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Ethics: Theory and Practice Jacques P. Thiroux Keith W. Krasemann Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter Two Consequentialist (Teleological) Theories of Morality Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Two Viewpoints of Morality • Consequentialist (teleological) – Morality is based on or concerned with consequences • Nonconsequentialist (deontological) – Morality is not based on or concerned with consequences Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Two Major Consequentialist Ethical Theories • Ethical Egoism • Utilitarianism – Both theories agree that human beings ought to behave in ways that will bring about good consequences – The theories disagree on who should benefit from these consequences • Ethical egoism act in self-interest • Utilitarianism act for the interests of all Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Psychological Egoism • Psychological egoism is not an ethical theory but a descriptive or scientific theory having to do with egoism • Two forms: – Strong form: people always act in their own selfinterest – Weaker form: people often, but not always, act in their own self-interest Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Psychological Egoism • In its strong form – Does not refute morality • In its weaker form – Does not provide a rational foundation for ethical egoism • What about circumstances in which people do unselfish things, even though they do not want to do them? Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Ethical Egoism • Ethical egoism is a philosophical-normative, prescriptive theory • Three forms: – The individual form (everyone ought to act in my self-interest) – The personal form (I ought to act in my own selfinterest, but make no claims on what others should do) – The universal form (everyone should always act in his or her own self-interest) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Problems with Universal Ethical Egoism • Universal ethical egoism is the theory most commonly presented, but still has problems • Inconsistency – It is unclear whose self-interest should be satisfied Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Problems with Universal Ethical Egoism • What is Meant by Everyone – The term “everyone” is unclear – Everyone’s interests create conflicts and inconsistencies • Difficulty in Giving Moral Advice – It is difficult to determine how to give moral advice Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Problems with Universal Ethical Egoism • Blurring the Moral and Nonmoral Uses of Ought and Should – Supporters of egoism tend to blur the moral and nonmoral uses of ought and should – This makes universal egoism highly impractical and, at worst, creates conflicts and inconsistencies Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Problems with Universal Ethical Egoism • Inconsistent with Helping Professions – Ethical egoism in any form does not provide the proper ethical basis for people in helping professions – Some people in helping professions do so out of self-interest – Others do so to help others – A highly self-interested attitude would not serve one well in a helping profession Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Advantages of Universal Ethical Egoism • It is easier to determine self-interest – It is easier for individuals to determine what their own interests are • It encourages individual freedom and responsibility • It works when people operate in limited spheres, isolated from one another, which minimizes conflict Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Limitations Of Universal Ethical Egoism • It offers no consistent method of resolving conflicts of self-interests – While individuals operate in limited spheres, it is much easier to maintain self-interest – As soon as individual or limited spheres start to overlap, individual self-interests will start to conflict – Some principle of justice or compromise must be brought in to address that conflict Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Ayn Rand’s Rational Ethical Egoism • Ayn Rand was the foremost exponent of universal ethical egoism (which she called rational ethical egoism) – Self-interests of rational human beings, by virtue of their being rational, will never conflict • That theory does not address the very real conflicts that do actually arise in our crowded and interdependent societies Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Utilitarianism • Utilitarianism maintains that everyone should perform that act or follow that moral rule which will bring about the greatest good (or happiness) for everyone concerned Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Act Utilitarianism • Act utilitarianism says that everyone should perform that act which will bring about the greatest amount of good over bad for everyone affected by the act – One cannot establish rules in advance to cover all situations and people because they are all different Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Criticisms of Act Utilitarianism • It is difficult to determine the consequences for others – What may be a good consequences for you may not be equally, or at all, good for another – How are you to tell unless you can ask other people what would be good for them? Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Criticisms of Act Utilitarianism • It is impractical to have to begin anew for each situation and to have to decide what would be moral for that situation – Is each act and each person completely and uniquely different? – An act utilitarian might argue that there are many similarities among people and their behaviors that would justify the laying down of certain rules Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Criticisms of Act Utilitarianism • It is difficult to educate the young or uninitiated in acting morally without rules or guides to follow – The only guide would be: Each person must assess what would be the greatest good consequences of each act for each situation that arises Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Rule Utilitarianism • Rule utilitarianism states that everyone always should follow the rules that will bring the greatest number of good consequences for all concerned – There are enough similar human motives, actions, and situations to justify setting up rules that will apply to all human beings and all situations Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Criticisms of Rule Utilitarianism • It is difficult to determine consequences for others • It would be difficult to be sure that a rule can be established to cover the diversity of human beings, which will truly and always bring about the greatest good for all • It is difficult to educate the young and uninitiated Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cost-Benefit Analysis • Creates problems for utilitarianism: – Danger of trying to determine the social worth of individuals – The greatest good is often interpreted as the “greatest good of the majority,” with possible immoral consequences to the minority – Does even a good end justify any means used to attain it, or should we also consider our means and motives? Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Difficulty with Consequentialist Theories in General • Consequentialist theories demand that we discover and determine all of the consequences of our actions or rules – That is virtually impossible • Do consequences or ends constitute all of morality? Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Care Ethics • Established by Carol Gilligan, sometimes called “feminist ethics” • There are fundamental differences between men and women: – Men’s moral attitudes have to do with justice, rights, competition, being independent, and living by the rules – Women’s moral attitudes have to do with generosity, harmony, reconciliation, and working to maintain close relationships Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Criticisms of Gilligan’s Theory • Gilligan’s theory raises “female values” over “male values” • It replaces one unfair system with another • The theory seems to prescribe more traditional gender roles to men and women – I.e. Men are most concerned with justice, so only men should be judges Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.