CWV 101 WEEK 7 ASSIGNMENT Help

CVW 101 WEEK 7 ASSIGNMENT Help | Grand Canyon University 

Assignment 1 

Ethical Dilemmas

Choose only one of the ethical dilemmas below to address in your essay. The questions at the end of each dilemma are intended for you to reflect on. For your paper you must organize your writing using the sections and underlined titles listed on the assignment page. Do not copy the case study into your essay.

1.      Pornography

TJ secretly enjoys pornography. He gets a great deal of gratification out of viewing Internet pornography and masturbating, though he always acts behind closed doors and believes that his actions have no effect on others. He justifies his behavior by saying, ‘Who am I harming?’

Then he discovers a statistic onthe Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking website (http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/labour/Forced_labour/HUMAN_TRAFFICKING_-_THE_FACTS_-_final.pdf)  stating that 43% of human trafficking victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, of whom 98% are women and girls, and that the pornography business is a multibillion dollar industry (Global Initiative, n.d.).

His freedom to view pornography is now at odds with harm to himself (addiction) and others (abuse through forced trafficking and media exploitation). (More information can be found at http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/may/may_17pornographycost.html, which is a report by William May called“The Social Costs of Pornography” provided by the Witherspoon Institute out of Princeton [May, 2010].)

How should PJ respond? Should he maintain his lifestyle because of his freedom of choice or should he change his behavior because of the harm done? What is his responsibility for the harm that the pornography industry can cause, even if he himself is not directly harming someone else?

2.      Euthanasia

Joni was 17 when she was swimming with friends in the Chesapeake Bay. She dove into the water, misjudging the depth, and fractured her vertebrae. This left her a quadriplegic, paralyzed from her shoulders down. As might be expected, she went into severe depression, even having serious thoughts of ending her life. Her quality of life was severely diminished. Her future looked horribly bleak. What could she ever hope to accomplish as a human being in such a weakened state? Why should she be forced to endure a life of suffering and hardship, and be a burden to her family?

Should her wishes to be euthanized be granted? What do you think? Should someone in her condition be permitted to have her life legally terminated?

3.      Religious Tolerance

In September 2014, Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship was “derecognized” by the 23 public California State University schools because the Christian organization requires its leaders to hold Christian beliefs. Tina is a volunteer leader of Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship at a particular public university. The new university policy requires that recognized campus groups have a non-discrimination policy that says an organization cannot require its leaders to hold any particular beliefs (Stetzer, 2014). Being a recognized group is important to Tina, since it affects such circumstances as free access to meeting rooms, advertisements at University sponsored events, and official engagement with faculty and students. Tina believes that student leaders must hold to essential Christian beliefs for the sake of the group’s purpose, though Intervarsity has always welcomed anyone from any faith background to be a part of the group. Yet the University system requires all recognized campus groups to sign a state-mandated non-discrimination policy stating that both membership and leadership positions are open for anyone, whether they support the beliefs of the group or not (Winston, 2014). How should Tina respond to the university leadership, if at all? What changes should Tina make to her chapter of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, if any?

4.      Abortion

After trying for many years, Susan finally gets pregnant. Unfortunately, a blood test confirms that her baby has Down syndrome, and her doctors suggest she abort the fetus. Susan has a successful career and wants to maintain a healthy balance between her career and family. Yet she feels very uncomfortable with abortion. She seeks some advice from Richard, an influential professor of evolutionary biology who has spent his career seeking to further human potential and minimize human suffering. When Susan asks Richard if she should abort the fetus or give birth to a baby with Down syndrome, Richard replied that human beings should increase happiness and decrease suffering in this world, and that therefore he would suggest that she abort, though he also stated that she must make this choice for herself. Richard emphasized the lifelong suffering of both the child with Down syndrome and Susan as the child’s caretaker and stated that it may be immoral to bring a baby into the world if she knew the kind of suffering the child would experience. In fact, Richard suggested that perhaps the most ethical course of action would be to prevent this baby from living a life full of suffering. (This scenario is based on the following article by Richard Dawkins (2014): https://richarddawkins.net/2014/08/abortion-down-syndrome-an-apology-for-letting-slip-the-dogs-of-twitterwar/).

