Russell Fail
Course Objectives!
 Investigate the importance of sound ethical judgment and reasoning
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for responsible living
Analyze significant case studies using key ethical concepts
Debate significant ethical issues using respectful, clear, and incisive
argumentation
Explain, defend, and assess your own ethical perspectives on issues of
significance in your own life.
Discuss application of course knowledge in professional settings
Contact
Information
Instructor Name
and Credentials:
Russell E. Fail, PhD,
MDiv, BBA
Instructor Contact
Information
Kaplan Email
Address:
rfail@kaplan.edu
AIM Instant
Messenger Name:
russfail
Course/Seminar
Day and Time:
Mondays 7:00 PM
Grading Procedures
Main areas for grading
 Discussion Posts (Weeks 1 through 9)
 Position Paragraph (Week 3)
 Letter to Your Leader (Week 4)
 Arbitration Paper (Week 7)
 Final Application Project (Week 9)
 Seminars (Weeks 1 through 9)
 Check Your Knowledge (Weeks 1 through 9)
Final Project
 Project presents a thorough and reasoned discussion
of the student’s experiences in the course regarding
the three areas of analytical skill building, knowledge
acquisition, and practical application.
 Project used examples of your own work in a
“Portfolio”.
 Project can be Word or PowerPoint
 Examples posted in Doc Sharing
Discussion Grading
 1. Extent that all discussion questions are answered with
substantive posts of 100 words or more.
 2. Extent that substantial contributions are made to the
discussion threads each week by responding to at least two
other students for each thread.
 3. Extent that proper grammar and punctuation are used
and writing is demonstrated at the collegiate level.
Seminar Participation
 1. Your prompt arrival to the session. You should also not
plan to leave the session early; doing so may result in a
lower seminar participation grade.
 2. The extent to which you actively contribute ideas related
to concepts being discussed.
 3. The extent to which you have prepared for the session by
reading Unit material and are prepared to discuss seminar
topics.
 4. The extent to which you do not interrupt the session
with off-topic chatter.
Seminar Discussion Board Grading
 1. Answers must be at least 100 words long and be
interactive in nature.
 2. You must explain your answers fully. You must
submit at least one post per seminar discussion thread:
your initial and one response.
 3. If you attend a seminar other than mine, post this on
the Seminar Option 2 board.
Late Policy
 Late discussion posts must be emailed to me after the unit ends and
will be automatically deducted the class participation portion of the
discussion grade.
 Late projects are subject to 10% deduction (one letter grade) per unit
late.
 If an emergency comes up, please contact me so I can work with you.
 Final projects are not accepted late unless an incomplete has been
granted or in some health or family emergencies. This is at the
discretion of the instructor.
Seminar Routine
 Discussion the old business of last week’s work.
 Discuss the new business of the current week’s work.
 Discuss the seminar questions.
What is Ethics?
 Ethics is the study of those values that relate to our moral
conduct, including questions of good and evil, right and
wrong, and moral responsibility.
 Ethics is traditionally one of three branches of philosophy
 Metaphysics: What is real?
 Epistemology: How do we know?
 Ethics: How should we act?
Divisions in Ethics
 Ethics is traditionally divided into major groups of
theories
 Consequential (teleological) Theories
 Nonconsequential (deontological) Theories
 Virtue Ethics
Seminar Question 1!
 After reading the course syllabus, what expectations of the
course are still unclear to you?
Seminar Question 2!
 What skills might you acquire by studying ethics and
participating in the learning activities of this course?
 Are they important in your own personal or
professional life?
 Are they important in your own personal or
professional life?
 Can you think of examples of consequential or non-
consequential reasoning that have affected your home
life, your work environment or your community in the
past week?
Any Questions?