Happy People, Happy CommunitiesCommunitarianism is the belief that the community as a whole is more important than any individual and that a person has a duty to make sure that everyone in the community is as happy as possible. In other words, no citizen would be outstandingly happy at the expense of the others who might suffer inordinately. We actually see this idea in Article 29(1) of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.”Do you think that it is possible in a society as racially, religiously, and ethnically diverse as the United States to rationally strive for a social ideal of the common good to which we are all committed in this very large American “community”? Explain your position.If we have a duty to the community to promote the general good, does this negate an individual from choosing destructive behavior (such as getting lung disease from smoking, drinking alcohol excessively, using illegal drugs, and so forth)? In other words, do you think that are we required to sacrifice our individual selfishness (i.e., individual desires/choices) and, perhaps, happiness, for the good of the whole? Why or why not?Look at the previous question, and remember that we are also citizens of the global community, which means that your community includes all people in every nation on the planet. Do you believe that you have a duty to give up some of your happiness in order to make sure that others around the world are not suffering? Why or why not?Note: this is for a discussion form. 75-150 words are required.

Ethics and Society Assignment #1 Platonic Philosophy in Contemporary Culture Instructions: It is all too tempting to read the Republic as an antiquated piece of fiction. I hope that students are realizing that the basic issues and challenges that all societies face do not change through time and across space; the only things that change are the unique ways particular societies confront them. The struggle to live the ethical life is a struggle relevant for all times and places; this assignment is designed to get students to see how that struggle is manifesting in contemporary culture. Students are to write a short essay relating central concepts from Plato’s Republic to contemporary culture. Essays should first present Plato’s perspective on the issue using adequate textual support. Once this is accomplished, students must relate and compare his views to those of contemporary culture. Ultimately, if contemporary culture diverges from the views offered in the Republicstudents should say which is preferable and why. If a student intends to show that Socrates’ views are inadequate or deficient in some manner, the student must first demonstrate that he or she fully comprehends those views by proving that he or she knows why Socrates says what he says in the context of the book. Papers that are all response without first proving you understand what you are responding to will earn minimal credit. Requirements: • Papers must be at minimum 3 full typed double spaced pages in 12 Times New Roman font. The quickest way to lose points is to turn in 2 ¾ pages. • Students must incorporate textual support from the primary source (Republic) into the body paragraphs in the form of direct quotations and cite them properly (MLA). • Students must find adequate examples from contemporary culture that relate to the ideas discussed in the book and document them. As with the primary source, students are required to integrate direct quotations from secondary sources into the body paragraphs . (American or International examples are both welcome.) • In addition to the 3 pages, students must submit a separate works-cited page citing all sources (MLA). This is a formal paper, so I strongly suggest that you avoid personal pronouns and have at least one person edit your paper for grammar, spelling, and clarity. Essays are due 05/28 by 11:59 pm.Possible topics include, but are not limited to: specialization in contemporary health care; specialization in the US military; specialization in US education; specialization in professional sports; the role of education in society; the role of religion in society; or any topic of your own choosing. Feel free to email me if you would like to run your topic by me in advance.

An important aspect of Aristotle’s virtue ethics is the idea that virtues are “habits” that we acquire over time, and like any habit, virtues affect not just what we do, but our desires and emotions as well. Focusing on either Hill’s article or Robinson’s article, how might this be important when discussing environmental ethics or military ethics (focus your discussion on just one of those, but feel free to discuss the other in reply to other people’s posts)? How would a virtue ethicist reply to someone who says that they wish they could do more to express concern for the environment or be more courageous, but are too “weak willed” to do that? Use examples from the assigned media when appropriate. References: Mosser, K. (2013). Understanding philosophy [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ Chapter 6: Traditional Theories of Ethics Virtue Ethics Problems with Virtue Ethics Greed The Environment Ethics of Extinction Aristotle. (1931). Nicomachean ethics (W. D. Ross, Trans.). Retrieved from http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.html Hill, T. (1983). Ideals of human excellence and preserving natural environments. Journal of Environmental Ethics, 5(3), 211-24. Retrieved from https://www.shodor.org/ncssm/elc/content/attachments/EnvironmentalEthics-Hill.pdf Robinson, P. (2007). Magnanimity and integrity as military virtues. Journal of Military Ethics, 6(4), 259-269. Multimedia Nussbaum, M. (n.d.). Virtue ethics [Video file]. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/nLAsm3 Wingclips. (n.d.). The bridge on the river Kwai [Movie clip]. Retrieved from http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai/the-best-bridge Wingclips. (n.d.). The emperor’s club [Movie clip]. Retrieved from http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-emperors-...