UC Davis Questions Dilemmas & Ethical Challenges Emerging from Artwork Discussion

Prompt: Analyze an ethical problem or concern depicted in a work of art* from the perspective of (i) Bentham (ii) Kant or (iii)Virginia Held (choose two of these authors)

1) You will first, identify ONE ethical problem or concern that the work of art is depicting and explain it. In other words, you will identify an action or a dilemma that is presented or depicted in the artwork. Be clear about who is performing that action or who is stuck in the dilemma. (Do so in no longer than 150 words)

Example: Ursula LeGuin’s text describes a beautiful town where people are happy and flourishing. But an interesting dilemma arises. That is, the happiness of this town is based on the suffering of a kid. This is problematic because it makes us question if

this  situation  is  right  or wrong.  Is  it  justifiable  that  one  person  suffers  for  the happiness of the majority?

Example:  Sor  Juana  Inés  de  la  Cruz  describes  a  specific  type  of  oppression  that women suffer from men. One of the issues that she talks about is censorship. One can argue that censorship is a moral dilemma because it silences people’s opinions and reassesses one and only one way of seeing the world. We can agree that this is, in principle wrong, but why?

Example: Banksy’s image shows a man erasing  prehistoric  paintings.  It  also  seems that this man is simply doing his job, it does not strike us as an illegal or vandalistic act. It seems to be a policy and the man is simply obeying such policy. The idea of having a policy that encourages people to erase history seems fundamentally wrong, but why?

Example: Diego Rivera’s mural shows an array of issues that seem to be morally problematic. One of the things that he shows in this painting is forced labor. Forcing people to do unpaid work under the conditions that the mural is depicting is morally wrong, but why?2) Second, pick two authors from this list: (1) Bentham (2) Kant (3) Held, and brieflyexplain IN YOUR  OWN  WORDS  their  theory  of  ethics  (Do  not  cite  outside  sources).  This  is  basically giving areconstructionof the main points that the authors give to say that an action is right or wrong. 3) Third explain what those two authors would say about the action or dilemma you identified in the artwork. Explain what they would say one at a time (separate paragraphs or sections for each). Here are some guiding questions:Would they say that the action is right? Why? Would they say it is wrong? Why? Do they agree or disagree with each other? In other words, based on the ethical theories you described in part 2, you will now apply those to the specific problem or dilemma that you have identified in part 1 of your essay. 4)  Finally,  explain  what  YOU  think  is  the  right  or  moral  thing  to  do  regarding  the  action,  or dilemma you identified in the artwork. Your response should engage with the explanations of the two authors you picked. Here are some guiding questions: what are they getting right? What are they getting wrong? Why? Basically, what you are doing here is evaluatingthe theories and giving your own opinion on the ethical issue that you have discussed.

*Here are some of theworks of art that you can use:•The Ones Who Walk Awayfrom Omelasby Ursula K LeGuin (short story uploaded on canvas under “files”)•Poem “You foolish men” by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruzhttps://poets.org/poem/you-foolish-men3this  situation  is  right  or  wrong.  Is  it  justifiable  that  one  person  suffers  for  the happiness of the majority? Example:  Sor  Juana  Inés  de  la  Cruz  describes  a  specific  type  of  oppression  that women suffer from men. One of the issues that she talks about is censorship. One can argue that censorship is a moral dilemma because it silences people’s opinions and reassesses one and only one way of seeing the world. We can agree that this is, in principle wrong, but why?Example: Banksy’s image shows a man erasing  prehistoric  paintings.  It  also  seems that this man is simply doing his job, it does not strike us as an illegal or vandalistic act. It seems to be a policy and the man is simply obeying such policy. The idea of having a policy that encourages people to erase history seems fundamentally wrong, but why?Example: Diego Rivera’s mural shows an array of issues that seem to be morally problematic. One of the things that he shows in this painting is forced labor. Forcing people to do unpaid work under the conditions that the mural is depicting is morally wrong, but why?2) Second, pick two authors from this list: (1) Bentham (2) Kant (3) Held, and brieflyexplain IN YOUR  OWN  WORDS  their  theory  of  ethics  (Do  not  cite  outside  sources).  This  is  basically giving areconstructionof the main points that the authors give to say that an action is right or wrong. 3) Third explain what those two authors would say about the action or dilemma you identified in the artwork. Explain what they would say one at a time (separate paragraphs or sections for each). Here are some guiding questions:Would they say that the action is right? Why? Would they say it is wrong? Why? Do they agree or disagree with each other? In other words, based on the ethical theories you described in part 2, you will now apply those to the specific problem or dilemma that you have identified in part 1 of your essay. 4)  Finally,  explain  what  YOU  think  is  the  right  or  moral  thing  to  do  regarding  the  action,  or dilemma you identified in the artwork. Your response should engage with the explanations of the two authors you picked. Here are some guiding questions: what are they getting right? What are they getting wrong? Why? Basically, what you are doing here is evaluatingthe theories and giving your own opinion on the ethical issue that you have discussed. *Here are some of theworks of art that you can use:•The Ones Who Walk Awayfrom Omelasby Ursula K LeGuin (short story uploaded on canvas under “files”)•Poem “You foolish men” by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruzhttps://poets.org/poem/you-foolish-men