Teleological Ethics

Question 1

Teleological ethics definition

Answer 1

Ethical aim = good consequence

goodness/badness of decisions and rules depend only on their aims and consequences

Question 2

Types of teleological ethics

Answer 2

Eudaimonistic ethics: the good is human happiness

Utilitarian ethics: the good is utility

Question 3

Eudaimonistic Ethics

Answer 3

Biggest advocate: Aristotle
Assumption: everyone aims at living a good life. Every action is directed at sth. good, e.g. good grades.
Flourishing life is the life in accordance with reason.
Human behavior can be explained by understanding what makes them happy.

Question 4

Aristotle: Purpose of life and highest good for human beings

Answer 4

purpose of human life: Eudaimonia (human happiness, living well)
highest good: eudaimonia (flourishing in the world)
Flourishing life = the life in accordance with reason. Growth.

Question 5

Different kinds of life (Aristotle)

Answer 5

People form notions of happiness from different “modes” of life:
pleasure - sensual enjoyment, comparison to animals
honor - life in society,
knowledge and virtue - life of contemplation

Question 6

Life in society

Answer 6

either life of money making or life of honor.
Money making: wealth is not the ultimate goal, is just a means to an end but people make it to a goal→ Constraining their lives by not going beyond the accumulation of money.
Honor: social status is provided by other people, is not in our own control and therefore can be easily taken away → Happiness should come from “the inside”

Question 7

Life of Pleasure

Answer 7

people being slaves to their joys and desires, just living the life of animals, no excellation of reason

Question 8

Life of contemplation

Answer 8

Eduaimonia/happiness, as the final and self-sufficient goal, can be achieved by rational agents who act, and who are not only victims of their circumstances.
Reason and knowledge are regarded as “function” of humans.

Question 9

Utilitarian Ethics

Answer 9

Second sub-category of teleological ethics.
Act- vs. Rule utilitarianism
Actions maximizing utility are good

Question 10

Act Utilitarianism

Answer 10

“Father”: Bentham, observed suffering of many to benefit of the few during french revolution.
actions maximizing utility for all affected people are good
Assumption: life of pain and pleasure

Question 11

Rule Utilitarianism

Answer 11

rules maximizing utility for all affected people are more important than particular acts

Question 12

Bentham’s Assumptions

Answer 12

Act Utilitarianism: all people are of the same value; every decision is balanced against pain and pleasure
the act that produces the largest utility for the many is morally right.

Question 13

Principles of Bentham’s Utilitarianism

Answer 13

Consequences: if sth is right or wrong it can be judged based on its consequences
Utility: the consequences of actions have to increase the utility compared to their alternatives
Hedonism: the utility is achieved if people get what they want.
Generalizability: focus is on increasing the utility for everybody. egalitarian approach: every person has the same weight

Question 14

Hedonistic Calculation, quantification criteria

Answer 14

Pleasure has to be…
more intense
of a greater duration
must have higher probability to come true
must be nearer in time
should lead to secondary pleasures, that the other pleasure doesn’t lead to
has to be purer and less mixed with pain
such that more people can realize it

Question 15

Guidelines Hedonistic Calculation

Answer 15

List all relevant options/actions to be examined
List all affected people including yourself
assess how individuals are affected by each alternative
choose the act that maximizes total utility
Result: Balance between egoism and altruism, i.e. maximization of own and others’ utility

Question 16

Rule Utilitarianism

Answer 16

John Stuart Mill. Teleological approach.
Focuses on general rules of conduct, not particular situations.
Assumption: rules guide behavior, which lead to the greatest good of the greatest number.
Core principle: highest good is happiness, balance between pleasure and pain. Differentiation between higher and lower pleasures.

Question 17

Mill: higher and lower pleasures

Answer 17

Not all pleasures are measured equally.
Oyster example: less volatile pleasure curve than human being, only exists. But human being will have on average higher cumulated pleasure than oyster - better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied.
Lower pleasures = bodily pleasures
Higher pleasures = mental pleasures

Question 18

Higher pleasures

Answer 18

Human dignity and respect for human rights qualitative factors of happiness -> utility
Impartiality: the happiness for all has to be maximized, not the agent’s own happiness.
This maximization rule should be used for general rules of conduct.

Question 19

Assessing an action rule according to Mill

Answer 19

balance utility for all affected people and compare consequences to the benchmark case, that everyones would act according to the chosen behavior. Look at consequences of the behavior. (non-contextual rules)

Question 20

Teleological Approach

Advantages

Answer 20

• “easy” to apply in business, since commonsense plausibility and flexibility is used
• the calculation is a foundation for cost-benefit analysis
• Bentham’s theory is a guide to public policy
• shifts the focus from the company to the interests of its stakeholders

Question 21

Teleological Approach

Disadvantages/Critique

Answer 21

• Difficult to measure utility, responsibility to measure and quantification
• assumptions about goodness are hard to make
• consequentiality: judgement solely based on actions, not taking into account prior obligations, personal intentions or individual rights
• consequences refer to future, which is hard to predict