394 final Flashcards
moral phil
relativism
example
there is no absolute right or wrong, but we can say acts are morally acceptable if they conform to _your society’s _approved practices
leads to conventionalism → it is right to do whatever immediate social environment dictates, ex. bribery by walmart in mexico
MNCs can have conflicting moral standards
we focus on absolute principles that are supposed to hold across all social settings
moral phil
consequentialism
limitations, example
acts are good if they have good consequences;
“the right thing to do is whatever will produce the best state of affairs all things considered.”
doesn’t necessarily agree on what is a “good” outcome; what outcomes count; whose wellbeing is to be maximized?
ex. surgeon’s dilemma: murder healthy traveler to give organs to 5 dying patients
moral phil
egoism, ethical egoism, objectivism, and psychological egoism
what did ayn rand say about ethical egoism?
egoism: acts are good if they benefit me; subjective
ethical egoism: moral agents should do what is in their self-interest, ayn rand says that individual ethics create value in society; of you give up your individuality and act for others, you lose the value you contribute to society
objectivism: when individuals act for others, it’s normally for an ideology (communism, religion); more rational to act for yourself
psychological egoism: self-interest is what motivates people in fact
2 main arguments for ethical egoism
adam smith and ayn rand
adam smith: when we each pursue our own self-interest, we are collectively better off.
when we try to help others, it is unsatisfactory bc we invasively impose our own preferences and charity is degrading and debilitating
ayn rand: individual ethics create value in society; of you give up your individuality and act for others, you lose the value you contribute to society
arguments against egoism
- scientific evidence that the evolutionary success of humans is due to cooperation and altruism, to a large extent
- psychological egoism in the extreme form is not consistent with the data
- insurance/sympathy → bad luck (health, natural disasters) is an imp determinant of wellbeing; do we really want to be so cold-hearted as to not care about the unfortunate?
- in prisoner’s dilemma situations, egoism makes both parties worse off than they might be under cooperation
moral phil
utilitarianism
acts are good if they can be expected to raise the sum of human welfare
everyone’s happiness counts equally
problems for the utilitarian
- involuntary sacrifices
- justified torture
- equal treatment of innocent and guilty, family and strangers
- breaking promises, lying for the greater good
- white lies → acceptable
- monetizing everything, even life itself
4 rules of moral phil
golden rule
problems
do unto others as you would have others do unto you
problems:
1. differences in preferences
2. acts where there is no other (ex. gluttony)
3. the problem of the lenient law enforcer
4 rules of moral phil
kant’s 1st rule, the categorical imperative
process?
act according to principles that are universalizable (applicable to everybody)
- state: state the action you are considering
- generalize: devise a general guiding principle that would underlie the decision
- universalize: imagine a universal law where everyone in all circumstances would act according to the principle
- rationalize: if no rational person would ever want to impose the law, then you have a moral duty not to do the action, regardless of the consequences
questions about the categorical imperative, rule utilitarianism, act utilitarianism
questions:
* can I lie to the inquiring murderer?
* how conditional and complex can my universal laws be?
* how do I decide what rules a rational person would make into universal laws?
rule utilitarianism: obey moral rules, which if universally followed, would maximize social welfare; sometimes there are exceptions
* the consequences of the act might be to lower total utility but everyone following the rule raises total utility
act utilitarianism: considers 1 action at a time
4 rules of moral phil
kant’s 2nd rule, the practical imperative
principle of autonomy, example
do not treat people purely as a means, in any way that violates their autonomy
* principle of autonomy: informed consent; no deception, no coercion
* ex. human hotspot
4 rules of moral phil
ethics of care
main philosopher?
act according to duties of care; moral action depends on interpersonal relationships, duties of care within our relationships determine our morality
rational and deontological philosophies are seen to be born out of masculine values of competition and domination
main philosopher: feminist gilligan
to establish a rule, it must satisfy:
deontological moral philosophy?
universality — i want everyone to follow that rule
reversibility — the rule should apply to me
the duty to follow a moral rule establishes a right to expect the rule to be followed by everybody
rights-based (deontological) moral philosophy: the duty to follow a moral rule establishes a right to expect the rule to be followed by everybody > canadian rights and legal system
CSR
milton friedman
3 takeaways
- a manager’s duty as an employee and an agent of the principal overrides their alleged social responsibilities.
