Download introdcution to ethics - MDC Faculty Home Pages

Introduction to Ethics
Moral Absolutism
“I do, what I do, because, it’s the right thing to do.”
~ Jimmy Carter
Sentimentalism
“What is moral is what you feel good after, and
what is immoral is what you feel bad after.” ~
Ernest Hemmingway
Pragmatism
“Truth is defined as whatever it is useful to
believe.” ~ William James
Faith
“ For me, as for others, faith provided the meaning
of life and the possibility of living”. ~ Leo Tolstoy
Ethics
• Ethics is the branch of philosophy that
studies questions about right and good.
• Moral theories provide a frame work for
answering such questions and for
evaluating human action.
Are There Ethical Facts
• It is a fact that the Rocky Mountains are
located in North America.
• Are there similar sorts of facts in ethics?
• If so, why do so many people disagree
about what is right and wrong.
Ethical Skepticism
• This view claims that moral knowledge is
not possible.
• This view claims that we cannot, as
rational human beings, determine what is
objectively right or wrong.
Relativism
•
•
•
•
•
Species Relativism
Descriptive Relativism
Cultural Relativism
Religious Relativism
Individual Relativism
Species Relativism
• This view claims that ethics is relative to
our species, or relative to humanity as a
whole.
Descriptive Relativism
• Descriptive Relativism says that as a
matter of empirical fact, different cultures
have different beliefs about what is morally
right and what is morally wrong.
• This seems to be true.
Cultural Relativism
• This view claims that ethics is determined
by each culture. What is right and wrong
ought to be determined by culture.
Religious Relativism
• Morality is determined by God or religion.
• This view is what many people subscribe
to, however with more than 10,000
different religions which one is the right
one?
Individual Relativism
(Subjectivism)
• This view claims that each person ought to
determine what is ethical for themselves.
• As long as you do what you think is right,
then you have acted correctly.
Law vs. Morality
Law
Morality
Immoral Laws?
• Not all laws are moral.
Morality may different across the
world, but not all morals are equal!
Value
• What has value?
Job Name
What it
Pays
Minimum
Training Needed
New Jobs
by 2014
1. Retail Salesperson
$22,880
Short-term on-the-job
training
736,000
2. Registered Nurse
$55,680
Associate degree
703,000
3. Postsecondary Teacher
$62,032
Doctoral degree
524,000
4. Customer Service Rep
$29,350
Moderate-term on-thejob training
471,000
5. Janitor/Cleaner (NOT
maids/housekeeping)
$20,800
Short-term on-the-job
training
440,000
6. Waiter/Waitress
$15,980
Short-term on-the-job
training
376,000
7. Combination Food Preparation &
Serving Worker
$17,850
Short-term on-the-job
training
367,000
8. Home Health Aide
$19,200
Short-term on-the-job
training
350,000
9. Nursing Aid, Orderly, Attendant
$21,890
Postsecondary
vocational award
325,000
10. General & Operations Manager
$93,580
Bachelor's degree plus
work
308,000
Job Name
What it Pays
Minimum Training Needed
New Jobs
by 2014
1. Retail Salesperson
$22,880
Short-term on-the-job training
736,000
2. Registered Nurse
$55,680
Associate degree
703,000
3. Postsecondary Teacher
$62,032
Doctoral degree
524,000
4. Customer Service Rep
$29,350
Moderate-term on-the-job training
471,000
5. Janitor/Cleaner (NOT maids/housekeeping)
$20,800
Short-term on-the-job training
440,000
6. Waiter/Waitress
$15,980
Short-term on-the-job training
376,000
7. Combination Food Preparation & Serving Worker
$17,850
Short-term on-the-job training
367,000
8. Home Health Aide
$19,200
Short-term on-the-job training
350,000
9. Nursing Aid, Orderly, Attendant
$21,890
Postsecondary vocational award
325,000
10. General & Operations Manager
$93,580
Bachelor's degree plus work
308,000
11. Personal and Home Care Aide
$17,560
