Overview

In this final written assignment, Case Study: Ethical Theory Application and Evaluation, you will create your own case study based on

• an ethical issue or social problem in your local community (neighborhood, town city, school district, religious community, local politics, water safety, housing issues, etc.),

• an ethical issue in your current job, or

• an ethical issue in your field of study.

This final written assignment should be an essay and include the following sections with headings in bold font:

Part 1: Introduction, Case Study, and Ethical Question

In this section, you will create the case study. To complete this section,

• Present a brief introduction to the case study.

• Discuss background information.

• Identify the central moral controversy at stake in the case study.

• Articulate an ethical question based on the central moral controversy.

This section should be around 300 words.

Part 2: Philosophy Reading Reflection

In Sections 4 and 5 you will use two ethical theories to analyze your case study. In this section, you will choose a philosophical text associated with one of the ethical theories you will be using in Section 4 or 5. The philosophical text can be the same one you used in the Week 3 written assignment, or you can choose a new text. Copy and paste the text into this section. After applying the metacognitive strategies on reading philosophical texts from Week 1,

Examine the meaning of the text.

• Discuss how your understanding of the text evolved after multiple reads.

• Explain how the text might apply to the case study.

This section should be around 150 words (excluding the philosophical text).

Part 3: Explanation of First Ethical Theory

In this section, choose either utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics. This will be the primary or first ethical theory you will use to consider the case study. You can choose the same ethical theory you used in the Week 3 written assignment or choose a different ethical theory. To complete this section,

• Discuss the historical background of the ethical theory and the philosopher primarily associated with it.

• Articulate the core principle(s) of the ethical theory.

• Demonstrate how the principle(s) applies to an ethical question different than the ethical question in your case study.

This section should be around 250 words.

Part 4: Application of First Ethical Theory

In this section, you will apply the principle(s) of the ethical theory to the case study. To complete this section,

• Clarify the central moral controversy at stake in the ethical question.

• Analyze the core principle of the ethical theory.

• Explain how someone using the core principles of the ethical theory would answer the ethical question addressed by your case.

This section should be around 350 words.

Part 5: Explanation and Application of Second Ethical Theory

In this section, you will choose a second ethical theory and apply it to the case study. The explanation and application here will be briefer than the first ethical theory. To complete this section,

• Discuss the core principle of the ethical theory.

• Explain how someone using the core principles of the ethical theory would analyze the case study and answer the ethical question.

This section should be around 150 or 200 words.

Part 6: Evaluation of First Ethical Theory Application

In this section, you will evaluate the results of applying the ethical theory to the case study. The idea here is to assess the success (or failure) of the theory in providing an adequate or actionable solution to the central moral controversy in the case study. To complete this section,

• Discuss the answer to the ethical question provided by applying the first ethical theory.

• Compare the answer to the ethical question provided by applying the first ethical theory to the second ethical theory’s application.

• Explain which ethical theory you think offers the strongest resolution to the ethical issue.

• Evaluate the strength of the application by considering one or more of the following questions:

o Does applying the theory present an adequate response to the issue, or are there significant aspects of the issue the theory does not address?

o Does the application differ from how the issue is currently being addressed?

o Does the application present a better approach to how the issue is currently being addressed?

o Does applying the theory to the issue raise other problems or concerns?

This section should be between 300 and 350 words.

Part 7: Conclusion

In this section, you will describe what you have accomplished in the paper. To complete this section,

• Summarize the analyses and conclusions of applying the first and second ethical theories to your case study.

• Evaluate the results of applying the theory

o Did it offer an adequate solution to the issue?

o What is the greatest strength or weakness of the theory when applied to the issue?

• Provide any additional recommendations you think might help address the central moral controversy in the case study.

This section should be around 150 words.

The Case Study: Ethical Theory Application and Evaluation final paper

• Must be six to eight double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA StyleLinks to an external site. as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft WordLinks to an external site. resource.