- pursuing social responsibilities other than profit maximization is a form of taxation without representation
- pursuing profit leads to pareto efficiency (invisible hand)
CSR
milton friedman says that corporate activity that aims to help the community but reduces profits is:
+ counters
undemocratic bc these decisions should be made through democratic process (the political system)
* counter → but shareholders are well-informed and vote → so it is democratic
unwise because a business person has no expertise to identify and fix social problems
* counter → firms know much more about their product and process than any gov regulator
ineffective because a manager that acts contrary to profit maximization might be fired or have customers desert to a less scrupulous firm
* counter → not if shareholders and consumers endorse the firm’s goal
CSR
friedman ignores:
arrow
the mkt failure issue; arrow emphasizes 2 types of mkt failure in the presence of which profit max fails to yield efficient results
* negative externalities → pollution
* asymmetric info → the firm knows more than the customer abt the quality of the product, and knows more than the worker abt the safety of the workplace
ex. cars and pharma, mining
potential solutions to mkt failure
6
- regulation: production standards, maximum emission levels, safety inspections, comp policy
- taxes and subsidies: tax pollution, subsidize abatement
- legal responsibility: damage suits or “torts”; legislation for labour and consumer protection
- gov-produced goods when there are public goods or externalities: defense, healthcare, education
- industry-led solutions: guarantees, warranties, voluntary labeling
- social responsibility: moral obligations to obey ethical codes
CSR
corporate social responsibility, shared value, ESG investing
examples
corporate social responsibility — the responsibility of business to the environment, its stakeholders, and to the broader society
shared value — where firms benefit financially from CSR initiatives
* some firms (ex. those w consumer brands) find it easier to create shared value than others
* ex. unilever project shakti; trained women to sell in rural communities
* unintended consequences: put local businesses out of business
* ex. arc’teryx ponchos for the homeless
ESG investing — where investors invest in equities of firms that score highly on an ESG index; imp means of incentivising firms to engage in CSR
CSR
greenwashing, triple bottom lines, stakeholder theory
greenwashing — firms appear socially responsible but without having much impact
triple bottom lines – people/planet/profit; firms expand their obj beyond just making money to include having a positive impact on the env and the community
stakeholder theory — firm should act in all stakeholder interests, not just shareholders
CSR
how do we encourage firms to be more socially responsible?
consumer responsibility: depends on willingness to spend, informational symmetry
improve informational quality → certification, accounting, packaging
CSR
porter’s justifications for CSR
4
- moral obligation — companies have a moral duty to do the right thing
- sustainability — companies should operate in ways to secure long-term economic performance by avoiding detrimental short-term behaviour → aligns with triple bottom line
- freedom to operate — pragmatic approach where companies look to satisfy stakeholders → common in mining, chemicals, etc; needs to engage w the community so that people would want to work for them
- reputation — social impact can be hard to determine, as well as the benefit to firms
CSR
strategic integration
needs what?
- companies should strategically integrate CSR initiatives that affect society with the impact that society has on the firm
- need more integration between business + society
decisions made by business should consider society, and decisions made by society should consider business - everyone making decisions together, not meeting in the middle
politics
mkt capitalism, monopoly, mkt socialism, state-directed socialism
mkt capitalism: private ownership, decentralized (competition)
monopoly: private ownership, centralized (planning)
mkt socialism: public ownership; decentralized
state-directed socialism: public ownership, centralized
political systems
democracy, republic, monarchy (constitutional/absolute), communism, despotism
- democracy — citizen participation in the political system → leaders normally elected
- republic — gov subject to the people and leaders can be recalled; often democratic but can also be with monarchy (crowned republic)
- monarchy — monarch is the head of state; constitutional = like Canada, absolute = kingdom
- communism — system based on ideology of communism, often combined w a centrally planned economic system
- despotism — rule by an individual (autocracy or dictatorship) or a group of individuals (oligarchy)