Short-term on-the-job training
287,000
12. Elementary School Teacher
$46,350
Bachelor's degree
265,000
13. Accountant and Auditor
$57,160
Bachelor's degree
264,000
14. Office Clerk
$24,440
Short-term on-the-job training
263,000
15. Hand laborer & freight, stock & material mover
$22,190
Short-term on-the-job training
248,000
16. Receptionist and Information Clerk
$22,900
Short-term on-the-job training
246,000
17. Landscaping and Groundskeeping Worker
$22,260
Short-term on-the-job training
230,000
18. Truck Driver, Heavy and Tractor Trailer
$34,920
Moderate-term on-the-job training
223,000
19. Computer Applications Software Engineer
$78,570
Bachelor's degree
222,000
20. Maintenance and Repair Worker
$32,290
Moderate-term on-the-job training
202,000
21. Medical Assistant
$25,860
Moderate-term on-the-job training
202,000
22. Executive Secretary and Administrative Assistant
$37,350
Moderate-term on-the-job training
192,000
23. Sales Representative, Wholesale & Manufacturing
$54,500
Moderate-term on-the-job training
187,000
Value Concepts
• Intrinsic Value
• Extrinsic Value
Intrinsic Value
• Intrinsic value is value that a thing has in
and of its self.
• Often valuable as an ends.
• Examples:
• Happiness, Love, Honor, Family, Health,
and Freedom
Extrinsic or Instrumental Value
• Something has extrinsic if it is valuable as
a means to acquiring or attaining
something we value in virtue of itself.
• For example money has little or no
intrinsic value, it’s just bits of paper or
metal, but it has great extrinsic value in
that it can used to acquire other items
which we do value.
Moral and Non Moral value
• Moral evaluation is restricted to moral agents.
• One must be a rational agent in order for one to evaluate
the morality of your actions
• These beings may still have moral worth.
Non Moral Value
• Objects, experiences, and states of affairs
can all have value. They may have
intrinsic or extrinsic value, but it is not
moral value.
• Some ethical theories evaluate actions in
terms of how well they promote non moral
value.
Goals of a Moral Theory
Theoretical Goals
– Explains why something is moral.
Practical Goals
– Procedures for evaluating morality of action.
Relation of Moral principles to
Theory
• Moral principles often encompass an
expression of both theoretical and
practical goals.
• Example: “Act only on that maxim whereby
you can at the same time will that it should
become a universal law.”
- Immanuel Kant
Structure of Moral Theory
• Theory of Right
– Theories which focus upon right and wrong
action.
• Theory of Value
– Moral Value
– Non Moral Value
Basic Moral Concepts
• Deontological concepts
• The prefix “deon” comes from the Greek and
means duty.
• Normative in nature- what we ought to do.
• Obligatory Actions
• Prohibited Actions
• Optional Actions
Obligatory Actions
•
•
•
•
•
Actions that one ought to do.
Actions we have a duty to perform.
They are required of us.
They are the “right” thing to do.
Failure to perform them means we have
acted incorrectly, wrongly or immorally.
Prohibited Actions
• Actions that one ought not do.
• Actions we have a duty not to perform.
• It is required of us to refrain from
performing them.
• They are the “wrong” thing to do.
• To perform them means we have acted
incorrectly, wrongly or immorally.
Optional Actions
• Actions that are neither obligatory nor
wrong.
• We are not required to perform them
• We are not required to refrain from
performing them
• Such actions are neutral
Main Ethical Frameworks
• Deontological Theories
– Divine Command Theory
– Kantian Ethics
• Teleological Theories
– Utilitarianism
– Egoism
– Hedonism
– Virtue Ethics
• Relativism
Deontological Theories
• Determine right or
wrong on the basis of
action
• Divine Command
Theory
Teleological Theories
• Also know as
Consequentialist
• Determine right or
wrong on the basis of
Consequences.
