Portfolio- Section C

Section C- Online Forum- Forum1-4

Forum 1:

There are generally three branches of ethics which are metaethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. Metaethics, which is concerned with questions about what whether or not morality exists, and what it consists of if it does. For example, we will ask’ Do moral facts exist? If so, what are they like, and are they reducible to natural facts?’. Normative ethics, which is concerned with how moral values should be developed. For example, ‘what moral principles should we use in order to decide how to treat animals, when lying is acceptable, and so on?’. Applied ethics, which deals with how moral values can be applied to specific cases. For example, ‘Is absorbtion morally right? How should we treat animals? What political and economic systems are most moral’.

Besides, metaethics is the area of ethics which specifically deals with the nature of ethics. While normative and applied ethics are concerned with developing and applying moral values for the everyday world, meta-ethics focuses on the nature of ethics (or morality) itself. Meta-ethics is concerned with the present status of morality in the eyes of individuals, and with whether or not that status is correct or desirable.

Moreover, normative ethics is the area of ethics which discusses ethical standards and sources of morality. It is distinct from metaethics, which discusses the metaphysics of ethics and the validity of discussion of morality. Within normative ethics are the ethical theories, or moral theories, which describe a source of morality and describe how this morality ought to be applied in general. These theories include consequentialist theories, such as utilitarianism, and deontological theories, such as social contract theory, among others.

Forum 2:

Case: One year’s jail for Physical Education teacher who kissed 12-year-old pupil

A physical education teacher who hugged and kissed a 12-year-old pupil after striking up a relationship with her has been sentenced to a year in jail.

The 37-year-old Singaporean would take the girl to his home or meet her in the sports hall of his primary school in eastern Singapore – and was not even deterred when her father found out about them. The man, who cannot be named due to a gag order, last week pleaded guilty to three charges under the Children and Young Persons Act, all of which related to events that took place in 2013. A further five charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The Court heard that he got to know the victim in July 2012 when he became her PE teacher. On one occasion, when he helped her to upload pictures from a school trip onto her thumb drive, he exchanged numbers with her and began texting her on a daily basis. He told her he liked her more than other students. The married father of a four-year-old girl showered the pupil with gifts, called her his “dearest” and constantly told her that he missed her. In an effort to keep their relationship secret, he told her to delete her text messages.

When the girl’s father discovered them and confronted him, he continued with the relationship. He would go on to invite the girl into his home, where they would hug and kiss on the forehead and lips though they did not have sex. The teacher stopped only when the girl’s father complained to the school’s principal, who in turn lodged a police report.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Tito Isaac quoted medical reports that stated his client was neither a paedophile nor a sexual predator. He also said his client had been given the “most caring teacher award” from his school in 2012, and had committed those offences because of stress and “marital problems”. But District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan was not convinced, saying that the accused had chances to “show good sense and maturity” to stop his actions, but chose to carry on.

Define: A physical education teacher who hugged and kissed a 12-year-old pupil after striking up a relationship with her has been sentenced to a year in jail. Defence lawyer said that the teacher has won “most caring teacher award” from his school, the action he did just showing the love and caring to his pupil. However, the District Judge was not convinced, he said the evidence can’t become a motive to crime.

Value: Positive- fairness, child’s psychological balance, judgement
           Negative- sexual problem, childhood shadow, abnormal fear, dishonesty, moral

Principles: Deontology- in this case, the motive of caring between teacher and pupil is formed. And the action of showing love and caring to pupil is obvious. However, if the action is exceed, it will harm pupil’s physically and mentally.
Moral Virtue: As a teacher, he should comply with moral. He cannot change those chances become the motive to approach pupil.

Loyalties: Teachers are entrusted with having the good judgment, maturity, and professionalism to not act on sexual impulses toward students that may exist because of the daily contact, individual help with schoolwork, and mentoring position they hold. Teachers should be role models to their students and not abuse that relationship.
In my point of view, the license of teacher should be banned. One year jail only provide the chance to wall thinking; However, license been banned can stay a lesson to the teacher. If he wants to teach again, he need reapply. 
Perhaps this case will leave a lesson to all teacher, not to cross their mind and their moral.

Sources: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/courts-crime/story/former-teacher-sentenced-year-prison-hugging-kissing-student-20150

Forum 3:

Privacy has many meanings. The most general is freedom from interference or intrusion, the right "to be let alone," a formulation cited by Louis Brandeis and Samuel Warren in their groundbreaking 1890 paper on privacy. This recognizes that each person has a sphere of existence and activity that properly belongs to that individual alone, where he or she should be free of constraint, coercion, and even uninvited observation. As we would say today, each of us needs our own "space". Most would recognize the protected sphere to include personal opinions, personal communications, and how one behaves behind closed doors, at least as long as these do not lead to any significant threats to society. Many would also include behavior within the family and other intimate relationships in that sphere.

Four Privacy torts: 

1.Intrusion of Solitude- This type of invasion of privacy is commonly associated with someone illegally intercepting private phone calls, or snooping through someone's private records.

2.Appropriation of Name or Likeness- Plaintiffs may make a claim for damages if an individual or company uses their name or likeness for benefit without the other party's permission.

3.Public Disclosure of Private Facts- Legal action may be taken if an individual publicly reveals truthful information that is not of public concern and which a reasonable person would find offensive if made public.

4.False Light- It allows an individual to sue for the public disclosure of information that is misleading or puts that person in a "false light", but not technically false.

 Forum 4:

Citizenship is a massively contested term. One of the most influential definitions of citizenship however, is that of T.H. Marshall, who envisages citizenship as involving three elements, civil, political and social. In the narrow sense, citizenship means being a legal member of a political community or state, usually because of where you live, where you were born or family ties. It involves having certain rights, responsibilities and duties - legal, social and moral.

The civil element is composed of the rights necessary for individual freedom. Example: Every blogger should behave what they wrote on their blog post because it will directly influence their reader or public.

The political element involves the right to participate in the exercise of political power. Example: Every citizen has the opportunity to vote when they were 21 years old.

The social element involves the range of rights to welfare, security and to live the life of a civilized being according to the standards prevailing in the society. Example: Government provided some welfare to poor people and disability people.