Social Studies skills: Difference between revisions - A+ Club Lesson Planner & Study Guide

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the defensible but undesired position to which one retreats when hard pressed.</pre>

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== Ethics ==

=== Aristotle ===

* by Aristotle's view, the study of ethics is essential to understanding the world around us and for finding virtue and happiness

** ''ethikē'' = ethics

** ''aretē'' = virtue or excellence

** ''phronesis'' = practical or ethical wisdom

** ''eudaimonia'' = "good state" or happiness

* steps to become a virtuous person:

** 1. practicing righteous actions guided by a teacher leads to righteous habits

** 2. righteous habits leads to good character by which righteous actions are willful

** 3. good character leads to ''eudaimonia''

=== ethical dilemmas ==

==== the "Trolley problem"

* a dilemma created by the need to sacrifice one innocent person to save (usually given as) five others

* scenario:

** a runaway (out of control) trolley is heading towards a track with five workers on it (or sometimes presented as five people tied up and who are unable to move)

** there is a secondary track that was not in the original pathway of the trolley and that has one person on it

** an engineer who sees the situation can divert the trolley to the secondary track, thus killing the one person on it but saving the five on the original track

*** the problem is that that one person was otherwise not in danger and not wrongfully on the track

*** is that sacrifice ethical?

* the "utilitarian" view holds that it would be ethical and morally responsible to divert the trolley as it would save more lives

** by "utilitarian" we mean a choice or action that benefits the most people, even at the expense of some others

*** i.e. "maximize utility"

* objections to the utilitarian response include:

** the engineer had no intention to harm the five but by diverting the trolley would have made a willful decision to kill the one; therefore the act would be morally objectionable

*** = deliberately harming anyone for any reason is morally wrong

*** = violating the "doctrine of double effect," which states that deliberately causing harm, even for a good cause, is wrong

* the Trolley problem shows up in other situations:

** artificial intelligence, such as driverless vehicles

** Isaac Asimov explored moral and ethical dilemmas regarding artificial intelligence in his collection of essays, "I Robot."

*** Asimov envisioned the '''Three Laws of Robotics'''

click EXPAND to read the Three Laws of Robotics

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First Law

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Second Law

A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

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==Standards/ Standardization==