Rory Faust

5/5/06

1.) One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the major idea of the section.

     The key idea of this section was morality in three huge parts and sectors of our modern world today. We studied the just war theory, medical ethics, and business ethics. These three areas are huge contributors to life as we know it. Ethics is truly present in these three areas and has shaped our world into what it is today. Ethics and morality will always play a role in our world that is often at war, expanding economically, and gaining new insights into treating those who are ill. By studying the morality of war, business, and medicine, we can learn to make better and more moral decisions in these three areas in the future.

2.) List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.

1. First of all, I want to remember the Jus In Bellum criteria of the Just War Theory. Jus In Bellum states that at no times in a just war will discrimination take place, and proportionality will always be considered. Discrimination requires that noncombatants must be immune from direct attack. Proportionality states that the values sought by the use of a particular means must outweight the harm caused by the means. (the ends do not justify the means) If we look at these two requirements of just war, we can determine if the wars we are in are just or not.
2. Secondly, I want to remember that decisions in many hospitals often aren't medical decisions, but ethical decisions. Moral decisions are made every day in hospitals worldwide. Often these decisions are not formed easily or suggest one correct solution. For example, at the University of Chicago Hospital, doctors had to determine if they would let a family member of a young girl needing a liver transplant to donate part of his liver, which would in turn possibly hurt him. The doctors decided not to let the girl's uncle donate part of his liver and placing his own life at stake. Medical Ethics is a huge part of treating the ill in these modern times considering the abundance of technology that can be used to prolong life. Morals do and will continue to play a large role in hospitals in the future.

3. Lastly, I want to remember how Aaron Feurstein dealt with the catastrophe of his Polartec plant burning down. Instead of walking away with $300 million, Feurstein decided to pay his workers salaries for 60 days and also decided to rebuild the plant in the same place and re-hire his former employees. Many say that the wise business decision would have been to relocate his factory overseas where labor, land, and taxes would have been less. Feurstein however, did what he thought was right, the true moral decsion. Feurstein became a model of business ethics and is admired for what he did for his empolyees to this day. Morailty in Ethics sometimes calls for people to make an unorthodox business decision and one that could hurt the company in the end. Most big businesses do not make the right decision or moral decision, but it is people like Feurstein who give the business world hope for a better and more moral future.
   

   3.) Images that remind you of key ideas.

   
   This is a production of what Jesus's Sermon on the MOunt might have looked like.
   Image from "PC World"

   4.) What the most relevant question for you from this section? Why not take some time to answer your question?

   I believe the most relevant question for me is...What do I want for myself should I come into a vegetative state or become dependent on machines and tubes for sustinance?
   I don't think that I would want to stay alive if I were unconscious or permanently stuck in a vegetative state. I would rather let nature take its course than unconsciously be hooked up to machines for the rest of my life. If a decision were to be made about my life, I would hope that I could trust and know my family well enough to have them make a decision for taking both me and my familiy's best interests into consideration.

   5.) What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more moral person, from this study of these three key issues?

        In order to become a more moral person, I should observe the ethics going on around me not just those moral ideas that directly affect me but those issues of worldly concern. I can learn more about worldly business practices, medical practices, or who is at war with who among other moral dilemmas. By trying to understand these complex issues, I can make myself a more educated person and then take a stronger moral stand for what I believe in.
   
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