Introduction to Ethics only 2 paragraphs
Module 4 will be dealing with the relationship between blame and causation.
Prior to covering that material, I would like for you to think about how
causation and blame are related, using the following scenarios.
Scenario 1: Without your roommate's approval, you take their car out for a
joy ride and ride it fast and hard, braking heavy at times. On the way home
you recognize that the brakes are not working as well as they were prior to
you taking the car (assume that you are the cause of the faulty brakes).
Despite this knowledge, you do not tell your roommate. The next day, your
roommate is headed to school. On the way to school, they see a dog dart
into the road, slam on the brakes, but the brakes did not work as
efficiently as they normally do. They hit the dog, and it dies.
Scenario 2: Your roommate is about to drive to school. As a joke, you hide
their keys. They spend a few minutes looking and finally you tell them
where you hid the keys.On the way to school, they are carelessly driving
and hit a dog that had run into the street. The dog dies as a result. They
come home and say that you are the cause of the dog's death and that you
are morally to blame. After all, if it was not for your hiding their keys,
they would have long passed the dog that darted into the street, despite
their careless driving.
Scenario 3: Your roommate is about to drive to school. You stop them and
ask if they can help you lift a box prior to leaving for school. They
gladly help. On the way to school, they are carelessly driving and hit a
dog that had run into the street. The dog dies as a result. They come home
and say that you are the cause of the dog's death and that you are morally
to blame. After all, if it was not for your request to help lift the box,
they would have long passed the dog that darted into the street, despite
their careless driving.
Scenario 4: You convince your friend to move in with you. One day they are
headed to school. They are driving carelessly and hit a dog that had run
into the street. The dog dies as a result. They come home and say that you
are the cause of the dog's death and that you are morally to blame. After
all, if you did not ask them to move in with you, they would have never
happened to hit the dog, despite their careless driving.
Write a two paragraph response in which you answer the following questions?
Paragraph 1
a. In which of the scenarios (if any) would you say that you are the cause
of the dog's death? Explain your answer. Be sure to say why you are the
cause (if indeed you are) in some of the scenarios and why you are not the
cause in others. In other words, what is the key difference which makes you
the cause in some of the scenarios (if indeed you are) and not the cause in
others?
b. In your response in 1a, how are you defining 'cause' and how does your
definition of 'cause' help determine your answer to 1a?
Paragraph 2
a. In which of the scenarios (if any) would you say that you are morally to
blame for the death of the dog? Explain your answer using concepts we have
learned from previous modules. Be sure to clearly connect those concepts to
the scenario(s) in which you think you are morally to blame. And if you
think you are not morally to blame in any of the scenarios, be sure to
explain how the concepts regarding moral blame fail to connect to the
scenarios.
b. From your responses in 1a, 1b, and 2a and from comparing the above four
scenarios, how do you think causation and moral blame are related and/or
not related? Be sure to explain your answer.
Other than 2a, I am asking you to think about how we use terms like 'cause'
and 'blame' in ordinary, day to day reasoning. Other than in 2a, there are
no right or wrong answers. What I will be looking for is how completely you
respond to each part of the prompt and how well you explain your answers.
I just need to answer the questions at the bottom in 2 paragraphs
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