altered by such
circumstances. Daniel Pearl's widow is an obvious case in point, and she was very vocal and public about her decision to have her baby, and to be sure that it was raised in a manner most conscious of the heroic circumstances of the father's death.
Case 4 in the assigned Cases For Study on this web site is another kind of example of choice under different circumstances.
Pedophilia, in the context of the Catholic response and "cover-up" in some cases, is another set of problems fraught with moral issues. Case Three in the Cases for Study raises issues of confidentiality which could be expanded in the cases of pedophilia alleged against a number of Priests.
The response of the hierarchy of the Church and the national diocesan convocation in Dallas would be useful areas to examine in the context of the moral adequacy of the response.
Group 2
End of Life issues, such as euthanasia, suicide and assisted suicide are
the principal foci. These are well-established sets of problems, and are
highlighted in the seemingly bizarre case of Jack and Jill in the Cases for
Study. They can also be focused upon in the terrorist context as well as that of
disease. How do the suicide bombers of Hamas and other Palestinian groups relate
to these issues? Hospice for the dying is another area of growing concern. Bill
Moyers did an extended series on this topic, entitled "On Their Own Terms" and I have it on video for those
interested in showing some segments in aid of their presentations. Another long
film (too long to be shown in class in its entirety) is Dax's case, the horrible situation of
Dan Cowart a Texan who was burned severely over 100% of his body by a natural
gas explosion but who survived, much against his will. It is the most
excruciatingly documented case I know of.
I have it on tape also, and some of it may be shown for dramatic effect. I
believe the McDermott Library has these films for your use.
Group 3
Issues of legal punishment in general make for interesting questions to be considered by all. Why do we punish, and if we have good reasons for doing so, do the result of punishment seem to substantiate those reasons?
This question is never explored as fully as it might be, from a moral point of view, because most people simply ASSUME what the outcome should be.
More specifically, the Group should focus on the "punishment" of legal detention without charges, which of course comes up in the case of the INS detentions of suspected terrorists and in the detention of "enemy combatants" in places like Guantanamo Bay. We are not concerned specifically with the criminal justice system per se, but are looking at the moral implications of this
activity.
Capital crimes and punishment for them is again a well-trodden path, but this past year, fresh consideration has been raised about the morality of such punishment under conditions where we cannot be absolutely certain that we have sentenced the correct person for the crime. The moratoria declared by the Governors of Illinois and Maryland, plus the "Justice Project" studies at Columbia University are strong indications of a changing public consensus on these issues. What is the morality of continuing to carry out executions is this environment? This should be a fruitful area of inquiry for the Group.
Group 4
In examining issues of discrimination and equality, affirmative action and its legal status is often a promising line of inquiry. But terrorist attacks of
2001, which were planned and executed by Saudi Islamists, as well as the attacks
in Spain and now Chenya raise the freshened specter of religious intolerance in a country partly founded on the idea of religious freedom. The
Group should use this vehicle as an opportunity to take a renewed interest in stereotyping and the morality of such practices.
Group 5
In the context of the current presidential and congressional campaigns, there
are many opportunities to examine the recent past with the vast economic changes
that have partly resulted from the current Administration's policies. This
encompasses tax policy, funding for education and health care as well as
international trade policy which joins the issue of "outsourcing" or the
disappearance of jobs from the U.S. economy and their replacement by
nationals of other countries.
Group 6
War and terror are abundant and their consequences and responses measured by
U.S. actions, at least afford an ample context for this group's work. A
useful discussion would include almost certainly a comparison of the policies of
the Bush administration, including the doctrine of pre-emptive war, and policies
urged by others to make the country more secure. The evaluation of such
policies in moral terms rather than geopolitical, should be the emphasis.
Group 7
Animal rights issues should be examined in the context of PETA policies and
programs, along with the philosophy of Peter Singer. Your textbook has
many references for both Animal Rights topics as well as Environmental issues.
Group 8
The group should first consider the idea of "professionalism" in an ethical
context, and then select one or two of the professions for special scrutiny.
There should also be some discussion devoted to the business environment.
See the Instructor's business ethics slides which are a link on the main Ethics
web page.