Assignment task: View Video:
YouTube Video: Michael Walzer on Just War Theory | Big Think
Part A:
The case study, video, and reading give rise to interesting and difficult moral questions about special obligations. Even if we know that service members have extra moral obligations by virtue of being service members, it is hard to tell how "far" those "extra" moral obligations go. Please respond to the following prompts after reviewing the learning materials for Module 5.
In your own words, define special obligations and role morality.
What kind of special moral obligations are you taking on by entering into military service?
What are the rules that apply to enemy service personnel and what are the rules applying to foreign civilians?
Finally, do you think the captain of the H.M.S. Alacrity did the right thing by calmly accepting an order that would risk his life and the lives of his crew? Explain.
Part B:
Re-read the case study "Per Diem" located on the Module 5 Learning Materials page. You've considered what the right thing to do is from the perspective of constraints and consequences.
Now consider special obligations. What kind of special obligations, if any, do you have to your friend Grace?
Do the special obligations you might have to Grace mean that you should falsify your expense report to help her?
How are your special obligations to Grace in tension with considerations of constraints and consequences? (In other words, do your special obligations tell you to do something opposite to what constraints or consequences tell you?)