Describe one ethical dilemma you struggled with in your life. Put your description in a personal and historical context. Analyze the dilemma by using theoretical tools provided by the text, handouts, or lecture slides. E.g., Schools of ethics or Lonergan’s operations of consciousness, etc.

Ethical dilemma

In a three page paper, no more than 1200 words, no less than 950 words, double spaced, size 12 font, one-inch margins, address the following:

1) Describe one ethical dilemma you struggled with in your life. Put your description in a personal and historical context; in other words, use I statements, and locate yourself within place, time, and relationships. Do not spend more than a page and a half on your description.

2) Analyze the dilemma by using theoretical tools provided by the text, handouts, or lecture slides. E.g., Schools of ethics or Lonergan’s operations of consciousness, etc.

Helpful Hints:
1. Have a concise introduction, no more than one paragraph, no less than three sentences.

2. Clearly, and early on, state your dilemma in one sentence. E.g., “My ethical dilemma consisted of whether or not I tell my friend Emma (use pseudonyms) that her partner Elijah is cheating on her,” or “My dilemma was whether I leave my insurance information on the parked car I hit or whether I drive off,” or “The moral conflict I experienced was whether I report the crime I witnesses or whether I remain silent.”

3. Do not include any irrelevant information – there is not enough space in this short paper. E.g., if it is the first dilemma above, I don’t need to know about Emma’s relationship with her mother, or where she works, or Elijah’s preference for partying (unless it is relevant).

4. Since this is YOUR dilemma, you need to carefully state what YOU chose to do and WHY you chose to do it. This will reveal your preferred school of ethics in this instance. E.g., If you worried that Emma could, with continued sexual activity with her cheating partner, acquire an STD, or that Elijah could bring another life into the world causing Emma emotional and financial stress, then you are clearly using consequentialism. If you worry that your source for the information is unreliable and that Emma will drop you as a friend if you tell her, then also consequentialism. If, on the other hand, you were angered at the cheating and subsequent lying (to your friend by their partner) and your anger was located in the ideal of promise-keeping, a value for truth-telling, and relational fidelity, then you are clearly using Virtue Ethics. Make sure you explain the theory (Lonergan or Schools) you are drawing on and how it applies in detail.

5. Based on thousands of past papers I have read, your first sentence is the most likely sentence to have grammatical or stylistic issues, and of all paragraphs, your first one is the most likely be the least readable. Suggestion: write your introductory paragraph LAST.

6. Finally, come up with a concise summary conclusion about whether you would make the same choice knowing what you know now, or something you learned about your self.