Introduction to business ethics

Question 1

What is Morality? [2]

Answer 1

-To be an ethical person is to be a morally good person
-To act ethically is to do the right thing

Question 2

What is Ethics? [2]

Answer 2

◦The study of morality
◦The code of conduct of a group

Question 3

What are two examples of the Centrality of Ethics in life? [2]

Answer 3

◦Morality is close to our conception of the meaning of life
◦Moral goodness is what gives us sense that we are worthy human beings

Question 4

Why is ethics important in business?

Answer 4

Ethics is important in business because if you don’t have integrity and morals you won’t go far in the business world

Question 5

Where are moral norms derived from? [4]

Answer 5

Moral norms/ right action derived from moral principles regarding
1. harm,
2.freedom,
3.equality and
4. justice

Question 6

What is an example of the moral standard?

Answer 6

E.g. it’s wrong to harm another person without a very good reason
‣ Derive[d from] moral standard: hurting someone for no good reason is wrong anti-harm:

Question 7

Define immoral/ Unethical

Answer 7

an act that is morally wrong & falls short of a moral standard
These acts are ethically impermissible ( obliged not to perform these acts )

Question 8

Define Amoral

Answer 8

not morally wrong and no moral standard applies

Question 9

What does morally impermissible mean?

Answer 9

you’re allowed to do them but not obliged not to e.g. Many aspects of etiquette

Question 10

Define moral [3]

Answer 10

◦Morally right/ acceptable
◦An act which meets a moral standard
◦These acts are morally permissible and required ( Eg. not doing is impermissible)

Question 11

Define supererogatory [4]

Answer 11

◦An act which exceeds a moral standard
◦These acts are morally permissible but not morally required
◦Not morally obliged to perform them, or not perform them
◦Acts which are described as heroic or beyond the call of duty

Question 12

What is the moral permissibility and obligation status of Immoral, Amoral, moral and supererogatory

Answer 12

Question 13

What is descriptive ethics?

Answer 13

Descriptive claims aim to describe how things are
◦Eg. Many people believe that murder is wrong
◦About the standards people do have

Question 14

What is normative ethics?

Answer 14

Normative claims prescribe what ought to be the case
◦Eg. Murder is wrong
◦ About what moral standards people should have

Question 15

What about normative ethics are we interested in? [2]

Answer 15

‣ Is capitalism a good system
‣ Should consultants respect confidentiality

Question 16

If we think that ethical claims can be ______ or ______, then we believe that there are moral/
ethical _______

Answer 16

true
false
facts

Question 17

Are normative moral facts objective ?

Answer 17

‣ Yes when they are straightforward
‣ Nature doesn’t change just because facts are harder to find
‣ Moral facts are objective

Question 18

What is Emotivism?

Answer 18

Emotivists believe that ethical claims are actually merely expressions of emotion.
E.g. when we say murder is wrong, actually expressing our negative emotions

Question 19

What do Emotivists claim about normative moral facts?

Answer 19

Therefore, they claim that normative moral facts do not exist.

Question 20

What is intuitive about emotivism?

Answer 20

Often in difficult ethical situations, how we feel guides our moral choices.

Question 21

What does emotivism help do?

Answer 21

It helps explain why people disagree about grey areas in ethics

Question 22

What is difficult to accept when it comes to emotivism?

Answer 22

The implication that there are no moral facts is difficult to accept when it comes to obvious moral standards

Question 23

What are the arguments against emotivism? [2]

Answer 23

◦Neither true nor false that murder is wrong is deeply counterintuitive.
◦It would be inconsistent to hold that emotivism is only true of grey areas in ethics but
not true of more obvious areas.

Question 24

What is moral relativism?

• For the relativist: (3)

Answer 24

◦ Moral facts exist, e.g. normative statements about morality can be true or false. ◦ What makes these facts true or false is whether a group believes it or not. ◦ This means that the truth of moral claims will be relative to a community.
——> Therefore moral facts are not objective, but subjective.

