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Course Description

Title: Modern Ethics: A Data-Driven Systems Thinking Approach

3 Credit Hours Prerequisites: STATS 201 or DATA 101 or instructor permission
Duration: 14 weeks - the final 4 weeks are the capstone project
Audience:** College students with some background in data science

Course Overview

This innovative course transforms traditional ethics education by integrating data science, systems thinking, and advocacy strategies to address the most harmful industries and behaviors in modern society. Students will move beyond philosophical debates to measure, analyze, and design interventions for real-world ethical challenges affecting millions globally.

Learning Objectives (Bloom's Taxonomy)

Remember & Understand

  • Identify and describe the 16 most harmful industries globally, including their mortality rates, economic costs, and social impacts
  • Recognize common systems archetypes (Tragedy of the Commons, Shifting the Burden, Success to the Successful) in unethical industry behaviors
  • Define key measurement frameworks including DALYs, social cost accounting, and life-cycle analysis

Apply

  • Apply harm measurement frameworks to quantify industry impacts across health, environmental, economic, and social dimensions
  • Use ethical data collection methods to gather unbiased information from government, academic, and NGO sources
  • Implement causal loop diagrams and network visualizations to map industry impact relationships

Analyze

  • Analyze root causes of systemic harm using the 5 Whys technique and iceberg model
  • Compare industries using normalized metrics (harm per $1B revenue, per capita impact)
  • Examine feedback loops and unintended consequences in complex ethical systems
  • Investigate power dynamics and stakeholder relationships affecting industry behavior

Evaluate

  • Evaluate the relative effectiveness of Donella Meadows' 12 leverage points for system intervention
  • Assess data quality, source credibility, and potential biases in industry reporting
  • Critique existing policy interventions and corporate social responsibility initiatives
  • Judge the feasibility and impact potential of proposed reform strategies

Create

  • Design comprehensive reform proposals using multi-level intervention strategies
  • Develop advocacy campaigns incorporating behavioral economics and policy design principles
  • Construct visual data stories that communicate complex ethical issues to diverse audiences
  • Produce an evidence-based capstone project proposing systemic reform for a chosen industry

Course Topics

Part I: Understanding Ethics Through Systems - Data-driven ethics methodology vs. traditional moral philosophy - Measuring harm: Environmental degradation, human suffering indices, externalities - Ethical data gathering and bias detection

Part II: Seeing the Bigger Picture - Impact network mapping and multivariate harm models - Systems thinking and root cause analysis - Stock-and-flow dynamics in harmful industries

Part III: Acting for Change - Leverage point identification and intervention design - Behavioral economics applications for ethical change - Movement building and stakeholder advocacy strategies

  • Tobacco (7-8 million deaths annually)
  • Fossil fuels and air pollution (8 million deaths annually)
  • Ultra-processed foods (11 million diet-related deaths)
  • Fast fashion, cybercrime, industrial agriculture, and more

Capstone Project

Students synthesize learning by selecting an industry, gathering data, building systems models, identifying leverage points, and presenting a comprehensive reform proposal with implementation strategy and success metrics.

Assessment Methods

  • Industry harm scorecards (20%)
  • Systems mapping assignments (20%)
  • Leverage point analysis (20%)
  • Advocacy strategy design (15%)
  • Capstone project and presentation (25%)

Required Skills

  • Basic statistics and data visualization
  • Critical thinking and analytical writing
  • Comfort with ambiguity and complex systems
  • Commitment to evidence-based problem solving

Career Applications

Prepares students for careers in: - Corporate social responsibility and sustainability - Public policy and regulatory analysis - Non-profit advocacy and social impact - Data journalism and investigative reporting - Management consulting and strategic planning

Course Format

Weekly sessions combine interactive lectures, data workshops, case study analysis, and collaborative systems mapping exercises. Guest speakers from reformed industries and successful advocacy campaigns provide real-world perspectives.

Note

This course addresses sensitive topics including addiction, exploitation, and environmental destruction. Content includes statistical analysis of mortality, morbidity, and human suffering. Students will develop professional competencies for engaging with difficult ethical challenges while maintaining objectivity and compassion.