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The First Question:
What’s Your Problem?
Spell out, in some detail, what makes this situation a moral dilemma. Leave yourself with a
clearly stated question to be answered.
hapter 1 is built around the first question, which asks decision makers to determine
whether a situation is a moral dilemma. As we discuss:
Not all problems are moral problems.
resources needed to help us make decisions.
The law may be necessary, but it is rarely sufficient in making ethical decisions.
The best success at using a framework to make ethical decisions begins with
being able to describe the problem in all its nuances.
C
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Chapter 1
Ethics and Moral Reasoning
s the lone chapter dedicated to the first question of the “Ws and H,” Chapter 1 covers a
great deal of ground that may seem random to students. This class session can be used
to restate—and pull together—the chapter’s discussion of:
Definitions of ethics (above the neck) and morality (below the neck.)
Differences in types of ethics: descriptive, non-theoretic, normative ethical
theory, meta-ethics, and applied ethics.
Learning Objectives
The discussion of Chapter 1 can introduce students to the “Ws and H” list (if not done
Teaching Suggestions
We suggest these activities:
1. Work through Case 1.1 or 1.2. In a class involving students in many disciplines,
A
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As the book says, focus on the questions asked in the “Thinking About the Cases”
subhead, which includes asking whether it’s a moral or a non-moral dilemma. Some
students may see it as a non-moral issue: If the boss says keep your mouth shut, then
2. Work through the chapter’s key points in a lecture/discussion. If using the
accompanying PowerPoint, they include:
a. A brief introduction to the “Ws and H.” While you may introduce them in the
first course meeting, you may also choose to wait until after students have read the
b. Reasons to do good. The meta-ethical question “Why do good?” may be useful
in clarifying the reasons for the course, and for media ethics. Expect students to supply
answers that include religious reasons, because we’ll be punished if we aren’t (a
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c. Categories of ethics. Note how the previous discussion was an example of
meta-ethics, one branch of ethics. After briefly mentioning descriptive, non-theoretic,
and meta-ethics, define normative ethical theory and applied ethics, and how those two
are the focus of the class.
g. Defining and contrasting ethics vs. morality.
h. Stating that ethics and credibility are not the same. Ethics is what we are, while
credibility is what people think we are.
i. Stating that ethics is not the same as the law. Invite students to provide
examples of things that are legal and ethical, illegal and unethical, legal but unethical,
It also may be useful to ask students to provide media-related examples of
illegal/unethical (child porn, libel, plagiarism, etc.), legal/unethical (stealth advertising,
“sock–puppet” PR campaigns, some undercover journalism efforts, etc.) and
illegal/ethical (refusing to reveal a source, etc.)
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j. Discussing the ethics related to assigned, contracted, and assumed
relationships. Ask students to provide examples of each.
Invite students to discuss “Practical Application” question 5: “What experience have
you had with assigned, contracted, and assumed relationships? Which experiences were
most satisfactory, and which were problematic?” Students will likely focus on assigned
relationships, since they are likely on the receiving end. But they may have signed