RW#2 guidelines

Assessment Description – RW#2

You have to write 200-250 words based on your personal experience with the Ethics course objectives and your volunteering experience. These writings will be the basis for the final presentation. You can use the reflective model for experiential learning (See Course materials) as a guideline for the structure of your writing. ·         Explain the ethical theories you have personally experienced as a volunteer. Explain  the how ethical theories you’ve learned about so far in the course apply to your volunteer experience. Review theories: Consequentialism, virtue-based, utilitarianism, egoism & contractarianism. Refer to these to complete your assignment. 1.     Describe a specific experience/interaction at ZHO that relates to one or more of the theories. Think about how you have dealt with the students.  How do you speak to them, act with them? 2.     Describe and explain the theory in your own words and relate your experience to the theory. Describe the connection. How does how you  have dealt and interacted with the students link or connect with what you have learnt in class. 3.     Evaluate your learning in the course so far and assess how well it is supporting you in your volunteerism. What have you learnt from the course?  Do you think it has helped you to understand how people behave and act?  Has it changed how you think about things? 4.     Analyze how you would want to use any of these theories in your future. How could what you have learnt so far, help you in the future?

Consequentialist – Of all the things a person might do at any given moment, the morally right action is the one with the best overall consequences.

Utilitarianism - This says that the ethically right choice in a given situation is the one that produces the most happiness and the least unhappiness for the largest number of people.

Virtue-based – It’s the right thing to do.  Virtue ethics is about people rather than action based: it looks at the virtue or moral character of the person carrying out an action, rather than at ethical duties and rules, or the consequences of particular actions.

Contractarianism – Ethical theory that we make the right choices under a hypothetical social contract. (unwritten contract that we obey the law.  If we behave morally, other people will behave morally towards us.)

Ethical Egoism – Own self -interest.  An action is good if it maximizes your own self-interest and an action is bad if it is against your self-interest.