Assignment Scenario
You and your partner are jointly members of the Quinault Indian Nation Tribal Planning Committee. The Committee is meeting to decide whether to permit bio-prospecting of Pacific yew trees for the cancer drug taxol. The Committee will meet during our class session to discuss and vote on the measure.
Preparation
- Read the case "Cancer Cure or Conservation". You do not have to answer the questions at the end of the case.
- For each of the expert witnesses described in the case, analyze what their ethical values seem to be. Describe what ethical theories (or combination of theories) they seem to be using to frame their testimony.
- Decide what position you and your partner will take on the issue. Why did you take that position? What ethical theor(ies) do you find persuasive and that you are using to justify your vote? Why are those theor(ies) convincing while others are not? (Note this comparing of ethical theories is the field of metaethics, and is discussed in more detail in the Ethical Theories Paper prompt.)
- You'll want to write out/take notes of your reasoning so you'll have them available for the discussion.
Format and Grading
I will be the chair of the Committee meeting. Each pair will give a one minute speech describing what their vote will be and why. After that, there will be open discussion. Remember that each pair functions as a team. At the end of class we'll take a vote and analyze what the various ethical theories were and how did we do in putting them in dialogue with each other.
You will be graded on whether the quality of your argumentation in your speech(es) is acceptable.
