PHI-FPX2000 asks students to apply major ethical theories — utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, and others — to a widening set of real-world contexts: your own conception of happiness and the good life, a business ethics scenario, an applied critical theory case, and a contemporary social issue. The course rewards consistent use of named frameworks over personal opinion, which is exactly where students lose the most points. This guide breaks down what each assessment requires and how academic support for PHI-FPX2000 fits a course built on applied ethical reasoning.
Course Overview
PHI-FPX2000 is a general education requirement that surveys major ethical theories and asks students to apply them to evaluate actions, decisions, and social issues. Rather than treating ethics as abstract theory, the course is structured so each assessment forces application: to your own life and happiness, to a corporate decision, to an educational or institutional dilemma through critical theory, and to a genuinely contested social issue. Rubrics consistently reward explicit theory naming and consistent application over personal opinion.
Key Assessments
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1Ethics, Happiness, and the Good Life
Explores the connection between ethical theory and what constitutes a good, happy life, typically drawing on classical and contemporary frameworks (Aristotelian virtue ethics is common). Graded on depth of theoretical application, not personal opinion alone.
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2Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility
Analyzes a corporate decision or scenario using ethical theories and stakeholder analysis — weighing competing interests (shareholders, employees, community) against a named ethical framework.
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3Applied Critical Theory
Applies Critical Theory to an ethical dilemma, often involving institutional or educational accommodation issues — requiring you to identify power structures and competing interests, not just a simple right/wrong judgment.
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4Contemporary Social Issues
Applies ethical theory to a genuinely contentious, debated contemporary issue. Requires balanced treatment of multiple perspectives backed by a clear ethical framework, not just an opinion piece.
How We Help With PHI-FPX2000
- Selecting and consistently applying a named ethical theory (utilitarian, deontological, virtue-based) across each assessment rather than mixing frameworks loosely
- Structuring the Assessment 2 stakeholder analysis so every party's interests are explicitly weighed against the chosen ethical lens
- Applying Critical Theory correctly in Assessment 3 — identifying power dynamics and structural factors, not just describing the dilemma
- Keeping Assessment 4's treatment of a contentious issue balanced and theory-grounded rather than one-sided opinion
- APA 7 formatting and scholarly source integration across all four assessments
Common Challenges in This Course
The most common issue on Assessment 1 is writing about happiness and the good life in purely personal terms without anchoring the discussion in a specific ethical theory from the course readings. On Assessment 2, students often pick a side without explicitly weighing competing stakeholder interests, which most rubrics specifically require. Assessment 3 trips up students who haven't worked with Critical Theory before — it asks you to look at power and structure, not just "was this fair." On Assessment 4, the biggest point loss is presenting only one side of a genuinely contested issue instead of demonstrating ethical reasoning across multiple perspectives.
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PHI-FPX2000 FAQ
Not necessarily, but consistency within each assessment matters more than which theory you choose — pick one framework per paper and apply it thoroughly rather than blending several loosely.
Assessment 2 is scoped to a business/corporate decision with defined stakeholders; Assessment 4 is a broader, more contentious social issue requiring balanced treatment of public perspectives.
No — Critical Theory in Assessment 3 refers to a specific philosophical framework examining power structures and social institutions, distinct from general critical-thinking skills.
You can take a position, but it needs to be grounded in ethical theory and engage fairly with opposing views — an unsupported opinion piece typically loses points on most rubrics.
Yes — beyond the course texts, most assessments expect at least some scholarly sources to support the ethical analysis, properly cited in APA 7.