Week 2

Question 1

Of which ethical theory is utilitarianism a form?

Answer 1

Consequentialism

Question 2

What are the basic ideas of consequentialism?

Answer 2

Consequentialism aka rational choice theory argues that, under normal circumstances, people will choose those decisions and actions that best serve their interests

Question 3

Who pioneered utilitarianism?

Answer 3

Jeremy Bentham

Question 4

What are the basic ideas of utilitarianism?

Answer 4

You can judge if a decision is good based on if the outcome is useful, if an outcome increases utility for a society it is inherently good.
The best decision is the decision which brings pleasure to the most people

Question 5

Jeremy Bentham’s ideas

Answer 5

1. Morals and ethics should also have a scientific basis
2. Conflicts are all about morality, therefore rational action should avoid conflict.
   –> Rationalism and morality are intertwined
3. Our decisions are ruled by pleasure and pain
4. We should not consider individual pleasure and pain but that of the entirety of involved individuals
5. Utility is anything that increases hapiness for the most people
6. Utility is quantitative and expressable in numbers
7. He proposes a moral arithmetics (a ‘hedonistic’ or ‘felicific’ calculus (1)).
8. Morality is not a matter of taste or intuition or feelings such as disgust it should have an objective fundament
9. All actions, ideas or values are mere means to the contribution of more (or less) happiness.
   –> no action is intrinsically good or bad

1. Hedonè (ἡδονή) = Greek for happiness; felix = Latin for happiness. Hence ‘hedonistic’ and ‘felcific’ as adjectives!

Question 6

There is one key difference between the theories of Bentham and Mill: what is it?

Answer 6

Bentham solely recognizes quantitative pleasure while Mill makes a distinction between quantitative and qualitative pleasures (1)

1. Bentham did not allow for this because then different weights should be assigned for different items in his hedonistic calculus

Question 7

What are John stuart Mill’s key ideas and what is the name of his theory?

Answer 7

John Stuart Mill: greatest happiness principle
* Maximizing pleasurable outcomes for the greatest number of people in a given society
* Makes a distinction between quantity pleasures and quality pleasures
* Competent judges should make the distintinction between higher and lower quality pleasures

Question 8

What does Mill mean by the following?
‘It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied’

Answer 8

Mill’s quote refers to his view that all pleasures are not equal. There are higher and lower desires and pleasures. It is better to try to meet our higher order pleasures (e.g. learning, love, beauty) and be dissatisfied than to fully satisfy our lower order pleasures (e.g. sex, food)

Question 9

What are some critiques on Mill’s theory?

Answer 9

• Goods are uncomparable: you cannot easily compare them
• How do we decide on the ‘competent judges and is it good to leave this in the hands of a few?
• Can people calculate happiness?

Question 10

What is Immanuel Kant’s theory on moral decision making?

Answer 10

The categorical imperative

Question 11

What are key ideas of the categorical imperative

Answer 11

Actions are inherently good or bad based on pre-determined moral laws and values
* An action is good of the intention behind it is good

Question 12

There are 2 formulations or perspectives on the categorical imperative

Answer 12

1. It is morally wrong to use people solely as instruments to accomplish one’s own objectives. Instead, individuals should be respected and treated as ends in themselves.
2. For something to be a moral law it must hold for all people at all times, it must be universal.

Question 13

Moral-development theory

By Lawrence Kohlberg

Answer 13

There are three different stages in life which contribute to how we make moral decisions
1. Pre-convential stage (3- 7): Decisions are made based on reward and punishment
2. Conventional stage (8- 13): Moral reasoning based on external ethics like law and order
3. Post-conventional (adulthood): Moral reasoning based on personal ethics
Kohlberg argues that women’s moral decision making does not develop the same way and that they may never reach moral maturity

Question 14

Virtue ethics

as by Aristotle

Answer 14

A moral theory based on the goodness of the individual carrying out the action, a righteous act is one carried out by a virtuous person. You contribute to societal happiness by fulfilling your role.
There is no universal notion of what is right neither wrong.

Question 15

Bounded Rationality

As per Herbert A. Simon

Answer 15

Bounded rationality theory, proposed by Herbert Simon, suggests that human decision-making is constrained by cognitive limitations, such as limited information, time, and cognitive processing abilities. Instead of aiming for perfect rationality, individuals make decisions that are “satisficing,” meaning they seek solutions that are good enough given the constraints they face, rather than optimal.

Question 16

Moral imagination

Answer 16

The idea that humans can and should fully think through and imagine a decision, characterized by a rational process of step-by-step thinking and imaginative solutions.

envisioning the full range of possibilities in a particular situation in order to solve an ethical challenge.

Question 17

What is Diffèrance

Continental philosophy/ Derrida

Answer 17

A way of thinking in continental philosophy that suggests that dichotomies do not exist and that thinks in terms of differences that have much more shades. Philosophers are interested in what exists between poles. Concepts and meanings are dynamic

Question 18

Undecidability

As by Jacques Derrida

Answer 18

Jacques Derrida said that a decision is based on undecidability and can’t be calculated in advance. Decisions should not be determined by the rules and procedures by which it is reached, otherwise it wouldn’t be a decision.
Derrida also pointed out the difficulty in giving “gifts”. When you give a gift and get something in return the gift ceases to be a gift. Organizations give ‘gifts’ but they expect something in return, for instance a good reputation. Many doubt whether humans are truly capable of selfless behavior.

