Assignment Task
Task
1) One of the points in favour of UBI outlined in Simon Birnbaum’s “The Ethics of Basic Income” is that a basic income would provide “exit-based empowerment” that “could thus enable citizens to build relationships and negotiate terms of agreement in which they are treated as equals” (p. 519). What does he mean? Do you agree?
2) Consider the points about UBI made by Leah Hamilton and Stacia Martin-West, and especially the claim that social workers have a moral imperative to support a universal income. Do you agree with this claim, and why?
3) What is “the fallacy of philanthropy,” according to Paul Gomberg? Is his critique of this alleged fallacy persuasive?
4) According to Herring and Wall, what is the difference between the concepts of “bodily autonomy” and “bodily integrity?” Might the latter concept be more useful than the former for negotiating the ethics of abortion?
5) In chapter three of Practical Ethics, Peter Singer makes an argument by analogy, comparing racist practices like slavery to our contemporary practices with animals. How does his argument work? Is it convincing?
6) In “Eating Meat and Eating People,” Cora Diamond describes herself as a “vegetarian, but one distressed by the obtuseness of the normal arguments” (p. 468) in favour of ethical vegetarianism. Describe what Diamond thinks is obtuse about Peter Singer’s position. Is she right?
7) In “The Ethics of Climate Change,” Avner de Shalit describes two ways of acting to address climate change: “private action and changes in lifestyle” and “public and political action” (p. 552). What are the strengths and weaknesses of these two strategies, according to de Shalit? Given the severity of the climate crisis as outlined in the 2021 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, do you agree with de Shalit’s conclusion that both modes of action are “worthy of pursuing and are of equal moral weight”?
8) Did Edward Snowden act ethically when he leaked classified information from the National Security Agency?
9) Do you agree with Greene and Latting that whistleblowing can be understood as a form of advocacy in social work practice? Could Ceva and Bocchiola’s distinction between the “Extreme Ratio” and “Deontic” views of whistleblowing be useful to a social worker considering whether blowing the whistle would qualify as an act of genuine advocacy?
10) Are you persuaded by Simon Caney’s argument that “those who bear the brunt of global injustice are permitted to engage in resistance in order to secure their rights and those of others”?
