Ethics of duty (non-consequentialist) Flashcards
What is the ethics of duty?
Main contributor to theory is Immanuel Kant
Kant was an enlightenment thinker. People do not need god or religion to identify universal ethics that apply to all. Humans are rational actors who can derive right and wrong properly for themselves.
What is the categorical imperative?
Categorical Imperative - framework by which moral principles could be derived.
Maxim 1 - Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become an eternal law (Consistency, an action can only be right if everyone can follow the same underlying principle)
Maxim 2 Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only (human dignity should not be ignored)
Maxim 3: Act only so that the will through its maxims could regard itself at the same time as universally lawgiving (would other rational actors also endorse our action? Overcoming subjectivity) - (New York Times test - Trevino and Nelson 2004 would you be comfortable if your actions were reported in the press?)
What are the problems and issues with the ethics of duty? (Crane and Matten)
Problems/issues with the ethics of duty (Crane and Matten):
Undervaluing outcomes
Complexity (difficult to apply maxims)
Optimism (idealistic)
Ethics of Rights and Justice (non-consequentialist)
Opposite of utilitarianism
John Locke rights to life, freedom, and property.
Crane and Matten:
Natural rights are certain basic, important, unalienable entitlements that should be respected and protected in every single action.
Beauchamp and Childress, have defined the term “right” to be a “justified claim that individuals and groups can make upon other individuals or upon society; to have a right is to be in a position to determine by one’s choices, what others should do or need not do.”
In ethics this means that other actors have a duty to respect these rights.
Has been very influential in history: American constitution, UN declaration of Human Rights, EU Charter of Fundamental Human Rights
What are the 5 human rights UN?
Article 1 Right to Equality
Article 2 Freedom from Discrimination
Article 3 Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security
Article 4 Freedom from Slavery
Article 5 Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment
Definition of Ethics of justice?
Justice: Crane and Matten “Justice can be defined as the simultaneously fair treatment of individuals in a given situation with the result that everybody gets what they deserve.”
What is fairness?
What is fairness??
Beauchamp and Bowie 1997
Fair procedures: Has everyone been free to acquire rewards for his or her own efforts? Procedural justice
Fair outcomes: Fairness is determined when the consequences are distributed in a just manner according to a principle such as need or merit. Distributive justice
Egalitarianism v non-egalitarianism
What is egalitarianism?
Egalitarianism: Any form of inequality is unjust. Marxism, exploitation of working class by the capitalist elites. Marxism has lost momentum since the fall of the soviet union.
Problem with Utopianism (Peterson, 2016, 2017).
People are different Crane and Matten
How do you decide inequality? Only by wealth? Or happiness? Or comfort? Or satisfaction? How do you possibly measure it? (Peterson, 2017)
No incentive for innovation and system becomes inefficient since everyone is rewarded equally (Crane and Matten)
Can and has historically led to an infringement on freedom to facilitate. In essence it has elevated some rights above others.
Probably wouldn’t pass Kant’s test.
What is non-egalitarianism?
Non-egalitarianism: Justice in economic system is a result of freemarket.
Nozick 1974: distrubution of wealth is just if it has been brought about by just and fair transactions
Freemarket has been criticised by many authors to lead to inequality where poor countries are trying to compete with rich countries and citizens are exploited.
What is a popular solution in between egalitarianism and non-egalitarianism?
Popular solution in between: Rawls 1971
1 Each person should have an equal right to the most extensive total basic system of liberties (is everyone involved possessing ame basic liberties?)
2 Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both
a) to the greatest benefit of the least advantage
b) attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity
Good example of how this could work in practice could be where MNCs still are able to take advantage of low wages in countries if they also ensure children receive education etc. (Link to egoism)
Consider first before moving to second.
