Excelsior College Ethics Exam Study Guide, II. Practice

Table of Contents

Excelsior College Ethics Exam Study Guide Home
I. Theory
A. Basic theories
B. Basic concepts
C. Metaethics
D. Moral deliberation
II. Practice
Sources

II. Practice

1. Social and personal issues (For example: personal behavior and relationships, including friendship, gender roles, privacy, and children’s rights; social and political issues, including censorship, aging, care of older persons, humanitarian intervention, and violence)

   Jane English argues that children do not owe their parents just because their parents fed and protected them when they were younger. She says that adult children only owe their parents to the extent that they are (or are not) friends with their parents.

2. Medical issues (for example: autonomy, informed consent, and confidentiality, including treatment decisions and competence; patient rights; death and dying, including withholding and withdrawing care, euthanasia and the risks of abuse, refusal of treatment, and definitions of death; genetics and reproduction, including fetal rights, parental rights, abortion, reproductive technologies and risks, and genetic engineering)
   1. Active euthanasia is when someone takes an active role in helping someone to die. For example, administering enough drugs to kill someone is active.
   2. Passive euthanasia is when we let people die to do inaction. For example, removing a feeding tube is passive.

3. Professional and business issues (for example: professional/client and employer/employee relationships, including employee loyalty, privacy issues, whistle-blowing, and definitions of professions; equal opportunity and affirmative action, including comparable worth/pay equity and treatment of the disabled; doing business in a global economy, including international norms and ethical relativism; business and consumers, including health and safety issues; business regulation and moral/legal issues, including public awareness and disclosure and responsibilities to concerned stakeholders)

   Affirmative action is a system whereby minorities and women gain easier access to employment and education.

4. Environmental issues (For example: attitudes, positions, and theories, including egocentrism, anthropocentrism, and deep ecology; the environment, including resource use, global justice, and future generations; nonhuman life forms, including sentience, species, and animals)

   Anthropocentrism is a term used to describe the belief that humans are the most important species on the planet and that the needs of humans supersede all other species.

Sources

• Arthur, J (Ed.). (2002). Morality and moral controversies (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.
• Beauchamp, T.L. (2001). Philosophical ethics (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
• Holmes, R.L. (2003). Basic moral philosophy (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Inc.
• Honderich, T (Ed.). (1995). The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press

Liked it? Take a second to support Hunter Hogan on Patreon!