Download MODULE_34 - (Ethics) Value vs Duty

Module 34
Value Ethics Duty Ethics
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DUTY ETHICS
VALUE ETHICS
Categorical Imperatives
“Since…Then”
Hypothetical Imperatives
“If …Then”
KANT / PLATO
Categorical Imperative
An unconditional moral obligation that is
binding in all circumstances and is not
dependent on a person's inclination or
purpose. (Google Search)
Morality / Righteousness
an End in Itself:
The Good Will
vs.
ARISTOTLE
Hypothetical Imperative
A commandment of reason that applies
only conditionally. Valid only in the
presence of some ulterior desire or goal.
(Google Search)
Morality / Righteousness
a Means to an End:
The Good Life
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Happiness
Duty
ARISTOTLE
VALUE ETHICS
Good
Right
“All advice to do things or not to do them is concerned with
happiness, and with the things that make for or against it; whatever
creates or increases happiness or some part of happiness, we ought
to do; whatever destroys or hampers happiness, or gives rise to its
opposite, we ought not to do,” (Rhetoric, 1360b4)
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Happiness
Duty
Good
Joseph Smith
Right
VALUE ETHICS
“Happiness is the object [goal] and design of our existence [life];
and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it;
and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and
keeping all the commandments of God.”
(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 255–56)
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Duty
Happiness
Right
IMMANUEL KANT
Good
DUTY ETHICS
“The majesty of duty has nothing to do with enjoyment of life; it
has its special law and its special tribunal,”
(Kant, Critique of Practical Reason, Pt. I,I, 3)
“Pure practical reason does not require that we should renounce
all claim to happiness, but only that the moment duty is in
question we should take no account of happiness”
(Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, II)
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BIN LADEN
DUTY ETHICS
“To kill Americans and their allies, both civil and military, is an
individual duty of every Muslim who is able, in any country
where this is possible,”
(Bin Laden 1998 … an Arabic newspaper in London, Al-Quds al-Arabi)
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DUTY ETHICS
The Tragedy of a Self-Imposed Death Warrant
A MORALITY THAT CANNOT BE LIVED
Love
Others
Right
Duty
Life
Self
Good
Happiness
Aristotle: “Evil destroys even itself, and if it is
complete becomes unbearable,” (Ethics, 1126a12)
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VALUE ETHICS
DUTY ETHICS
LIFE, JOY
& HAPPINESS
DEATH, SORROW
& MISERY
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Happiness
Ultimate Good and Reward
Happiness is the ultimate goal. The
reward for a life well-Lived. It is a moral
need that makes up part of your identity.
Moral needs have primacy over Duties
(chosen obligations)
Happiness
(Moral Needs)
Duty
(Chosen Obligations)
President Lorenzo Snow: “Every principle
that is revealed from the heavens is for
our benefit, for our life, for our salvation,
and for our happiness,” (JD 4: 183)
Happiness
(Psychological Wants)
Duties have primacy over wants. As
chosen obligations Duties are a
necessary means to achieving your
psychological wants.
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Happiness Ultimate Good and Reward
2 Nephi 2:25 “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they
might have joy.”
Joseph Smith: “And as God has designed our happiness—and the
happiness of all His creatures, he never has—He never will institute
an ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not
calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which He has
designed, and which will not end in the greatest amount of good
and glory to those who become the recipients of his law and
ordinances.” (TPJS, p. 256-257)
President John Taylor: “It is ‘Life and the pursuit of happiness’ that
ought to occupy the attention of all intellectual beings … and with
those things that we consider will best promote not only our
temporal, but our eternal happiness.” (JD 11:87)
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VALUE ETHICS (A GOOD LIFE)
Life
Self
Good
Happiness
Love
Others
Right
Duty
STANDARD?
BENEFICIARY?
CODE?
PURPOSE?
Love
Others
Right
Duty
Life
Self
Good
Happiness
DUTY ETHICS (A GOOD WILL)
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VALUES (GOOD THINGS) AND
VIRTUES (RIGHT ACTIONS)
A “Value” is the GOOD that we
desire to gain or keep.
GOOD
RIGHT
PRIMACY
OF EXISTENCE
A “Virtue” is the RIGHT action by
which we gain or keep it.
Only by knowing the value of that
which is good for us can we know what
is right and wrong to do.
Virtues are right actions that preserve good.
Vices are wrong actions that destroy good.
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Which Has Primacy Virtues or Values?
A “Value” is that which we desire to gain or keep.
A “Virtue” is the action by which one gains or keeps it.
VALUE
VIRTUE
Value Ethics
NOT Duty Ethics
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LIFE
LOVE
vs.
LIFE
LOVE
VALUE ETHICS
Life as the Standard
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VALUE ETHICS NEEDN’T
BE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND
We Can Learn a Great
Deal About Value Ethics
and the Importance of a
Life Oriented Morality
from this Small Packet of
Flower Seeds.
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THE LIFE OF THE PANSY
IS ITS STANDARD OF VALUE.
VALUE: is that which one acts to gain
and, or keep.
GOOD & EVIL: Whatever values sustain,
promote or otherwise enhances the life
of the pansy, (sunshine, minerals, and,
or moisture) is the good and “ought” to
be pursued. While whatever threatens
or is otherwise detrimental to the life of
the pansy (weeds, insects, defoliant
chemicals) is the evil and “ought” to be
avoided.
