Download Ethics - David Kelsey`s Philosophy Home Page

Introduction to Ethics
Lecture 4
What is Ethics?
By David Kelsey
Ethics
•
Ethics: the systematic investigation into the nature of morality.
–
–
•
Morality is the code of conduct or system of principles that a person or persons follow
as guidelines for their actions.
The morality of a society…
When we study morality we study it’s concepts. Some include:
–
–
–
–
Good & Bad
Right & wrong
Prescription & Prohibition
Permissibility & impermissibility
What morality isn’t?
•
•
Some related concepts that we don’t study when we study Morality:
Religion:
– Religion: stories, supernatural beings
– A guide to conduct vs. more than this…
•
Etiquette:
– a part of morality
– applies to less ‘serious’ actions
•
Law:
– Rules, penalties and officials
– morality and law overlap…
Non-moral and immoral
•
•
The word ‘moral’: has 2 distinct meanings.
Vs. Non-Moral:
–
•
Vs. Immoral:
–
•
non-moral: not having to do with morality
Immoral: wrong
In this class we will use moral in the sense that is opposed to non-moral.
Moral claims
•
Moral claim (also called moral judgments):
– non-factual claims that assert that some moral property such as Rightness is
instantiated in some object or action or event.
–
A property: a way that something can be.
–
A moral property is any way that something can be morally.
•
–
Examples:
Examples of moral claims:
Moral Arguments
•
A moral argument is one which asserts as its conclusion a moral claim.
– Abortion example…
Deriving Moral
Value Judgments
•
Inferring a value claim: We cannot
derive or infer a value claim from
merely factual claims.
–
–
•
Support from value: So if we are
trying to infer a value claim, at least
one of the supporting propositions
must be a value claim.
Elliot’s father example: we might
argue that Elliot’s father depends
upon Elliot so Elliot ought to take
care of his father.
–
The problem: we are deriving a
value claim, that Elliot should take
care of his father.
–
So to justifiably infer that Elliot
should take care of his father from
Elliot’s father depends upon Elliot
we need something that links the 2
claims
For example…
Critiquing moral reasoning
•
What if we come across a moral argument we disagree with?
–
–
–
•
Showing a moral principle false: how do you show a moral principle false?
–
•
If you agree with the facts
yet you disagree with the conclusion
you must try to show the moral principle false.
You simply find a counterexample to it…
Abortion is unnatural example…
A note about
Relativism
•
Moral relativism: A very popular view in ethics is moral relativism.
–
•
Confusion: often times, the following 2 claims are confused:
–
–
•
This says: What is right or wrong depends upon and is determined by one’s group or
culture.
1. What is believed to be right and wrong may differ from group to group, society to
society, or culture to culture.
2. What is right and wrong may differ from group to group, society to society, or culture
to culture.
Problems with MR: So what’s wrong with moral relativism?
–
–
–
–
True and False…
No correct answers…
Settling Disagreements..
It is counterintuitive…
Ethics: it’s three areas
•
The Discipline of Ethics can be divided into three sub-disciplines, which
together comprise it wholly.
•
They are:
–
–
–
Normative Ethics
Applied Ethics
Meta-ethics
Normative Ethics
•
Normative Ethics:
–
This is second order ethics
–
Here we aim to find the answer to the question: “What ought I do?”
–
Here we also aim to construct general guidelines for the making of a moral
judgment.
Applied Ethics
•
Applied Ethics:
–
First order ethics
–
Here we look to specific cases in which we must determine what the right action or
the permissible action is.
–
Here we make moral judgments.
Meta-ethics
•
Meta-ethics
–
Third order ethics
–
The study of the nature of moral judgments.
Normative ethics
•
Normative Ethics: aims to provide a set of guidelines for making moral
judgments.
•
In this class we will look at three such sets of guidelines.
•
They are:
–
Utilitarianism
•
–
Deontology
•
–
We will look at the theory of John Stuart Mill
We will look at Immanuel Kant’s theory
Virtue Theory
•
We will look at the theory put forth by Aristotle