POPULAR NOTIONS OF MORALITY
IS IT RIGHT?
WHAT AM I TO DO?
WHAT IS THE RIGHT CHOICE?
IS IT WRONG?
Or IS IT
RIGHT?
Contemporary Moral Trends
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Might is right
Morals are mores
The individual is the measure
The human Race is the basis of right
Right is moderation
Right is what brings pleasure
Right is the greatest good for the greater number
Right is what is desirable for it's own sake
Right is indefinable
Right is what God wills
Ethical Systems
A. DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS or ETHICS OF DUTY
the theory of duty or moral obligation
“What one is compelled to do by reason of duty”
The most famous deontological theory was advanced by the German philosopher
Immanuel Kant.
Kant claimed that various actions are morally wrong
if they are inconsistent with the status of a person
as a free and rational being,
and that, conversely, acts that further the status of people
as free and rational beings are morally right.
One of the most important implications of deontology is that
a person's BEHAVIOR can be wrong
even if it results in the best possible outcome.
And an ACT can be righteous
even if it results in a negative outcome.
deontology insists that HOW people accomplish their goals
is usually more important than WHAT people accomplish.
In contrast to CONSEQUENTIALISM, a philosophy
famous for its claim that THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS.
CHARACTERISTICS
UNIVERSAL
WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG FOR ONE PERSON IS THE SAME
FOR ANY OTHER PERSON ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
RATIONAL
THE TEST FOR THE RIGHTNESS OF AN ACTION IS
REASON
CATEGORICAL
ABSOLUTE
UNQUALIFIED
WITHOUT CONDITION
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
IMPERATIVE
any proposition
that declares a certain action or inaction
to be necessary.
HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVE
Compels action in a given circumstance
“If I wish to satisfy my thirst, then I must drink something”
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
Denotes an absolute, unconditional requirement
that exerts its authority in all circumstances
“It is wrong to commit murder”
PRINCIPLES OF THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
Act only according to that maxim by which you can also will that it would
become a universal law.
Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own
person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but
always at the same time as an end.
Act as though you were through your maxims a law-making member of a
kingdom of ends.
ALTRUISM
is a code of ethics
which holds the welfare of others
as the standard of "good"
and self-sacrifice as the only moral action.
The unstated premise of the doctrine of altruism
is that all relationships among men involve sacrifice
This leaves one with the choice between maliciously exploiting the other person or
being "moral" and offering oneself up as the sacrificial victim.
INTRINSICISM
is the belief that VALUE
is a non-relational characteristic of an object.
This means that an object can be valuable or not, good or bad,
without reference to who it is good or bad for,
and without reference to the reason it is good or bad.
SUBJECTIVISM
The belief that values are subjective.
This means that values are
whatever we choose to pursue and whatever we desire.
It means there is no such thing as good or evil,
except what you think is good or evil.
If you believe something is evil,
that's just your own personal preference.
It is not, and cannot be, a statement about reality.
COLLECTIVISM
The concept of value requires a purpose and a beneficiary.
It requires answers to the questions
"Value to whom?" and "Value for what?"
Collectivism says value to the collective,
whether that is society, tribe, family, nation, race, sex,
or any other group or category one "belongs" to.
The standard of good is that which benefits the group
PACIFISM
the moral principle which advocates that the use of force is wrong for any
reason.
This applies to both the initiation of force, as well as defensive or
retaliatory force.
If your life is being threatened,
pacifism holds that you should not defend yourself.
If someone has stolen from you,
pacifism holds that you should not retrieve your property.
If someone has murdered other people,
pacifism holds that nothing should be done about it.
HUMANISM
Expresses renewed confidence in the power of man
to respond positively to his own problems
and so discover new things for himself
Humanism entails a commitment to the search for truth and morality
through human means in support of human interests.
In focusing on the capacity for self-determination,
humanism rejects dependence on faith,
the supernatural or divinely revealed texts.
ANARCHISM
Expresses man’s freedom to express himself without repression of any
kind.
Freedom is the highest attainment of a humanity
Anarchism is centered on rejection of any form
of compulsory government and supporting its elimination
The term "anarchism" is derived from the Greek word αναρχια "without
archons" or "without rulers“
EXISTENTIALISM
Emphasizing action, freedom, and decision as fundamental
existentialism is opposed to rationalism and positivism. i.e.,
argues against definitions of human beings as primarily rational.