Question 19

What are critiques from the continental perspective on various theories within moral decision making?

Answer 19

• Rule-driven ethics is not line w/ responsibility over the ‘other’
• Moral decision making often denies the aporetic nature of ethics; moral decision-making often requires a sacrificium intellectus (an sacrifice of our reason) (it is not solely rational)
• Problem of diffèrance because moral concepts are so slippery

Question 20

How can we justify excessive rewards?

Answer 20

1. If self-interest is removed, actors (CEO’s) act (more) objectively
2. Have rewards to motivate actors
3. Alignment: the idea to align managerial income (CEO income) with shareholder profit
4. Merit-based arguments: achievement means someone deserves a reward

Question 21

What are the key ideas in limitarianism?

As by Ingrid Robeyns

Answer 21

1. The first is that super-rich individuals undermine political equality because they can buy power and influence
2. Surplus money from mega-rich households could
   be used “to meet unmet urgent
   needs and local and global collective action
   problems.”

Question 22

How does Robeyns define ‘surplus money/ assets’?

Answer 22

Wealth “over and above what one needs for a fully flourishing life.”

Question 23

To what general concept and specific question is John Rawls’ thought experiment an answer?

Answer 23

Fairness: ‘How do we know what is fair to all?’

Question 24

What is the veil of ignorance?

Answer 24

A thought experiment proposed by John Rawls
Based on the assumption that: Only if we ignore our knowledge about positions in the social order, are we capable of designing a fair order.

Individuals forget or ignore their own identity, class, social and economical background etc, to rid of those personal considerations that are morally irrelevant to the justice or injustice of principles meant to allocate the benefits of social cooperation.

Question 25

What does Rawls’ view as the theoretical outcome of the veil of ignorance?

Answer 25

1. Each person should have an equal right to liberty
2. Social inequalities should be arranged so that they are to everyone’s advantage and attached to positions and offices that are open to all

Question 26

What are criticisms on the veil of ignorance?

Answer 26

• Rawls assumes individuals can pursue their interests as long as it doesn’t impede the liberty of others. Yet, excessive rewards do interfere with the lives of others as a result the open to all principle fails
• Acting out of context is impossible
  –> Lack of historical sense is the lack of all philosophers” - Nietzsche
  Nietzsche is a continental philosospher, therefore he enormously appreciates history and context
• It could be argued that as long as the executives provide enough profit for stockholders and the companies pay fair taxes, society as a whole benefit and nobody is negatively affected. (trickle-down effect)

Question 27

What is the most apparent problem with fairness?

Answer 27

The problem of sensitivity and relativism: You can not make judgements without taking into account the context.
Aporia: Somehow we both expect fairness to be above context and to be profoundly contextual!

Question 28

What are the basics of communitarianism?

Answer 28

The idea that to understand people we must
first understand the community (social context) in which they were born and bred.

‘social practices’ developing their own ‘internal goods’ is important here!
Social practices refer to the various activities, rituals, customs, and institutions that characterize a particular community or society. These social practices certain values, goals, or goods emerge that are considered valuable or meaningful within the context of the community itself.

From a role-responsibility perspective the ability of owners and stakeholders to trust executives is part of the latter’s role. Therefore, executives shouldn’t receive extra money to be trusted more.
The problem with role responsibility is that it can lead to amoralization. This means the inability or unwillingness to recognize something as a moral issue.
For example: An executive will not support environmental protection if it’s not beneficial to the company, but as a parent the same executive will support environmental protection.

Question 29

What are the continental ideas on excessive rewards (1)?

By Friedrich Nietzsche

Answer 29

1. Problem of resentment: Aren’t we just jealous and therefore projecting our own self insufficiencies?
2. Herd instinct → morality is not of our own making but is determined by those in power: less powerful parties are forced to accept whatever settlement the powerful make.
3. Contextual awareness is extremely important in your view on excessive rewards
4. the notion of fairness can be traced back to the idea of a beautiful, fulfilling life

Question 30

What are the continental ideas on excessive rewards (2)?

By Michel Foucault

Answer 30

Foucault thinks about how individual autonomy is maintained within a network of relationships and power interests. Knowledge structures emerge that shape the way people conceive themselves and others as a way of power interests.

1. Idea of freedom: Everyone is entitled to improve their own situations. There is no ethics w/o freedom.
2. Care of the self: The question here is not so much one of fairness but one of how we view ourselves and others, and how this view emerged over time and through practices. For example, if you earn a lot of money, what does it do to your life? → Are you used to the empty lifestyle and what it does to the community?
3. There should be alternative ways of self-governance than money
4. **Governmentality: **The practices that define, organize, and instrumentalize the strategies which individuals in their freedom can use to deal with each other.

Question 31

Explain the ideas of Michel Serres on the parasite?

Answer 31

The parasite is the one who take from a host and subsequently does not show any gratitude
* Parasitical relations are constantly shifting: today’s parasites will be the hosts of tomorrow
* He emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and reciprocating the benefits received from others, highlighting the ethical dimension of human relationships.