Download File

“There is nothing either good or bad: but thinking makes it so.”
Shakespeare 1564 – 1616
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
Lesson 1 – What are ethics?
ETHICS
Area of Knowledge: Ethics
“When people talk of knowledge, they often consider
only 'factual' knowledge, like the knowledge we have
discussed so far, of scientific or mathematical truths.
However, I would also want to say that I know
that murdering someone is wrong: I do not just
feel or strongly believe this, I know it.”
Kai Arste
A True Story…
Read the following story – one slide at a time.
At the end of each slide make a decision about
what should be done in the given
situation.
Also state what extra information you would need
in order to make a good decision.
A True Story…
Brandishing a meat cleaver, Trisha Marshall
burst into the apartment of a disabled man in
his early sixties. She demanded money but the
man, both of whose legs had been amputated,
had been robbed before.
Now he was prepared.
He pulled out a gun and shot Marshall in the
head. Then he called the police.
…what should be done in the given situation?
A True Story…
This incident took place on the night of 19th
April 1993 in North Oakland, across the bay
from San Francisco.
…what should be done in the given situation?
A True Story…
Two days later, Trisha Marshall, now in intensive
care unit at Highland General Hospital, was
declared brain dead. She was twenty-eight
years old, and the mother of four children, all of
them being cared for by other people. Berkeley
police said that she was under investigation for
several other robberies. She had cocaine and
alcohol in her blood.
She was also seventeen weeks pregnant.
…what should be done in the given situation?
A True Story…
Although Marshall was brain dead, a respirator
maintained her breathing, her heart was
beating, her body was warm and her bodily
functions were continuing. Her parents and her
boyfriend came to the hospital. Her boyfriend
said he was the father of the child.
Both he and Marshall’s parents wanted the
hospital to do everything possible to allow the
baby to be born.
…what should be done in the given situation?
A True Story…
Trisha Marshall’s treatment was discussed
extensively by the ethics committee at
Highlands Hospital.
The committee tried to establish what she
would have wanted, and it also tried to do what
it thought to be in the best interest of the fetus.
…what should be done in the given situation?
A True Story…
What it deliberately did not consider were the
circumstances in which Marshall died, the fact
that she had either not wanted to or had been
able to care for her existing children and the
cost of the intensive care required.
…what should be done in the given situation?
A True Story…
The ethics committee agreed with the doctors
that Marshall’s bodily functions should be
maintained as long as possible, so that the fetus
could have a chance of developing to a stage at
which it could be born.
…what should be done in the given situation?
A True Story…
When the decision became known, Highland
General Hospital was criticized for what it was
trying to do. The critics pointed out that, like
most American public hospitals in run-down
urban areas, Highland Hospital tries to care for
the victims of crime, mental illness, AIDS, drug
addiction and malnutrition, on a budget which is
simply not adequate to the task.
…what should be done in the given situation?
A True Story…
Maintaining Trisha Marshall’s pregnancy was
estimated to cost $200,000, with at least an
additional $200,000 needed for the care of the
baby, who would be born prematurely.
…what should be done in the given situation?
A True Story…
Dashka Slater, as journalist who covered the
story, later wrote: “Nearly every telephone
receptionist, desk clerk, cop or librarian who
learned what I was working on had an opinion
about the Marshall case, and that opinion could
usually be summed up in one blunt statement:
‘What a waste of money!’”
…what should be done in the given situation?
Your Response…
Your response to this and other such dilemmas will depend
upon your values or moral principles you feel are
important. These include:
Integrity/honesty
Loyalty
Compassion
Empathy
Justice
Generosity
Ethical Theory
Moral principles upon which decisions are made and actions taken.
The Self-Interest Theory (Ethical Egoism)
“Above all, look after yourself.”
Altruism
“The interests of others are more important than my interests.”
Moral Duty
“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”
Utilitarianism
“The greatest happiness to the greatest number.”
The Universal Theory
“Do as you would be done by.”
Another true story…
Only four men survived the ship wreck Mignonette in 1884,
floating for three weeks in the Atlantic in a life boat.
On the 19th day, the captain Thomas Dudley suggested they draw lots to
decide who would be killed and eaten, but one man objected.
On the 20th day, Dudley told the others to look away, offered a prayer and
cut the throat of the cabin boy, aged 17, who was sick from
drinking seawater.
They ate his body.
Four days later they were rescued by another ship and the three
survivors were charged with murder in the case The Queen vs. Dudley
and Stephens.
The Queen vs. Dudley and Stephens
Examine this case from the different ethical
perspectives/theories.
What was the alternative if they acted in one of these
ways?
“There is no such thing as ‘right’, the very concept
needs to be replaced with ‘progressively less wrong’.”
Paul Grobstein
Ethics & Reason




In some senses, ethics are a lot like the arts; “it is
just a matter of personal taste”
It is also like the social sciences; “it is hard to
experiment”
However, there are some courses of action that are
“morally better”, and in some cases our
organisation or country needs to determine a
course of action based on ethical principles
This is where we need to use reason
Ethics & Reason
We need to ask the questions –
 Is there any evidence we can collect?
 Can our argument be supported/refuted by
empirical enquiry?
 Are there any general principles that make our
position morally repellent?
 Are there any general principles that make our
position inconsistent with our other beliefs?
 Are all our premises sound?
Exercise 1a – Which argument is better?
Counselors should keep confidentiality…
…Otherwise no one would go to them for help
…Because it is a matter of people’s privacy
Exercise 1b – Which argument is better?
We should tax the wealthy more than the
poor…
…Because they are better able to afford it.
…Because it is the best way of generating substantial
government revenue.
Exercise 1c – Which argument is better?
Euthanasia should not be allowed…
…Because families will pressure elderly or
inconvenient relatives to opt for it when they
would rather not.
…Because the taking of a life is wrong, even if it is
your own.
Exercise 1d – Which argument is better?
Euthanasia should be allowed…
…Because we have the right to do what ever we want
with our own bodies.
…Because it is better to die than to live in misery.
Exercise 1e – Which argument is better?
Genetic engineering is immoral…
…Because we aren’t meant to tamper with the basic
machinery of life.
…Because we would save far more lives by spending
the billions currently spent on research on saving
starving children in Africa.
Exercise 1f – Which argument is better?
Genetic engineering is moral…
…Because God put us here to understand and marvel
at his creation.
…Because we can increase the quality of billions of
lives in the future.
Sterilisation Plans
Read the BBC article ‘Charity offers UK drug addicts
£200 to be sterilised’ about a project to encourage
socially undesirable individuals to be sterilized.
What are the ethical considerations of this plan?
Is the way to improve society?
Do you agree or disagree with this plan? Why?

Next Lesson…
Conventions vs. Moral Standards
Ethics & Culture – The Golden Rule