Watford Grammar School for Boys Philosophy, Religion and Ethics Scheme of Work

Watford Grammar School for Boys Philosophy, Religion and Ethics Scheme of Work

Title: Applied ethics

Year group: 12

Term:Spring 1

Weeks 6

• the religious origins of this concept (that human life is made in God’s image and is therefore sacred in value)
• the secular origins of this significant concept (that human life has to possess certain attributes in order to have value)

• Definitions of sanctity of life and quality of life.
• Similarities and differences between the religious and secular definitions.
• Brainstorm ways that the S/L & Q/L can be applied to euthanasia.

• Voluntary - what it is (that a person’s life is ended at their request or with their consent) and its use in the case of incurable or terminal illness

• Non voluntary - what it is (that a person’s life is ended without their consent but with the consent of someone representing their interests) and its use in the case of a patient who is in a persistent vegetative state

• Look to a topical case of Euthanasia and elicit students views. For example Reg Crew and Dan James.
• Then use Medical ethics 2 in Oliphant heavily for an exploration of the key issues of VE.

• the application of natural law and situation ethics to euthanasia
• whether or not the religious concept of sanctity of life has any meaning in twenty-first century medical ethics
• whether or not a person should or can have complete autonomy over their own life and decisions made about it
• whether or not there is a moral difference between medical intervention to end a patient’s life and medical non-intervention to end a patient’s life

• Presentations – how does natural law and situation ethics apply to euthanasia.
• Debate: do religious concepts have any relevance in the 21st Century.
• Silent debates

• CSR - what it is (that a business has responsibility towards the community and environment) and its application to stakeholders, such as employees, customers, the local community, the country as whole and governments

• Whistleblowing - what it is (that an employee discloses wrongdoing to the employer or the public) and its application to the contract between employee and employer

• What is corporate responsibility? Read Bowie for details…use Macdonald’s trailer to illustrate the point.
• Discuss this, and other examples, such as the tobacco example where they sell to less educated in 3rd world.
• Define whistleblowing

• Good ethics is good business - what it is (that good business decisions are good ethical decisions) and its application to shareholders and profit-making
• Globalisation - what it is (that around the world economies, industries, markets, cultures and policy-making is integrated) and its impact on stakeholders

• Define good ethics is good business
• Define globalisation
• Look at organization who are anti globalisation
• Find examples of business who believe in good ethics e.g. Ben & Jerry, Argos

• the application of Kantian ethics and utilitarianism to business ethics
• whether or not the concept of corporate social responsibility is nothing more than ‘hypocritical window-dressing’ covering the greed of a business intent on making profits
• whether or not human beings can flourish in the context of capitalism and consumerism
• whether globalisation encourages or discourages the pursuit of good ethics as the foundation of good business

• Brainstorm how to apply Kant and utilitarianism.
• For and against – CSR as ‘hypocritical window-dressing’
• What is capitalism and consumerism?
• For and against globalisation