Library Resources: REL207: Ritual, Symbol, and Myth (Carleton): Ethics Assignment

Ethical Question #1

Affirmative Action in college: does it benefit minorities OR is it discrimination? What is the downside (remember you have to consider ALL sides)?

Background Information on Affirmative Action
From the Encyclopedia of Business, Ethics, and Society comes this entry on affirmative action. It gives some really good background to help you understand the context of your argument.
Opposing Viewpoints, Affirmative Action
The library's online resource Opposing Viewpoints is an excellent source to get opinions (see Viewpoints articles on page), articles, scholarly research, statistics and more on a wide variety of articles. Here is Opposing Viewpoints breakdown of the topic Affirmative Action.
Colleges and Affirmative Action
Another good resource that does a quality 360 look at topics is CQ Researcher. Here they break down the question of Affirmative Action in Colleges.
Social Justice and Affirmative Action
From the journal "Ethnic and Racial Studies" comes this analysis of Affirmative Action from a social justice perspective.
Books on Affirmative Action...

Ethical Question #2

Should companies like Apple or Facebook help the FBI hack the phones or accounts of the terrorists who have killed innocent people?

FBI Requests Unlocking of Apple iPhone
This article provides a great context for the ethical question up for debate by revealing the real-life example of where Apple refused to give in to the FBI's demand to gather data from a phone.
Where tech leaders stand on the Apple vs. FBI debate
Many people have weighed in on the debate between Apple and the FBI. Here are some of the positions of a few of the tech leaders.
Apple's battle with the FBI: who's supporting them – and who's not?
Here is another list of where different individuals stand on the debate.
Obama, at South by Southwest, Calls for Law Enforcement Access in Encryption Fight
Obama, president at the time, stood against Apple in the debate and argued that tech leaders have an obligation to give the government access to data on the phones of terrorists and other unsavory characters.
Opposing Viewpoints, Domestic Surveillance
This ethical question fits broadly under the umbrella of question of domestic surveillance, or what rights do the government have to spy upon its citizens? This Opposing Viewpoint page breaks down some of these questions with Viewpoint articles (that argue different positions around the issue), magazines, newspapers, statistics, and more.
Books on Domestic Surveillance...

Ethical Question #3

If known terrorists are gathered in a building, should it be bombed even though civilians are also in the building?

Collateral Damage
This article gives a general introduction to concepts of collateral damage and civilian casualties.
Middle East civilian deaths have soared under Trump. And the media mostly shrug.: The ‘collateral damage’ of secret drone strikes were a stain on Obama’s presidency and has only grown since he left office.
This Washington Post article discusses the many civilian deaths that occur as a result of things such as drone strikes.
Airstrike Hits Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Afghanistan
Here is an example of an airstrike that winded up hitting a hospital.
Drones: Actually the Most Human Form of Warfare Ever
In this article, a person defends drone warfare as relatively humane compared to other types of wars which, the author argues, always results in civilian casualties.
Books on Civilian Casualties...

Ethical Question #4

Would you torture a military suspect to get information that would protect our citizens?

Opposing Viewpoints, Torture
Opposing Viewpoints examines the question of torture on this page through a variety of opinion pieces (called Viewpoints), newspaper articles, magazine articles, and a variety of other sources.
Global Public Opinion Regarding the Use of Government-Sponsored Torture to Gain Information about Possible Terrorist Attacks, 2015
This link is an opinion poll that details the amount of support for torture across the globe.
Books on Torture Debate...