UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST

CALOOCAN CAMPUS

ZGE 1103 ETHICS

ACTIVITY. THE SEVEN-POINT MODEL FOR MORAL REASONING

Names:

Samson, Joaquin Paulo N.

Sianghio, Sean Francis R.

Shockey, John Marion A.

Villena, Andrei S.

Viloria, Eunice Joie V.

Zapanta, Angelo Miguel A.

GROUP ACTIVITY. Analyze the moral dilemmas assigned to your group and use the Seven-Point Model for Moral Reasoning.

Be guided by the following tables:

Table 1:

What are the facts? What are the competing issues?

1. There’s an unexpected storm where we’re currently inside a cruise ship. 1. The storm is relentless and we need to evacuate quickly before it drowns us all.

2. There are different groups of people inside the cruise ship. 2. There are different groups of people who are in need of help for their survival.

3. There were some lines that had fewer people. 3. I have the capability to help those who are in need but their strength and

capability might be a problem in terms of our survivability.

4. I have the capability to help other people especially to those who are in need.. 4. I must act and help some group of people for them to have better survivability.

Table 2:

Who are the stakeholders? What are their interests?

1. (You) The Decision Maker / Passenger - To head for the lifeboats and successfully abandon the ship.
- To make the decision on whom to help or save from the group of
passengers.
2. Three families with few young children - To head for the lifeboats and successfully abandon the ship.
- To save themselves, especially the children.
3. Group of Senior Citizens - To head for the lifeboats and successfully abandon the ship.
- To find help from younger people to aid or save them.
4. Young and Strong people - To head for the lifeboats and successfully abandon the ship.
- To find other young and strong passengers for a higher chance of
survival.

Table 3: The Alternatives (you may come up with your own criteria). Give 1 point if the alternative suits the criteria, give a 0 if it does not. Get the total points to help you find the

best alternatives. Remember to list down as many alternatives as you can.

Alternatives/Criteria Practical Possible Non- Total

imaginative/ Points
Realistic

1. Help the group composed of three families with few young children 0 1 1 2

2. Help the group of seniors 0 1 1 2

3. Go with the fellow young and strong people 1 1 1 3

4. Assist only myself to survive 1 1 0 2

 5. Accepting the fate to die 0 0 0 0

Table 4: Select the quality alternatives that you have weighted in Table 3.

Quality Alternatives Ethical Principles Practical Constraints

1. Go with the young and strong people. The Utilitarian Principle There is little to no practical constraint in choosing to
go with the young and strong people. If the sole
purpose is to survive the tragedy, then being with
people who are as capable and strong as you can be
the best choice for survival. The only constraint there
can be here is the young people’s inexperience with
life-threatening situations.

2. Help the group of three families with young children.
The Principle of the Common Good
Children are perceived to be the world’s future, and
their families are the strongest support they can have.
Helping the families with their children can be the right
choice if the goal is to save as many people as
possible, but the constraint here is that you may not
even be able to save yourself.

3. Assist only myself to survive. The Principle of Justice They say that the only person you can trust in the
world is yourself. So one must depend on oneself in
everything that has to be done and needs to be done.
The constraint in only choosing to save oneself is that
you are depriving yourself of all the good things that
others may be able to aid you with. Doing things may
take more time too, as opposed to doing it as a group.
It may also ruin your reputation and make others see
you as selfish.

4. Help the group of seniors. The Principle of Virtue Old people may not be as strong and capable as the
young, but they make up for it with their wisdom. If
time is also considered a constraint due to the sinking
ship, then helping the elderly may take more time and
risk swift death.

Your decision: Go with the fellow young and strong people.

Provide a summary of justification:

Given the circumstances, it seems inevitable that the cruise ship will not be abandoned because the storm they encountered was unanticipated. Since everyone wants to

survive, it is also assumed that many passengers will attempt to rescue themselves. However, because of the shortage of lifeboats, some may be forced to make a sacrifice for

the welfare of others. The decision-maker has a variety of options to choose from. This passenger has the option to save the three young families, the group of elderly

individuals, or even just himself or herself. They also have the option to accept their death or to group together with other young, strong people. We believed that the most

reasonable alternative out of these was to go with the other strong, youthful individuals. In Table 3, it receives a total of three points since it was considered to be realistic,

possible, and practical. This option will increase the odds of survival for both the decision-maker and the strong passengers since they may switch roles in terms of steering the

lifeboat and making choices while attempting to survive and waiting for assistance. If the decision maker selected three families with few young children, their survival rate may

be reduced since the parents will be concerned about the wellbeing of the children, and these kids will also be unable to help in case of emergencies, and obviously, the

parents want the best for their child, so the parents may not aid in managing the lifeboat and making survival decisions. Because they are less capable of helping in situations,

the elderly group can also be a hindrance to having a greater chance of surviving, in our opinion. Allowing oneself to survive is also not realistic because there are a lot of

things that groups can do to help one another survive. Lastly, accepting your fate to die is not sensible because there are lifeboats that can save the lives of the chosen and

practical group of passengers, despite the fact that there is a shortage of them. In light of this, we felt that the best course of action would be to go with the other passengers

who were similarly strong and young in order to increase our chances of surviving and benefit from their assistance. Going with young and strong people with a better chance

of survival is a good choice. Young people have a lot of energy and can survive heading to lifeboats and abandoning the ship faster. Gathering all the passengers and dividing

the young and strong people to help the three families with young children and senior citizens where all groups are equal. Asking for help with the workforce and analyzing the

idea in handling such situations. With young and strong people working together, we can guide the movement and transition of families and senior citizens along the way from

the start to the end. There is a high chance of survivability by doing teamwork such as handling the lifeboat, searching for food, and repairing the boat. We can look at each

other in case of an emergency. We all have the same goal of surviving so we have to trust and support one another. What is the point of being strong and capable of doing

something to solve a problem if leaving people behind? At the end of the day, think of yourself surviving alone while others die, but you have the capability to help others, and

the people you are with also the ability to survive. The conscience will make you guilty for not helping the three families with young children and a group of senior citizens in that

situation unless you don't have a heart for others and only care for yourself.