Essentialism: Life is essentially meaningful.
Existentialism: Life is not essentially meaningful; but, it
is, or can be, existentially meaningful.
Existentialists look at where people find meaning.
Existentialism asserts that people actually make decisions based on
what has meaning to them rather than what is rational.
“The highest attainment of man is to find his own unique
vocation”
Soren Kierkegaard
EUDAIMONISM
Comes from the Greek word eudaimonia which means happiness
Refers to any conception of ethics that puts human happiness and the
complete life of the individual at the center of ethical concern.
UTILITARIANISM
the ethical doctrine which believes that the moral worth of an action is
solely determined by its contribution to overall utility.
Utility, the good to be maximized,
whatever brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people
has been defined by various thinkers as
happiness or pleasure versus suffering or pain.
PRAGMATISM
Pragmatism was
a philosophical
tradition that
originated in the
United States
around 1870. The
most important of
the ‘classical
pragmatists’ were
Charles Sanders
Peirce (1839–
1914), William
James (1842–
1910) and John
Dewey (18591952).
the meaning of concepts is to be sought in their practical bearings
the function of thought is to guide action
truth is preeminently to be tested by the practical consequences of
belief
Ethical System
Relativism
• theory, especially in
ethics or aesthetics,
that conceptions of
truth and moral values
are not absolute but are
relative to the persons
or groups holding them.
Cultural Relativism
The concept of cultural
relativism contains the
following claims:
• There is no objective “truth” in
morality. Right and wrong are
only matters of opinion, and
opinions vary from culture to
culture
• There is no objective
standard that can be used
to judge one societal code
better than another.
ETHICAL SYSTEMS
• Virtue Ethics
• Happiness is achieved through the development of “good habits:”
intellectual (for example knowledge) and practical action and
emotion (for example courage).
• “Golden Mean” – neither excess nor deficiency.
• Seeks to develop individual character. A good person will make a
good decision.
• Ethical Egoism
– Focuses on the pursuit of self-interest in human conduct.
– Example escape a duty to save a drowning person, when I
can easily do so, just because the drowning person (or
anyone watching) happens never to be able to offer
fruitful cooperation or retaliation.
• Hedonism
• What brings
pleasure to an
individual is good.
• is the claim that
all and only
pleasure has
worth or value,
and all and only
pain has disvalue.
Ethical Systems
 Determinism
 Everything is caused and
determined (even human
actions and choices) by
previously existing causes that
preclude free will and the
possibility that humans could
have acted otherwise.
 Fatalism
 Stoicism
 Theonomous Ethics: Morality
and religion go together
 Divine Command
 Being good is doing whatever a
sacred text tells you.
 Christian Ethics
 Looking at the person of Christ
as the norm of all thought and
action.
“Demand not that events should happen
as you wish, but wish them to happen
as they do happen, and you will go on
well.” (Epictetus)
Contemporary Moral Trends
 Might is right
 Relativism
 Hedonism / Egoism
 Collectivism
 Morals are mores
 Cultural Relativism
 The individual is the measure
 Relativism / Subjectivism
 Egoism
 The human Race is the basis of right
 Humanism
 Right is moderation
 Aristotle’s “Golden Mean” or the Virtue of Ethics
Contemporary Moral Trends
 Right is what brings pleasure
 Hedonism / Egoism
 Right is the greatest good for the greater number
 Utilitarianism
 Right is what is desirable for it's own sake
 Deontological Ethics
 Altruism
 Right is indefinable
 Ethical Relativism
 Subjectivism
 Determinism
 Right is what God wills
 Theonomous Ethics
References
• Ismael Ireneo Maningas. Filipino Christian Morality. St. Pauls, 1998.
• Karl Peschke. Christian Ethics.
• Professor Dean R. Bork. Fundamentals of Ethical Systems. Lecture Notes.
http://www.lar.arch.vt.edu/Resources/courses/LAR3034/Notes/Ethics.html
• Louis D. Whitworth. Measuring Morality: A Comparison of Ethical
Systems. Probe Ministries, 1995.
http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/measmor.html
• “Ethics” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2004.
• “What is Secular Humanism?” Council for Secular Humanism. Last
updated 8/11/2004. http://www.secularhumanism.org/intro/what.html