• Utilitarianism
• Egoism
• Hedonism
• Example: Robin Hood
Deontological Theories
• Kantian Constructivism
Immanuel Kant
Kantian Moral Theory
• According to Kant our moral duty is
knowable by means of our rationality. Our
rationality allows human beings to be
conscious of rules of behavior, which he
considers to be both Universal and
Necessary.
Categorical Imperative
• Categorical Imperative- It commands
certain conduct immediately.
• Categorical- it applies instantly to all
rational beings
• Imperative- a principle on which we ought
to act
• "Act only on that maxim whereby thou
canst at the same time will that it
should become a universal law".
A Rule of Logic
• Lying, Cheating, Stealing and Killing are all
wrong for Kant.
• However they are wrong, not based upon the
consequences, but because according to Kant,
they violate a rule of logic.
• For Example, if we all lied, all the time, then
there would be no truth in the world. As such,
truth would be meaningless- Logically, it would
not exist- as a consequence… hard to avoid
speaking in Terms of consequences.
• Kant thinks that certain moral rules apply
to everyone all the time. A rule such as
lying is wrong, applies to everyone, and
therefore morality commands that we
never lie no matter what situation we find
ourselves in. The beneficial
consequences of our action do not justify
any action that violates the categorical
imperative.
Plato 428-384 B.C.
• Plato, the student of
Socrates, founded the first
University in the year 387called the Academy.
• Science and knowledge
were the chief goals of
study.
• The mind was trained to
cut thru rhetoric.
Division of the Soul
• According to Plato the soul is divided into
three parts.
• Tripartite conception of the soul.
• Reason
• Spirit
• Appetite
Reason
• Reason guides us rationally towards
reasonable goals
Spirit
• Spirit gives us the ability to comply with
reason, to be brave and follow thru with
our goals
Appetite
• The appetitive side of our soul drives our
impulses and desires.
• Reason, according to Plato, must keep the
desires in check.
• Allowing our passions to make decision
will lead to chaos and ruin.
Plato and ignorance
• Ignorance leads to evil.
• Plato claims that no one knowingly does
wrong.
• Akrasia- or weakness of the will, does not
exist.
• People simply do not understand the harm
they are doing by performing certain
actions.
Teleological Theories
• Focus on the consequences of actions.
• Right actions are equated with those that
produce things of value.
Utilitarianism
• Utilitarianism- an act is good if it
maximizes the greatest amount of good.
Jeremy Bentham
Quantitative Utilitarian
Bentham claims that:
• "Nature has placed mankind under to
sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is
for them alone to point out what we ought
to do, as well as determine what we shall
do"
Principle of Utility
• By the principle of utility he means, "that
principle which approves and disapproves
of every action whatsoever, according to
the tendency which it appears to have to
augment or diminish happiness".
Hedonic Calculus
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Acts of pleasure- consider
Intensity
Duration
Certainty
Propinquity- nearness
ConsequencesFecundity- the chances that it will be followed by more of
the same, purity- the chances that the pleasure will not
be followed by pain
• Extent- the number of people it affects
John Stuart Mill
Qualitative Utilitarian
Quality over Quantity
• "It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool
satisfied...It is better to be a human being
dissatisfied than a pig satisfied."
Mill Claims:
• Mill claims that the Hedonic calculus is
impossible because the nature of pain and
pleasure are such that no meaningful
standard can be established to weigh one
pleasure against one pain.
• He thinks that QUALITY pleasures will
lead to a greater quantity of pleasure.
Act utilitarianism
• Same as “utilitarianism”
• An act is right if and only if no other act
available to the moral agent maximizes
utility more than the act decided upon.
Rule utilitarianism• An act is right if and only if it falls under a
correct moral rule.
• So not only must the act have good
consequences it must not violate any
moral rules.
• Rules are justified in terms of the social
utility that results in the long term by
obeying them.
Not Egoism
• "The happiness which forms the utilitarian
standard of what is right conduct, is not
the agents own happiness, but that of all
concerned..." In this way, the rightness or
wrongness of an act is not based upon the
consequences of pain and pleasure for
yourself, but also those consequences for
others.
