Lecture 18 - Solving Ethical Dilemmas Flashcards
What is the line drawing approach?
➢Used when moral principles are clear, but a large extent of “gray area” exists;
➢Two paradigms are considered:
- At one end, is placed the “positive paradigm” (i.e. something which is unambiguously morally acceptable);
- At the other end, is placed the “negative paradigm (i.e. something which is unambiguously (not morally acceptable)
- In between, is placed the problem under consideration, along with other similar examples
➢Line drawing can help solve ethical aspects of a problem, but it must be remembered that a choice which may appear morally acceptable may not be the best choice;
➢Needless to say, that the immoral choice is never the correct choice;
➢In order to be effective, line drawing must be used objectively and honestly
What is the Moral development – Stages hierarchy model?
➢According to this model, there are seven stages of moral development:
➢Pre-conventional morality (stage 1 and 2): i.e. Self-interest, and is concerned only about personal gain or loss. Questions asked in these stages: What’s in it for me? Why should I bother to help? Who’s in charge? Social norms and conventions are obeyed only if there is a direct payoff
➢Conventional morality (stage 3 and 4): At stage 3 the concern is to please close friends, family and associates by meeting their expectations. At stage 4, professional integrity and lawful pursuit
becomes an important end in itself.
➢Post-conventional morality (stage 5, 6 and 7): At this level, rules and/or goals are seen to be invalid unless founded on a concern for social justice and collective well being (TBL approach). Striving to be
reasonable, consistent and purposeful in pursuit of principles that are good for the community.
➢Research indicates that less than one-fifth of adults reach stage 5 (Hersh et al., 1979; Weber 1990) and stage 6 and 7 are rare (Colby et al., 1983).
➢This model is a model of the development of moral reasoning capacity – i.e. People at higher levels, e.g. 6-7 still retain the ability to assess a situation from lower stages;
➢Factors such as temptation, stress, bad mood, etc. can alter people’s moral predisposition.
