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Chapter 12
Virtue, Justice, and Care
e admit it: Chapter 12’s selection of these three whisperers is idiosyncratic. We have
chosen three sets of philosophies we believe offer the best insight into issues that
deserve special consideration by mass media practitioners. Simply put, the ultimate act
of making ethical choices should not begin and end with consequences and duties.
Chapter 12 may also be seen as an extended discussion of values introduced in Chapter
6, but they are deeper explications of those values that the philosophers we introduce
Learning Objectives
A successful discussion of Chapter 12 will lead students to:
See the context of the book’s five ethics approaches (teleology, deontology,
virtue, justice, and care), and how the final three are related to teleological and
deontological approaches.
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Teaching Suggestions
We suggest these activities:
1. Use the PowerPoint, which:
a. Begins with a reminder of The Fifth Question and the review of the previous
approaches—consequentialism and deontology. Then it asks: “But are these the other
considerations when ‘doing ethics?’”
i. Make Aristotle’s argument that we “be” ethical, not just do ethical things. Ask
students to identify media-related examples of virtue lying between deficiency and
excess. (Journalists who properly challenge authority—somewhere between fear and
ii. Review the list of traits of a virtuous communicator. Ask which of these are more
important than others. Ask which ones should be removed, or what should be added?
(The list is the fourth paragraph under the section “If Aristotle, a Virtue Ethicist, Were
Sharing Your Office.”)
Aristotle’s approach useful and worthy of discussion, but not sufficient in making
practical decisions in media work.
d. Discuss John Rawls’s justice-focused theory. The slides:
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i. Show Rawls’s theory, a deontological approach that says justice and fairness are
key to keeping the “social contract” that we have with each other. He says those “social
goods” should be fairly shared, unless there’s we can all agree that there’s a reason not
to.
ii. Spend a great deal of time working through the “who wins, who loses” question
to identify the stakeholders. (In a small class, use an index card or blank playing cards
to write down each stakeholder—if possible, identify one stakeholder for each person in
the class. In a larger class, you might want to identify the stakeholders in advance and
prepare for each student a card with a random stakeholder listed.)
v. Do the “unveiling” of decisions and each student’s role as a stakeholder. They
can do that by turning over the card once they’ve offered their decision and
justification. Or, for more fun, have each student place his/her card so everyone else—
vi. Return to the PowerPoint by discussing the value of justice and fairness in mass
media. Note that journalists may define it, and see it as more important, than other
mass media disciplines. But don’t think that the distinctions necessarily make
journalists more morally pure, as we discuss models of responsible advocacy in Chapter
9’s “Persuasion and Propaganda” section.
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viii. Discuss the criticisms of Rawls—it’s too-broad focus, its lack of practicality, its
liberal nature, etc.
f. Discuss Carol Gilligan’s ethics of care. The slides:
i. Can start with another criticism of Rawls—that “justice” and “fairness” have too
ii. Gilligan would say that any sort of media that is demeaning or stereotypical of
people would be ethically unsound. If Gilligan were sharing your office, she’d say we
should focus on community, and talk with our audience, not to them. We should care
for and about others. Justice is important, but so is the need to build relationships and
to be respectful—and not jam our beliefs down the throats of others.
ii. But the Golden Rule could become about revenge and exacting repayment when
not applied ethically or with mercy or forgiveness. (Is “an eye for an eye” ethical?)
When ethical, the Golden Rule is applied consistently and lived by all—which could
lead to “full empathy as a sign of respect” for others.
Case Study Notes
Note: This third run through the case studies printed in Chapter 10 asks students to use
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when doing ethics.
For a comprehensive final exam question, and one that students can answer using the
notes they created for each of the “Who’s Whispering in Your Ear?” chapters, consider
Question 7:
“Of all the ethical approaches discussed in Chapters 10 through 12, which worked “best