Download Rights, Duties, and Utilitarianism

Rights, Duties, and Utilitarianism
Paul C. Godfrey
Marriott School of Management
Brigham Young University
The fundamental questions:
What is good?
How do I choose what is good?
Rights and duties
• Immanuel Kant (1724—1804)
• Actions that are good/right follow two categorical
imperatives:
• Universality—acts that could be a universal rule
• Respect—treat others as ends in themselves and not
merely as means
• The categorical imperative allows the formation of moral
maxims, or moral rules that can then be used to guide
action.
Rights and Duties
Pros
• Universality or ultimate
principles
• Focuses on motivations
• Focuses on constraints to
action
Cons
• Rules or maxims can be
rigid
• There are limits and
exceptions to rules
• Doesn’t focus on
outcomes
Two Doctrines
Doctrine of Right
Doctrine of Virtue
Acting Rightly
Acting for the right reasons
Public Morality
Private Morality
Focus on Action
Focus on Motive
Defines the role of the state
Defines the role of individual
character
Utilitarianism
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John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
“The greatest good for the greatest number”
The 2 criterion of the principle of utility
Utility—Maximize welfare in some way
Impartiality—without the concern for the welfare of the
decision maker
Two types
• Act Utilitarianism—Utility calculations for every action or
decision, one-off morality)
• Rule Utilitarianism—Adopting rules which in most cases
will lead to the greatest good for the greatest number
Utilitarianism
Pros
Cons
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The focus on consequences
Utilitarianism seeks to be
empirical
A clear decision rule, similar
to NPV.
Strong intuitive appeal about
some people being
disadvantaged for the good
of the whole.
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Determining all affected
parties the long term
consequences difficult. often
devolves to short term, directly
affected parties.
Utility is subjectively
determined,
Personal Utility is often
substituted for Social Utility
It can be a slippery slope to
hedonism and selfishness
discounts motivation: How
important are motivations to
you in assessing the moral
worth of actions?
Transcendence and synthesis
• The work of Thomas Acuqinas (c. 1225-1274)
• Considered the greatest of the catholic “Doctors of the
Church”
• Combined medieval belief with modern sensibility
• Teleology—everything leads to the end for which God
ordained it
Four keys to ethical action
An act is good if it conforms to all four of the following:
• A good genus (intention, desire)
• A good species (object or goal)
• Good “accidents” (immediate outcomes)
• Good “ends” (long term or teleological outcomes)
Why I like St. Thomas
• Recognizes the value of Kant’s contribution (intentions,
goals)
• Recognizes the value of outcomes and utilitarian
considerations
• Sets ethical decisions within a larger context (the will of
God and His purposes)
• Denies tradeoffs between ethical positions and seeks for
optimal solutions