Question 25

In terms of Moral relativism:

What is the concept of tolerance?

Answer 25

• Tolerance: appealing to people who want to be open-minded about cultural practices of others

Question 26

What are the problems with moral relativism? (2)

Answer 26

1. Acts that all of us would agree are immoral cannot be considered universally ethically impermissible as long as some group of people believe(d) the act to be permissible.

• In short: there are no universal moral facts

2. • Relativism espouses a strange/unusual view of how facts are established: mere belief

Question 27

Problems with moral relativism:

• Two groups within society have conflicting views on moral issues the relativist can either: (2)

Answer 27

◦1. Insist that the view held by the majority is right. This endorses tyranny of the majority, and again seems to reveal an oddity in the way facts are established

◦2. Re-assert standard relativism, that each group has their own set of moral facts that apply only to them & there is no practical guidance for when these values have consequences for members of the other group

Question 28

What is the Doctrine of Divine Command? (2)

Answer 28

• According to this doctrine:
  ◦ There are normative moral facts
  ◦ They are determined by the will of god (i.e. not just that what god says is right, but that what god says is right only because god says so)

—-> Therefore these facts are subjective

Question 29

In terms of the Doctrine of Divine Command,

What would occur if god’s will were different?

Answer 29

• If god’s will were different, then moral standards would be different

◦ If we think god would never will something like murder, it suggests that morality is independent of god’s will (if there was not something independently wrong with murder, then why would it be the case that god would never will it?)

Question 30

In terms of the Doctrine of Divine Command,

• Rejecting DC does not necessarily refute god’s omnipotence.

What are the limits with omnipotence? (2)

Answer 30

◦ Omnipotence has limits:
‣ e.g. does not allow for logical contradictions like 2 + 2 = 3
◦ DC is also not clearly advanced within all religious texts

Question 31

How do we reveal normative facts

Answer 31

To uncover the truth about difficult questions, we need to work hard as moral facts are not verifiable in the way that scientific facts are

Question 32

What does the law ofen allow for and what does it require? (3)

Answer 32

1. The law sometimes requires immoral acts ◦E.g. apartheid laws, Nazi Germany
2. The law sometimes permits immoral acts ◦E.g. lying to your partner, bullying, etc.
3. The law requires interpretation: this is complex, & isn’t a substitute for critical thinking

Question 33

” Moral facts are not verifiable in the way that scientific facts are”

What are the reasons for this? (3)

Answer 33

◦ Even the fundamental principles of morality, and how they ought to be weighed against each other, are contentious

◦ This is not that strange
‣ e.g. are we certain of economic & historical facts?

◦ Critical thinking gives us best chance of locating moral facts & falsehoods as often as possible

Question 34

What are the intricacies of following legal advice?

Answer 34

• Even if religion is not source of moral truths, it’s a good place to seek ethical guidance.

Question 35

What are the limits of following religious advice and what are the consequences of such limitations? (2)

Answer 35

1. BUT: religious texts, religious authorities, and other religious sources of ethical advice will not cover every single specific moral dilemma we face, and may sometimes give diverging advice
   ‣ In these instances, religious advice may require interpretation
2. SO: sometimes religion is a good starting point, but critical thinking will still be
   valuable to make sense of an apply the basic moral principles set forth

Question 36

What does it mean to follow your gut? (5)

Answer 36

1. Does not always push us in the right direction
2. Is influenced by various irrelevant factors: mood, personal experiences, etc.
3. Sometimes pulls us in more than one direction
4. Our gut does not give us access to reasons for action
5. This doesn’t mean intuition has no place in moral thought: it is often a good starting point
   — e.g. if almost every aspect of an ethical view disturbs our moral intuitions, this may give us pause to think that it is not a plausible theory.

Question 37

What are the arguments for ethics vs religion? (3)

Answer 37