Ethical Egoism
• Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
• Ethical Egoism- each person ought to
pursue his self interest exclusively
• Psychological Egoism- each person
does pursue his own self-interest
exclusively
Ethical Hedonism
• Epicures (341- 270 BC) claimed that the
right action is the one that leads to the
most pleasure for the individual. Yet
instead of seeking out pleasure, Epicures
says that we should try to avoid pleasure
that way we will not feel too bad when we
are without them. He proposes a
minimalist philosophy where we seek only
that which we need to survive.
J.J.C. Smart
• Is a modern day hedonist.
• He proposes and interesting example.
Imagine that we could all be plugged into a
machine that can stimulate the pleasure
centers in our mind. All we have to do is
push a button and we will experience
tremendous pleasure.
Life of a button pusher.
• If pleasure is the chief goal of life, then what do
we say about the life of a button pusher- one
that sits back in his easy chair and pushes a
button all day long. Further imagine that our
society has progressed to a point technologically
where we don't have to work, so all of the button
pusher are not going to starve to death and our
civilization is not going to be destroyed. Would
such a way of life be laudable? Would it be
worthy of pursuit?
Stoicism
• Stoics would seek hardship so that they
could train themselves to remain
untroubled by pain and hardship.
• They claimed that the universe was
governed by natural law, that there was a
purpose and reason for all things.
Stoicism continued
Whatever happens is the inevitable outcome
of the logic of the universe.
Whatever happens, happens with a reason
and is therefore for the best.
Given that you cannot control your fate, but
you can control your attitude, remain
emotionally uninvolved in your fate, and
your life will be untroubled.
Arthur Schopenhauer
• Held that the world is structured according
to will, that nothing can bring meaning to
our existence.
Life is negative
• Schopenhauer argues that the nature of
human existence is such that it is
impossible to experience to have positive
experience.
• He claims that life is pointless because our
choices of ends or goals are entirely
arbitrary.
Can’t fulfill our desires
• He claims that what we consider good is simply
things that are those things that aid in the
satisfaction of our will and those things that are
bad are those which get in the way of our
satisfaction of our will.
• He says that it is impossible for our desires to be
fulfilled because the fulfillment is transitory- the
moment our appetite is sated another desire
appears and we are left with nothing.
Desire is Negative
• That is why he claims that desire is
something negative.
• Schopenhauer’s main point is that nothing
can really ease our suffering in this
existence except death.
Leo Tolstoy "Confessions"
• Faith vs.. Reason
• The notion that faith is irrational has long
been pervasive in philosophy. The
dichotomy between faith and reason dates
back to antiquity and was taken for
granted by medieval thinkers such as St.
Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Rationality leads to nothing
• He says, "philosophical knowledge denies
nothing but simply replies that is cannot
solve the question, and that as far as it is
concerned any resolution remains infinite.
Having understood this, I realized that it
was impossible to search for an answer to
my questions in rational knowledge; …
rational knowledge had led me to
recognize that life is meaningless. My life
came to a halt and I wanted to kill myself.
Faith Gives Purpose
• As I looked around at people, at humanity
as a whole, I saw that they lived and
affirmed that they knew the meaning of
life. I looked at myself, I had lived as long
as I knew the meaning of life. For me, as
for others, faith provided the meaning of
life and the possibility of living."
Friedrich Nietzsche "What is
Noble"
• Slave morality vs. Master morality
• The weak hold the Slave Morality
– Claims all are equal, all deserve fairness.
• The powerful hold the master morality.
– A Morality of nobility where cunning and pride
are held in highest regard. Denies equality.
Nietzsche claims that the wool has been pulled
over our eyes, equality and fairness are a joke
Jean-Paul Sartre
• "Existentialism and Humanism"
• 1) existence comes before essence.
• 2) Man is free- that is he posses free will
and as such is necessarily free
• 3) Each man determines his own morality.
