105 Ethics

When and Where:​​ Term II at NRTI, Baroda

Course Website​​ : nrti.edu.in/ethics105
Credits ​ : 2 credits / 20 contact hours / 10 sessions of 120 minutes

Faculty:
Dr Mathai Fenn has Ph.D. in Humanities and Social Sciences from IIT Bombay. His areas of
interest are in the field of Cognitive Psychology - how ideas are formed, stored, retrieved and
communicated.

Methodologically he remains committed to a non-reductionist Gestalt Perspective with a special

focus on Narratives and their power to shape our view of the world.

mathai@nrti.edu.in​ ; ​http://www.nrti.edu.in/faculty

Course Introduction:
As transportation and technology bring the world closer together, we also encounter people who
may not see the world as we do in order to understand them we must first have a clear
perspective on our own ethics. In our highly networked world, it is said that a butterfly flapping
its wings in brazil can cause a tornado in texas.1 We are increasingly aware of the global
implications of even small actions that we do, for eg: choosing public transport over traveling by
private car. It is clearly important that young people need to be aware of the ethical dimensions
of life and the choices they make. This course is aimed at introducing the ethical dimension to
undergraduate students in NRTI ( ​http://nrti.edu.in​ ).

The course is divided into two modules. The first module introduces students to perspectives in
ethics. This part will cover questions like ​What is Ethics? Can it be taught? What are the
different perspectives of ethics? How is ethics relevant to my life? ​ The second will deal with the
field of Applied Ethics and will deal with actual ethical problems that students are likely to face in
their work and their life.

1
Proposed by ​Edward Lorenz​.
Course Philosophy
The Ethics 105 course is an introduction to ethics and its aim is to introduce students to the
ethical dimension of things. It is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of ethical
philosophy. Despite it being an introductory course, it aims to achieve deep learning through the
use of Theatre and the ​ ​Maieutic Method​, which is best suited to achieve depth of analysis
demanded for a study of ethics.

Course Objectives
At the end of the course students will...
1. have the vocabulary and conceptual tools to analyze and describe ethical dimensions of
real life problems
2. be able to identify ethical issues through the application of theoretical perspectives to
real life situations
3. be able to explore their own values and ethical perspectives through the Maieutic
Method

Assessment (​Details of the assessment Criteria will be released separately​.)

Comp

Daily Assessment 50%

Script 20%

Ethics Theatre 30%

1. Daily assessment (​​Maieutic Method​):​ ​ A group 3 of students are selected at random to

outline one or more of the topics listed for the day. Another group of 3 students (also
chosen at random) are asked to represent their perspective on what has been
discussed. This kicks off the discussion for the day.

This is evaluated only negatively. If a student’s answer reflects he or she has done
background preparation, he retains full marks even if the answer is wrong. If the student
is absent OR has not prepared, he or she forfeits 10% of the total grade points for the
course. The same is repeated next day.
 Weight - 50%

2. Ethical Theatre (E.T.) 2 components (Group Work)

a. Script​​: A script has to be submitted on or before the middle of the course. The
script has to highlight a practical issue that can happen at work or in the family.
The cast will be the group members. The script has to focus on the ethical
problem in a realistic situation. It also has to reflect one or more ethical principles
discussed in the first part of the course. ​Weight 20%
b. Production​​: The last two days the student teams will present their theatrical
production. Each team will have 15 min to present their play.Teams are expected
to rehearse their plays very well. Scores will take into account creativity but will
NOT include costumes and props. ​Weight 30%

Session Plan: Each Session covers 120 minutes. (​​Remember, students are expected to
come prepared for each class.)
Session Title Core Topics
No

1 Ethics and You DW Horizon Case.

2 Ethical Conflicts Ethics, Justice, Fairness and Equity

3 Perspectives on ethics Virtue Ethics, De-ontology, Pragmatics, Hedonism,

4 Ethics in the Personal vs Professional Ethics. Corruption, the problem

Workplace of agency (if boss orders you to do an unethical act..?)

5 Ethics and What is your role in society? What is your responsibility

Society/civics to others (beyond yourself and your family?)

6 Medical Ethics / Life Abortion, Euthanasia, quality of life, economics of

healthcare

7 Bioethics/Playing God Bio Ethics. Monsanto and GM Foods, cloning, organ

harvesting, etc

8 Ethics and the Economic Disparity and Distributive Justice.Capitalism

Economy and Alternate Views of Growth

9 ET 1 Groups 1-5

10 ET 2 Groups 6-10
Learning Resources:
A list of learning resources will be uploaded here. Students are reminded that they have to do
their own research beyond these materials.
The following list of keywords are to help you prepare for each class. You are required to come
prepared so that you can discuss these keywords in class. Remember: If your name is called
and you are not in class, you still forfeit points
Session Keywords
No