How should Susan respond? What decision should she make if her baby would suffer with Down syndrome, yet she wants to have a baby?

5.      Performance Enhancing Drugs

As a successful young athlete, Paul has been working hard in the weight room and on the field, and he has earned a starting position on his team. As his team develops, some members of his team have been experimenting with a new performance-enhancing drug and have seen remarkable results. The drug is not a banned substance, largely because it is not widely known, and Paul has seen it work for several of his teammates, who remind Paul of the remarkable fact that this drug cannot be traced by any drug test available. Paul wants to succeed but is finding he may be left behind by those who are getting bigger and faster. The coach seems to be aware of the drug use but has ignored it because the team has-been winning so far and the drug is technically not an illegal substance yet. Paul was just told by his coach that some changes may be taking place and he may lose his starting position. His friend offered him a sample of the drug to “catch up” with the others. What should his response be in regard to legal, physical, and spiritual implications?

References

Dawkins, R. (2014, August 21). Abortion & Down syndrome: An apology for letting

slip the dogs of Twitterwar. Retrieved

from https://richarddawkins.net/2014/08/abortion-down-syndrome-an-apology-for-letting-slip-the-dogs-of-twitterwar/

Gianna Jessenabortion survivor in Australia part 1. (2008). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPF1FhCMPuQ

Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking.(n.d.). Human trafficking: The facts. Retrieved from https://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/labour/Forced_labour/HUMAN_TRAFFICKING_-_THE_FACTS_-_final.pdf

May, W. E. (2010). The social costs of pornography. Retrieved

from http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/may/may_17pornographycost.html

Stetzer, E. (2014, September 6). Inter Varsity “derecognized” at California State

University’s 23 campuses: Some analysis and reflections. Christianity Today. Retrieved from http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/september/intervarsity-now-derecognized-in-california-state-universit.html

Winston, K. (2014,September 10). InterVarsity, college Christian group "de-recognized" at California State University campuses. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/09/intervarsity-sanctioned-california-state-university_n_5791906.html

 Example Ethical Dilemma Essay

Belowis a real estate case study and an abbreviated essay to use as an example of the flow of thought for your paper. For the actual assignment, you will need to research your topic, expand more on each paragraph, and cite additional resources as instructed.

Remember to include your name, course, date, and instructor at the top of your paper, and review the directions on “How to Use the Opposing Viewpoints Database in the GCU Library.”

Case Study:

Suppose at the real estate office where you work, a woman from out of town calls and asks you to list her deceased father's home. She tells you she is concerned only in selling it quickly and will be happy to get $70,000 for it. You do a quick assessment of the house and determine that it is worth at least $100,000, and realize that it would be a perfect place for your son who just started looking for a small house he could afford.

Abbreviated Real Estate Ethical Dilemma Essay

People face ethical dilemmas all through their lives, some minor with few consequences, and others major with large, sometimes unexpected, negative consequences. How we navigate our way through these dilemmas is influenced by our worldview, and has an impact on shaping our worldview. I will examine the real estate ethical dilemma according to my Christian worldview, and compare it to other options of resolving the dilemma.

Ethical Dilemma

This case involves my response to a woman who has contacted me as her real estate agent to sell her father's house. She is anxious to sell it for $70,000. After I looked at the house, I realized that it would be just right for my son who needs a small house, but I determined that it is actually worth at least $100,000.

The dilemma is that I could easily save my son $30,000 and get him a nice house, but to do so would be taking advantage of the woman who owns it. To resolve the dilemma I could do one of the following:

• I could go ahead and have my son purchase the house for the asking price of $70,000, telling the woman that this is the value.
• I could explain to the woman that the house is really worth $100,000, but that my son is willing to purchase it right now for the asking price.

Core Beliefs

One of my core beliefs is the eighth commandment that says, "You shall not steal." Since the house is worth $30,000 more than the woman thinks it is worth, if I sell it for her at the lower price, I may be stealing from her.

