Week 2: Egoism, Utilitarianism, Deontology Flashcards
What is Machiavelli’s Egoism?
There are no universal moral systems. What matters if your own self-interest, and you should do whatever is necessary to maintain your position - even if it meant acting immorally
What is Hobbesian Egoism?
Individuals are naturally self-interested and competitive, therefore a social contract should be enforced by a sovereign with absolute power to prevent such conflict
What is Rand Egoism?
Everyone operating out of self-interest (per voluntary actions) will bring about the maximum human happiness
What is Bentham’s utilitarianism?
An action is deemed as “good/ethical” if it generates more pleasure than pain, and when it generates more pleasure than pain for society as a whole
What is Mill’s utilitarianism?
Some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others. Need to take the quality of pleasure into account instead of just the quantity
What is Act and Rule utilitarianism? (Often compared as SR vs. LR)
Act utilitarianism: The morality of an action is determined by considering the consequences of that particular action alone, without considering any general rules or principles
Rule utilitarianism: The adherence to a set of rules or principles that will lead to the greatest overall happiness or well-being, rather than focusing on the consequences of each individual action.
For example, suppose that lying in a particular situation would produce the greatest amount of overall happiness or well-being. An act utilitarian would argue that lying in that particular situation is morally right because it produces the greatest amount of overall happiness or well-being. A rule utilitarian, on the other hand, might argue that it is generally wrong to lie because if everyone lied whenever it produced the greatest amount of overall happiness or well-being, it would lead to negative consequences in the long run. Therefore, in this case, the rule utilitarian would argue that telling the truth is morally right because it adheres to the general rule of telling the truth.
What is Kant’s Deontology?
The right thing to do is to act in accordance to The Categorical Imperative
What is Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics?
The guideline for determining a virtuous action is to look for the mean between extremes
What is Confucius’ Virtue Ethics?
A morally right action is one that is consistent with the virtue of benevolence, and that contributes to the well-being and harmony of society
What are the 4 perspectives in distributive ethics?
1) Aristotle - resources distributed by merit
2) John Rawls’ distributive principles - there should be equal rights for all + difference principle
3) Friedrich Hayek - Let people use their own knowledge to pursue their own ends. Don’t control ideas, don’t mandate what people should think, just let them do what they want
4) Robert Nozick - Entitlement Theory: The idea that people are entitled to the fruits of their labor and the property they have justly acquired
What is CSR?
The voluntary assumption of responsibilities by a corporation, that go beyond the purely economic and legal responsibilities of firms in general
What is shareholder and stakeholder theory?
- Shareholder theory - Maximize shareholder value, which is often measured by the increase in the value of a company’s stock
- Stakeholder theory - Corporations have a broader range of responsibilities to a variety of stakeholders
What is conformity bias?
The tendency of individuals to conform to the beliefs or behaviors of a group, even if those beliefs or behaviors go against their personal values or beliefs
What is meant by “Obedience to Authority” and what was the experiment used to conduct that?
The extent to which individuals would comply with an authority figure - Milgram’s experiment
What is Cognitive Dissonance?
Psychological discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values
