Lesson 2 - Making ethical decisions |
|
Ethical desisions
Moral dilemma
You are out shopping and have found a top that you love and even better it only costs £5 which you can easily afford. Tops like this cost over £30 other shops so you are thrilled to find such a bargain. Just as you are about to head to the till you remember a news article that you saw last week about the shops unethical behavior. In the article it was alleged that the company is employing children in Asia to manufacturer the clothes in sweatshops, paying them the equivalent of only 20p a day. |
Key term: Ethical (noun), relating to a set of values including compassion, fairness, honesty, respect and responsibility.
Different people use different words to define 'ethical', but the definition above sums up what most will agree upon. Making an ethical derision means taking all of these aspects into account. In order to do this some questions need to be asked:
> Which actions result in the most good or the least harm? > Which actions respect the rights of those involved? > Which actions treats people fairly? > Which actions contributes most tot he quality of life for the people affected? |
Even when using ethical decision making questions, not everyone's answers are the same. It all depends on your personal values and the weight we give to different questions. People have different approaches to quality of life, for example. For some people living without a car would make life impossible because of the lack of public transport. Others value eating organic food because they think it is healthier - while others can only afford the cheapest food if they are to feed their family.
Paired task
Your teacher will put you into a small group working with one or two other students. After watching the video opposite, work together to plan an answer to the following 12 mark question: 'The UK government should place a tax on fast food as it is bad for peoples health'. To what extent do you agree with this statement, give reasons for your views and consider the views of others. |
|
Carbon footprint
Key term: Carbon footprint (noun), is the sum of all emissions of carbon dioxide caused by your activities in a given time period.