Ethical Reasoning
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The Role of Ethics
The role of ethical reasoning is
to highlight acts of two kinds:
those which enhance the well
being of others…and those that
harm the well being of others.
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Do good things…
don’t do bad things…
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Your Comments…
What universal
principles could be
defined as “bad things”?
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How about these
bad things…
Slavery
Torture
Sexism
Racism
Murder
Fraud
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Human beings naturally
develop into narrowminded, self-centered
thinkers.
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Research shows that ethics
is a function of age and
education. Why do you
think that would be true?
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All human beings tend to
think as themselves as
good and their enemies
as evil.
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Common Confusions…
People often confuse ethics
with pseudo-ethical groups
like social rules, religion or
the law.
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Four Ethical Groupings
Universal Ethics – helpful or harmful
behavior towards living creatures
Social Ethics – customs & taboos
Religious Ethics – theological debate
Legal Ethics – codified laws developed
from social customs
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Pseudo-Ethic Groups
The Law
Universal Ethics
Religious
Social Rules
Beliefs
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Ethics & Social Rules
The KKK viewed
hangings as a
Christian obligation to
keep the races pure.
For one hundred years
America considered
slavery justified or
desirable.
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Your Comments…
We live in a world of
powerful social rules
where big money is spent
to sway your opinion.
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Tendencies of Social Rules
Taboos about exposing body parts
Taboos about equal rights
Support religious persecutions
Conservatives value private
property, status quo & family
Liberals value liberty, equality, and
social justice
Ethics must trump social rules
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Ethics and Religion
There are over 300 religions in the world today.
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Tendencies of religions
They represent social preferences
Used torture to save people
Pretend beliefs are self-evident
Often unethical practices of sexism,
racism, fraud, intimidation
Ethics must trump religion
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Ethics and The Law
“Take care of
your friends
and kill your
enemies.”
Don Young
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Tendencies of laws
Laws emerge out of social rules
To criminalize behavior against
social rules regarding women,
homosexuals, slavery, and now drug
use are common ways for politicians
to get re-elected
Ethics must trump the law
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Know the games you play…
I did not
have sex
with that
woman…
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President Bush, 2002
“We must rid the
world of evil.”
“You are either for us or
against us.”
“Now is the time to draw a line in the
sand against the evil ones.”
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