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ITS LIFE (Ethical) REQUIREMENTS
ARE PRINTED ON BACK OF THE PACKET
PANSY, Swiss Giants Mix – Viola wittrockiana
Perennials live more than two years and
typically bloom one year after planting
Type … Perennial
Height … 6-8”
Planting Depth … 1/8”
Seed Spacing … 2 seeds per pot or cell
Days To Sprout … 10-21
Spacing After Thinning … 6”
Planting: Start seeds indoors in August. Place flat
or pots in a dark room (or cover with black plastic)
and keep temperature at 70F until sprouts appear.
Where winters are mild, transplant seedlings in the
fall into soil enriched with compost. Where winters
are cold, move seedlings into a cold frame and
then transplant outdoors in early spring.
Growing: Mulch around plants to keep roots cool
and moist. Water when the top 1-inch layer of soil
is dry. Fertilize monthly. Remove faded blossoms
(plus a few leaves) to prolong flowering. Protect
over wintering plants with a layer of mulch.
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THE LIFE OF THE PANSY
IS ITS STANDARD OF VALUE.
VIRTUE: is the action by which one
gains and, or keeps one’s VALUES.
Right and Wrong: Whatever actions
the pansy takes to ultimately promote
its own good (turn toward the sun, dig
their roots deeper) are right actions
(virtues) and whatever actions are
ultimately detrimental to its own good
(seedlings landing in a dry gravel pit)
are wrong actions (vices).
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LIFE OF ORGANISM
IS STANDARD OF VALUE
PANSY
CACTUS
DOG
ELEPHANT
MOUSE
SKUNK
MANKIND
Elephant
Skunk
AS LIFE’S REQUIREMENTS DIFFER
SO DOES THE GOOD/RIGHT CODE
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LIFE AS STANDARD (Existential Proof)
Experiment: Place a Plant, a Mushroom Spore, a Door Knob, and a Turtle
In a Dark Closet Without Food, Water or Sunshine for 30 Days and
Observe the Results.
A DARK CLOSET
PLANT ON A SHELF
TURTLE ON
THE FLOOR
MUSHROOM SPORE
ON A SHELF
DOORKNOB IN
THE CORNER
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ONE MONTH LATER: A DARK CLOSET
LIFE AND DEATH ISSUE…NOT LOVE AND HATE!
PLANT ON A SHELF
(DEATH)
TURTLE ON
THE FLOOR
(DEATH)
MUSHROOM SPORE
ON A SHELF
(LIFE)
DOORKNOB IN
THE CORNER
(UNCHANGED)
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Continually Confronted With Life or Death Alternatives
STANDARD OF VALUE = Life of the Organism
MORAL CODE = Meeting the needs of the organism
Values
Food
Water
Virtues
Shell
TURTLE
Values
Virtues
Minerals
Water
Sunlight
PLANT
Minerals
Values
MUSHROOM
Virtues
Low Moisture
No Sunlight
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Life the Standard of Value
Brigham Young’s Existential Proof
President Brigham Young: “We are not in opposition to anything in
earth or hell, except the principle of death. God has introduced life,
and it is the principle of life that we are after,” (JD 7:56)
President Brigham Young: “Many men and women who have
obeyed the Gospel, and have not received from the Lord these
striking testimonies, will say, ‘Well, I really do not know that I can
tell whether the Gospel is true or not.’ To all such I say, then you
are no philosopher at all, for upon the rational principles of
common philosophy you can tell whether it is true or not. Does it
contain the seeds of life? Does it promote the plants and yield the
fruits of life, or does it produce the plants and yield the fruits of
death? You can ask these questions and readily answer them for
yourselves.” (JD 14:112)
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LIFE
LOVE
What do you think
is the central theme
throughout The
Book of Mormon?
LIFE and DEATH
NOT
LOVE and HATE
2 Ne. 2:27 (Lehi) “Wherefore, men are free
according to the flesh; and all things are
given them which are expedient unto man.
And they are free to choose liberty and
eternal life, through the great Mediator of all
men, or to choose captivity and death,
according to the captivity and power of the
devil; for he seeketh that all men might be
miserable like unto himself,”
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LIFE
LOVE
It is as if Lucifer’s
whole intent is to
divert our attention
away from LIFE and
DEATH issues and
over to issues of
LOVE and HATE.
LIFE is the
Standard
of VALUE
for all living
organisms
not LOVE
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Objectivism
Mortal Life as Standard
vs.
Eternalism
Eternal Life as Standard
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AN OBJECTIVISTS’ GOD
Leonard Peikoff: “A God susceptible of proof would
wither and starve the spirit of mysticism. Such an
entity would be finite and limited; it would be one
thing among others within the universe, a thing bound
by identity and causality, capable of being integrated
without contradiction into man’s cognitive context,
incompatible with miracles, revelations, and the other
paraphernalia of unreason. Such an entity would not
be an ineffable mystery transcending nature and
science. It would be a part of nature to be studied by
science, and it would be of no use whatever to a
mystic.” (Objectivism The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, p. 183-184)
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— RAISING THE BAR —
L I F E … ( At A n y C o s t )
SURVIVAL OF FITTEST
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— RAISING THE BAR —
G O O D L I F E … ( Te m p o r a l H a p p i n e s s )
ARISTOTLE / OBJECTIVISM
L I F E … ( At A n y C o s t )
SURVIVAL OF FITTEST
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— RAISING THE BAR —
ETERNAL LIFE … (Eternal Happiness)
MORMONISM / ETERNALISM
G O O D L I F E … ( Te m p o r a l H a p p i n e s s )
ARISTOTLE / OBJECTIVISM
L I F E … ( At A n y C o s t )
SURVIVAL OF FITTEST
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Questions?
Disagreements?
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