After you have read through the section on the Critical Thinking Model in Chapter 4 and the sections in Chapter 5 on Act Utilitarianism in your text:
Read Case 1 in Chapter 24
Apply the steps of Act Utilitarianism to resolve the main moral issue. You must use a chart to complete this assignment. Since you are using a chart there is no set word count but be detailed.
You can refer to the chart you created in the previous module, (for stakeholders and options) BUT you need to create a new chart for this assignment since you will need to apply the appropriate numbers, scale and net utility. (The two charts have two different purposes and thus you have to make a new chart and explain the chart based upon the principles of Act Utilitarianism.)
DO NOT copy and paste your chart from Module 4. You can use the same stakeholders and options if they worked well for the last module. But, you are making an entirely different chart using numbers for this Module. If, in your feedback from Module 4, I have suggested changes to your options or stakeholders, or even the issue itself, please make those corrections for this Module.
The inside of your chart for this week will only have numbers in it. Other than showing the stakeholders and options on the edge of the chart, this chart is just meant to have numbers to show net utility.
You need to have a minimum of 3 options and a minimum of 4 stakeholders. As mentioned in the last module, one of your stakeholders needs to be a group. That group stakeholder will be important when you make your chart for this module. You will need to multiply your happiness points by the number of people in that group. (You will just estimate that number. You don’t have to be exact.)
In addition to your chart, you also need to explain the steps fully and explain what the chart means in context to the situation and how Act Utilitarianism is being applied. I need to see your thinking. Write the explanation as if you are explaining the theory and how it applies to this situation to someone who knows nothing about it at all. This needs to include explaining the values of net utility that you used in the chart. The explanation of how you came up the the net utility values is the most important thing.
After I finish grading the assignment I want to know that you 1. understand Act Utilitarianism and 2. understand how to apply Act Utilitarianism to this situation.
The purpose of this assignment is for you to think “as if” you are Jeremy Bentham or John Stuart Mill and find the “right” answer to our dilemma according to Act Utilitarianism.
Tips for Doing Well on This Assignment
My suggestion would be to one by one list, explain and then apply each of the steps of this theory. The steps of the theory are listed in the little green/gray boxes in Chapter 5.
Be sure and read the Help for Applying Act Utility below, as well as the Drop Box Grading Criteria, which is also below. These two documents will assist you in preparing a complete answer.
Be sure and allow yourself plenty of time for this assignment. These usually take some practice and some time to work through. It is a step by step analysis. Don’t leave out any steps, and fully explain all of your thinking for each step. I would expect that this answer will take more time to complete than the previous drop box assignments.
Remember to leave your opinions out of the analysis. You should not state, “I think Jack should do…..” You may even come up with an outcome you personally don’t agree with. That is fine. This is not about what you think. This is completely about what Act Utilitarianism tells us we should do in this situation.
These answers do not have to look like a traditional essay. Often there are lists, bullets, charts, etc. Think of these answers as like working a math problem. You will just step by step work through the theory to get an “answer.” You can also think of these like working through a cake recipe. You have to one by one follow the directions exactly to get the cake to turn out the way it is supposed to.
There is not one “right” answer. So, don’t worry about trying to make your answer like everyone else’s. While there are general themes to all of the answers, they all are unique.
The process of working through the answer, and showing all of your thinking is actually more important than the actual answer.
Read feedback – If feedback from the previous assignment informed you of errors please correct those errors for this assignment.
Dropbox Rules
YOU CANNOT SUBMIT MORE THAN ONCE (except for originality issues – see below), so be sure your assignment is complete.
ATTACH your submission in the proper MS Word format .doc or .docx or .rtf.
If you have any technical problems contact Technical Support immediately. Their contact information is online – just click “Online Help” above.
Include your word count.
Use your own words and give credit (citations). See Understanding Plagiarism Activity and How to Avoid Plagiarism in Module 1 – Academic Integrity.
Always view your Originality Report, and resubmit if needed. To learn how to view your originality report, go to Course Content>MyCourses Tutorials>Dropbox>Viewing a TurnItIn (Originality Report).
