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• VCECU010

  Discuss how ethical principles can be used as the basis for action, considering the influence of cultural norms, religion, world views and philosophical thought on these principles

  Elaborations

  • investigating some common ethical principles, for example, ‘always treat people as ends not means’ (philosopher Immanuel Kant), and ‘actions are right in proportion to whether they promote happiness’ (philosopher John Stuart Mill), and comparing how they might be applied to a particular situation, for example, whether to participate in a fund raising event.
  • examining basic tenets of major world religions and non-religious worldviews and how they form the basis of a particular principle/s, such as ‘treat others as you would want to be treated’ (the Golden Rule)
  • investigating differing cultural norms concerning the importance of the individual relative to the family or wider community and how this may influence views on loyalty, obligation and responsibility and in turn views on guiding ethical principles

  VCECU010 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding Concepts

• VCECU009

  Examine the contested meaning of concepts including truth and happiness and the extent to which these concepts are and should be valued

  Elaborations

  • using ethical dilemmas, as a prompt for exploring whether it is ever desirable to lie, for example, lying to protect a friend from getting into trouble, to stop someone’s feelings being hurt, or about an injury in order to get picked for a team
  • asking a range of people what their views on happiness are, how important it is and what is necessary for happiness
  • investigating whether everyone should have the right to be happy and if so, whether this is possible, using as stimulus issues of treatment of prisoners or bullies, or how much the wealthy should help the poor or the strong the weak

  VCECU009 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding Concepts

• Ethical Capability: Levels 5 and 6 description

  In Levels 5 and 6, the curriculum focuses on developing the knowledge, skills and understandings to evaluate the significance of ethical matters. Students explore the basis of a range of ethical principles and reflect on means and ends. Students consider decision-making approaches based on thinking...

  Level description | Capabilities | Ethical Capability

• Ethical Capability: Levels 5 and 6 achievement standards

  By the end of Level 6, students evaluate the meaning of ethical concepts and analyse their value, identifying areas of contestability. They explain different ways to respond to ethical problems and identify issues related to these.

  Students identify different ethical issues associated with a particular...

  Level description | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 5 and 6

• VCECD012

  Explore the significance of ‘means versus ends’ by considering two ways to act when presented with a problem: one that privileges means and one ends

  Elaborations

  • investigating a choice such as posting an image of a friend and justifying why someone should or should not post the image, in terms of means and ends
  • responding to a range of ethical dilemmas and comparing responses that focus on means (where the most important consideration is the action itself, such as being honest regardless of the consequences) and responses that focus on ends (where the most important consideration is the likely outcome, such as making someone happy even if it means lying to them)
  • analysing the position 'the end justifies the means' and the tension between means and ends in different contexts, for example, experimentation on people or other animals, the collection and use of data, making consumer decisions, selecting/training teams in sport or making civic decisions such as removing homeless people from areas during an event

  VCECD012 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 5 and 6 | Decision Making and Actions

• VCECD013

  Discuss the role and significance of conscience and reasoning in ethical decision-making

  Elaborations

  • defining conscience and discussing examples where conscience could influence reasoning and decision-making, such as when faced with an opportunity to gain by doing the wrong thing, with little likelihood of getting caught, for example acknowledging the use of someone else’s ideas, tampering with evidence or data, or accessing internet content without paying

  VCECD013 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 5 and 6 | Decision Making and Actions

• VCECU011

  Examine how problems may contain more than one ethical issue

  Elaborations

  • exploring the nature of an ethical dilemma in which there is a choice to be made between at least two options, none of which gives an ethically acceptable result, for example, choosing who to put in a lifeboat when there are limited places, or whether someone should tell the shop owner that they their friend is shop-stealing expensive medicine for their poverty stricken mother, or, whether to stop and help someone and miss an entrance exam, or whether to quit a sport team in a small town knowing that then there will not be enough players and the team will fold
  • investigating a problem such as responding to a natural disaster and identifying the ethical issues involved immediately and into the future
  • researching an historical example such as Batman’s 'treaty' and its validity, identifying the different ethical issues involved and from whose point of view

  VCECU011 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding Concepts