Ethics Class, Monday, 2-4pm

[brambless.livejournal.com]

Tara's face is tight and drawn as she addresses the class.

"For those of you who heard about Friday's class - we're not talking about that. If you wish to talk to me in my office hours you are very welcome to although they will be slowplayed liek woah, because I'm single parenting this week. However, I would appreciate it if we could keep in-class discussion today on the topic at hand.

"The topic, such as it is, will be chosen today by you, not by me. Here's what I want you to do:

"Raise an ethical issue. Give us your opinion on it. I don't mind what you choose - there are hundreds of issues we haven't touched on yet in class. Go wild. Have some fun with it, if you want to, just make sure there is an ethical question to be addressed. Respond to another person's raised issue with your opinion - beyond just 'I agree'. I'd love to see you all engage in some proper debates with one another, and I'm quite happy to give extra credit for people who engage in multiple debates."

Comments

Re: Class Discussion

[chasingangela]

Angela's arms are wrapped around her body, and she looks relieved when Tara announces the new class topic. Or lack of topic.

"Could we talk about the ethics of theft? I mean, I think it might be okay to steal if it's your only option to feed your family or whatever, but some people would say it's unethical no matter what."

Re: Class Discussion

[soldtoarmenians]

Xander nods in response to her question. "Yeah, I kind of wonder whether there's not some difference between...wrong, and...unfair, or something? Like, you steal a loaf of bread from some store owner to feed your family because you've got no other choice, and he loses money, and maybe that hurts him, and that's not fair. But is it the wrong thing to do, or is just something you have to suck it up and take the consequences for if you get caught? If the other choice is to let your family starve, it's pretty hard to call that as a 'right' one."

Re: Class Discussion

[chasingangela]

"That's a really good point," Angela says, chewing on a thumbnail in thought. "It's like -- there's absolutely wrong, as in killing, and then there's .... I kind of want to say "mostly" wrong. Like theft, where it might help the person doing the "wrong" thing more than it hurts the victim."

Re: Class Discussion

[soldtoarmenians]

"Maybe it's not even 'wrong' or 'right' in that case, but... good or bad? Stealing's bad -- it's bad for the person who gets his stuff stolen, and it's bad for the thief if he gets caught, and probably even if he doesn't, if he feels guilty but like he didn't have a choice. And if he didn't have a choice, then things were probably pretty bad to begin with. But not necessarily wrong, if we mean 'the thing you shouldn't do.'"

Re: Class Discussion

[stykera]

"Theft isn't always wrong. Taking things out of greed is wrong. Taking things out of necessity is not."

Re: Class Discussion

[valentine-tart.livejournal.com]

But greed can be fun. If a little socially-unacceptable.

Re: Class Discussion

[miss-monochrome.livejournal.com]

Amet to that.

Plus, if say, you steal from somebody who'd gotten rich imorally or somethin'... well technically you could claim that it wasn't even his dren to begin with, right? Like that... that Robbie Hood person.