Intuitionist
• W.D. Ross
Prima Facie Duty
• Prima Facie duty vs. absolute duty
• A prima facie duty is a conditional duty. It
may be overridden by a duty of greater
importance. Prima Facie duties are not
static. This means that one may out weight
another in one situation and the same two
duties might switch positions given other
circumstances. We know which one takes
precedent by intuition- we just know.
Not Quite Utilitarianism
• Example:
• Keeping a promise
– Utilitarian, act utilitarian, keep the promise if it
produces beneficial consequences
– Keep the promise, because you have a moral
duty to keep them promise, unless a greater
duty comes into conflict with keeping your
promise.
Sentimentalism
• The Notion that our sentiments or feels
can be used to determine morality.
• Very similar to intuitionism.
• David Hume is often viewed as an ethical
sentimentalist this is very similar to W.D.
Ross.
Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
Eudaimonia
• Aristotle argues that happiness is the goal
of life. Happiness, Greek: eudaimonia,
means human flourishing, or living well or
doing well.
Happiness and Function
• Human happiness if tied to human
function. Aristotle feels that we will be
happy if we are all fulfilling our function.
Further he thinks that everything has a
function. The function of something is
whatever makes that thing good.
Something is good according to Aristotle if
it fulfills its function. A good knife is one
that cuts well.
Function of a person
• What is a good person? Aristotle says that
the function of man is rationality .
Therefore a good man is one that is
rational. A rational man is controlled by
reason in all things.
Reason as our guide
• To be happy we must be “acting in
accordance with right reason.” The rational
part of the soul must be in control of our
appetites.
Golden Mean
• .It is for this reason that Aristotle discusses
the golden mean. The golden mean is the
balance between excess and deficiency.
• Foolhardy Courage
Cowardice
• Gluttony
Temperance Starvation
• Greed
Ambition
Sloth
• Indulgence Temperance Insensibility
Natural Rights Theorist
• Thomas Hobbes
• John Locke
• Jean Jacques Rousseau
Thomas Hobbes
State of Nature
• Mankind was born into the state of nature.
Life in the state of nature is "short nasty
and brutish".
State of Nature Continued
• There are no arts or letters only a war of
all against all. In this state men all have an
equal right to everything. Right is equal to
freedom, the freedom, to do what he
would, and against whom he thought fit,
and to possess, use and enjoy all that he
would or could get.
1 Natural Right
• Thomas Hobbes
• 1 Natural Right- LIFE!
Two Laws of Nature
• Hobbes says that in the State of Nature
mankind knows by reason two laws of
nature, they are 1)"seek peace and follow
it" and 2), "be willing to lay down his right
to all things; and be contented with so
much liberty against other men, as he
would allow against himself."
• “Golden Rule”
Form a Government
• The best way to protect your RIGHT to life.
• All people give up our rights, to the king.
• King determines morality.
• NO IMMORAL LAWS!
John Locke
Kinder, Gentler state of Nature
• Locke’s conception of the state of nature
differs from Hobbes. He says that it is ,
"Men living together according to reason,
without a common superior on Earth with
authority to judge between them is
properly the state of nature".
John Locke: 3 Natural Rights
• Natural rights are akin to human rights.
• LIFE
• LIBERTY
• PROPERTY
Jean Jacques Rousseau
True State of Nature
• Rousseau claims that both Hobbes and
Locke mischaracterize the state of nature.
• Natural Man
• Civil Man
Natural Man
• Natural man is motivated by love of self, only
cares about self preservation. Natural man is
not motivated by greed or love of material
goods.
Civil Man
• Mankind moves from the state of nature to
civilization once we move from self
preservation towards the goal of acquiring
property and wealth. At this point mankind
becomes motivated by greed and
corrupted by envy.
Mill’s Harm Principle
• The Harm Principle : ...the sole end for
which mankind are warranted, individually
or collectively, in interfering with the liberty
of action of any of their number, is selfprotection. That the only purpose for which
power can be rightfully exercised over any
member of a civilized community, against
his will, is to prevent harm to others.