Chapter #2 Flashcards
Moral Dilemma vs Moral Issue
Moral Dilemma: having to choose between two bad option, ie the lesser of two evils
Moral Issue: A problem
Ethics is the study of what?
Morality
What is Morality?
a system of rules for guiding human conduct, and principles for evaluating those rules.
system, moral rules and principles
Policies can range from:
formal laws to informal, implicit guidelines for actions
Two kinds of rules of conduct (Policies)
Directives: for guiding our conduct as individuals (mirco level)
Ex: Do not steal” & “Do not harm others”
Social Policies: framed for macro level
Ex:“Proprietary software should not be copied” and “Software that can be used to invade the privacy of others should not be developed”
Principles
The rules of conduct in a moral system are evaluated by way of standards called principles
For example, the principle of “social utility“ (promoting the greatest good for the greatest number) can be used to evaluate a social policy such as :
“Proprietary software should not be copied without permission
Essentially used to evealuate social polices
Figure 2-1: Basic Components of a Moral System
Chapter #2 slide 9
Four Features of Gert’s Moral System
Public: The rules are know to all of the members
Informal: The rules are informal, not like formal laws in legal system
Rational: The system is based on principles of logical reason accessible to all its members.
Impartial: The system is not partial to one group or individual
Moral Principles: Definition
are ultimately derived from a societies system of values.
Values: can be viewed as objects of our desires or intrests
Intrinsic vs. Instrumental Values
Intrinsic Value: Things that are valued for their own sake, such as life and happiness
Instrumental Value: A value that serves some further end goal
Core Values
Basic to a society and even part of a societies survival
Moral Vs Non Moral Values
Values can be moral or not moral
When used to only help our self interests these values aren’t necessarily moral values.
Morals and values are not the same
Our basic moral values are derived from core non-moral values.
Once we bring in the notion of impartiality, we begin to take the “moral point of view.”
Grounding Moral Principles: Three
Religion: Ex; From the point of view of institutionalized religion, stealing is wrong because of it offends God or because it violates the commands of a supreme authority.
Law : Ex; If stealing violates a law in a particular nation or jurisdiction, then the act of stealing can be declared to be wrong
Philosophical ethics: Ex: Stealing is wrong because it is wrong (independent of any form of external authority or any external sanctions).
Method philosophers
analyze moral issues is normative, in contrast to the descriptive method that is used by social scientists
Ethicists vs. Moralists
Ethicists: study morality from the perspective of philosophical methodology and they appeal to logical arguments to justify their positions.
- standards that are both rational (based on logic) and impartial (open to others to verify).
Moralists: claim to have all of the answers regarding morality, and often they exhibit characteristics that have been described as “preachy” and “judgmental.”
- Some moralists may have a particular moral agenda to advance.
The Four Discussion Stoppers
- People disagree about morality; so how can we reach agreement on moral issues?
- Who am I/Who are we to judge others and to impose my/our values on others?
- Isn’t morality simply a private matter?
- Isn’t morality simply a matter that different cultures and groups should determine for themselves?
Cultural Relativism
the view that different groups have different conceptions about what is morally right and morally wrong behavior
Even if cultural relativism (Thesis A) is true, we can ask if (A) logically implies the claim in (B):
(B) We should not morally evaluate the behavior of people in culture’s other than our own (because what is morally right or wrong can only be determined only by some culture or group, as there is no universal standard).
Moral Relativism
We should not morally evaluate the behavior of people in culture’s other than our own.
Many moral relativists mistakenly assume that if there is no universal moral standard, then in matters of morality, “anything goes.” Does this follow (logically)? Is it coherent?
Therefore, the moral relativist’s view is essentially incoherent and inconsistent from a logical perspective
Moral absolutism
claims that there is only one uniquely correct answer to every moral problem and only one universal standard for all cultures.
Moral objectivism
asserts that (for at least some moral issues) there can be more than one acceptable answer, so long as rational standards apply.
The Structure of Ethical Theories
Ideally, a good theory should be coherent, consistent, comprehensive, and systematic.
To be coherent, the individual elements of the theory must fit together to form a unified.
For a theory to be consistent, its component parts cannot contradict each other.
To be comprehensive, a theory must be able to apply broadly to a wide range of actions.
And to be systematic, the theory cannot simply address individual symptoms peculiar to specific cases, while ignoring general principles that would apply in similar cases.
Four Kinds of Ethical Theories
Consequence-based: Some argue that the primary goal of a moral system is to produce desirable consequences or outcomes for its members.
On this view, the consequences (i.e., the ends achieved) of actions and policies that provide the ultimate standard against which moral decisions must be evaluated.
Duty-based: argued that morality must ultimately be grounded in the concept of duty or obligations that humans have to one another.
Contract-based: From the perspective of social-contract theory, a moral system comes into being by virtue of certain contractual agreements between individuals
Character-based: Virtue ethics(also sometimes called “character ethics”) ignores the roles that consequences, duties, and social contracts play in moral systems in determining the appropriate standard for evaluating moral behavior.
- Virtue ethics focuses on criteria having to do with the character development of individuals and their acquisition of good character traits from the kinds of habits they develop.
Utilitarian theory:
“An individual act (X) or a social policy (Y) is morally permissible if the consequences that result from (X) or (Y) produce the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of persons affected by the act or policy.”
Utilitarians draw on two key points in defending their theory:
-the principle of social utility should be used to determine morality;
-social utility can be measured by the amount of happiness produced for society as a whole
Deontological
Theories in which the notion of duty, or obligation, serve a foundation for morality are called deontological theories.