Another core belief is the ninth commandment that forbids lying. In order to sell the house to the woman at the lower value, I would have to convince her, or at least deceive her into thinking that what she wants from the house ($70,000) is a reasonable value.

Another core belief is the Golden Rule of Jesus from Matthew 7:12, which says, "Do to others what you would have them do to you" (NIV). In this case, if I were the homeowner, I would certainly want to sell it for what it is worth.

Resolution

The Christian thing to do here would be for me to explain to the woman that her house is worth more than $70,000, and inform her of the fair market value of the house. I could then offer that my son may be interested in purchasing it if she is willing to sell it at the lower price right away.

Evaluation

As a result of my honesty, the lady might choose to list the house for $100,000, which, being too high a price for my son to afford, would mean that he would not get the house.

The benefit would be that I could rest assured that my client is getting a fair deal and is satisfied with my honest work ethic. I could also sleep well knowing that I did the right thing, as Jesus would do.

Comparison

Another worldview may not have such scruples about lying, stealing, and living by the Golden Rule. One could justify that if the woman gets what she wants – selling the house quickly for $70,000, and I get what I want, a great value house for my son, then it is a win-win proposition. So, in this case, what difference does it make if the womanise uninformed about the true value of the house? Such justification might sound like this, “And indeed, experience tells us that locally capitalized neighbourhood markets do sustain their own rational order founded as they are upon an interlocking system of self-interested exchange” (Whybrow, 2010).

There could be an unintended consequence, however, if the woman should discover the true value of the house and realize that she was deceived into selling at a low price. How might she react, possibly taking me to court?

Conclusion

This dilemma causes me to wrestle with staying true to my core beliefs and trusting God with the results. For a Christian, this may be seen as a kind of test: Am I faithful to what I claim to believe, or do I allow my selfishness to gain the upper hand? I hope that if I ever face such a situation I will endeavour to do the right thing.

In this assignment, you will analyze the implications of an ethical issue according to your worldview.

Write a 1,000-1,500 word essay in which you analyze ethical thinking and use values-based decision making to address a case study from the perspective of the Christian worldview as compared to your own worldview assumptions. Choose one case study from the five options listed on the “Ethical Dilemmas” document.

After an appropriate introductory paragraph with a thesis statement in which you name the scenario you are choosing, address each of the following six sections with at least one paragraph each. Use the underlined titles for each of your headings.

1.      Ethical Dilemma: Briefly describe the ethical dilemma in your own words, including (a) what in the scenario makes it difficult to make an ethical decision and (b) at least two options for resolving the scenario, providing a brief overview of what sort of ethical decisions each option might make.

2.      Core Beliefs: What beliefs about God and humanity from the Christian worldview are relevant to the scenario? How might these core worldview commitments of Christians influence one's decision making with regard to this scenario?

3.      Resolution: Describe the Christian worldview's proposal for resolving the ethical dilemma. How should the person in the scenario act according to the Christian worldview? What is the best course of action for a Christian? (Note: The resolution should be consistent with Christian worldview commitments.)

4.      Evaluation: What might be the unintended consequences and perceived benefits of the resolution proposed by the Christian worldview?

5.      Comparison: How does the Christian worldview's resolution compare to another option?

6.      Conclusion: Synthesize the main points, pulling the ideas of the paper together.

7.      References

Use and cite two course resources (textbook, lectures, and the Bible), and at least two scholarly sources from the GCU online library that address the issue from opposing sides. Refer to the directions on “Navigating the GCU Library for CWV Benchmark Research” and the “Example Ethical Dilemma Essay” documents.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

 Resources

Whybrow, P. C. (2010). The Addictive Striving for Wealth Has Negative Social Repercussions. In R. D. Lankford, Jr. (Ed.), At Issue. Are America's Wealthy Too Powerful? Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Dangerously Addictive, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2009, March 13) Retrieved from https://library.gcu.edu:2443/login?url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010719216&source=Bookmark&u=canyonuniv&jsid=8bc5e341a2349fa327a885799c45fb80