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PEAS Framework for Ethical thinkingSample Page
(Use this overview of PEAS as a resource for your Ethics Advisory Briefing Paper. This overview draws from work
on PEAS conducted by Montana State University and Brown University’s Science and Technology Studies)
PEAS stands for Problem, Evidence, Analysis, and Solution.
Each word represents a crucial problem solving step.
Recall from Workshop 1 how we use critical thinking to form a judgment as part of a holistic critical
analysis. Critical thinking is the ability to structure and synthesize ambiguous information, to sort
relevant from irrelevant information, to apply technical knowledge to new problem settings, to
analyse information, to interpret the results of your analysis and to draw conclusions based on
standards and/or criteria. PEAS allows us to step through the process of ethical thinking.
Using PEAS
Follow the framework in sequence, circling back frequently as necessary to redefine the problem,
gather more evidence or conduct additional assessment. If you use this framework to solve each
problem you encounter, you will become a powerful critical thinker, which in turn will allow you to
be an influential and effective professional.
Exploring and attempting to answer the following questions in sequence will help guide you to arrive
at an appropriate solution:
1. Problem
• What is the ethical problem to be solved?
• What question(s) do I need to answer?
2. Evidence
• What relevant facts and figures do I know?
• How do I know these are facts rather than opinions, inferences or assumptions?
• Who are the affected stakeholders? What are their interests?
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• What do I not know that is relevant to solving the problem?
3. Analysis
• What ethical guidelines and theories will I use to help me decide what to do?
• Consider at least 2-3 different theories (*which are discussed in the Ethics Theory Module
for this unit), such as:
o Front Page of the Newspaper Test*
o Nana Test*
o The Golden Rule*
o Kant’s Categorical Imperative*
o Descartes’ Rule of Change*
o Utilitarianism*
o Risk Aversion*
o Professional Standards of Codes of Conduct
• What legal rules are relevant to the problem?
• What 2-3 possible solutions would solve the problem?
• Evaluate each alternative solution in light of each ethical theory and applicable legal rules.
• What are the practical implications, both positive and negative, of each alternative solution?
• How are the stakeholders affected by each alternative?
• What assumptions and inferences are you making? Are these justified?
• Which solution am I most comfortable with? Why?
• Does my solution solve the problem and answer the questions identified in Step #1?
4. Solution
• What is my solution to the problem?
• Understanding the dimensions of the problem, using all relevant evidence, applying a variety
of ethical theories, and paying close attention to my analysis, why is mine the best solution?
• How will I explain my solution to all of the stakeholders?