Erickson G. Ollodo
BS-IM
O0A
IT-ETHICS
February 7, 2008
Mr. Paul Pajo
Chapter 2: Ethical Concepts and Ethical Theories: Establishing and
Justifying a Moral System
Review Questions:
1. What is ethics, and how can it be distinguished from morality?
- Ethics encompasses right conduct and good life. It is significantly
broader than the common conception of analyzing right and wrong. A
central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is
satisfying, which is held by many philosophers to be more important than
moral conduct. Ethics is the study of morality.
- Morality means a code of conduct held to be authoritative in matters of
right and wrong, whether by society, philosophy, religion, or individual
conscience. Morality is synonymous with ethics, the systematic
philosophical study of the moral domain. Also morality can be defined as a
system of rules for guiding human conduct and principles evaluating those
rules,
2. What is meant by a moral system? What are some of the key
differences between the “rule of conduct” and the “principles of
evaluation” that comprise a moral system?
- Moral System aims at promoting human flourishing. Rule of conduct is
an action guiding rules, in the form of either directives or social policies. It
has two types, Rules for guiding actions of individuals (microlevel ethical
rules), and Rules for establishing social policies (macrolevel ethical rules).
- A principle of evaluation is an evaluative standard used to justify rules of
conduct.
3. What does Bernard Gert mean when he describes morality in terms
of a “public system”? Why is the notion of “personal morality” an
oxymoron?
- He describes moral system as a public system because he believes that
everyone must know what the rules are defines the moral system.
- Personal morality has to do with narrating values that would best help
each of us make sense of our lives, to be good persons, realize a valuable
selfhood and/or live a good life. The values at stake in personal morality
need not be strictly moral. The goodness of our lives could be measured
in terms of our being happy, worthwhile or successful as well as the
traditional, moral, sense of the word. Defining what it is to be a good
person, and to live a good life, is one of the questions that personal
morality must address. The function of personal morality is to help each of
us realize the meaning of our life in the world through being a person and
living the personal life of a self in the world. All persons can do and must
input values just in the process of being persons. Meaning is an output
value 'pointed at' by input values. So persons realize a meaning from
those values. That is why there are values in this and any other world
containing persons. And that is why what persons do in a world just is the
whole and only meaning of that world. Because we do and must live by
values, our lives do and must have meaning. And, because our personal
morality just is the sum of our input values, the meaning of our lives just is
a function of our personal morality in our personal circumstances.
4. Why does Gert believe that morality is an “informal” system? How is
a moral system both similar to, and different from, a game?
- Gert points out that moral system has no formal authoritive judges
presiding over it. Moral system is similar to a game because everyone
must know the rules to follow.
5. Describe how the ideals of “rationality” and “impartiality” function in
Gert’s moral system.
- The ideals of rationality, morality cannot involve special knowledge than
can only be understood by privileged individuals or groups. The rules in a
moral system must be available to all rational persons who in turn, are
moral agents, bound by the system of moral rules. Moral agents are nor
responsible for the actions of nonmoral agents (pets, young children, and
mentally challenged persons) but often have responsibility to certain
nonmoral agents. They should guide the nonmoral agents to act well.
The ideals of impartiality, morality is also rational, you will want to ensure
against the prospect of ending up in a group that is treated unfairly. Gert
invokes the “blindfold of justice” principle. It is like when you are put in a
situation where you need to decide which rules must be done but you
don’t have any idea because you can’t see the rules. The key here is you
will create your own rule where everyone will be treated fairly of that rule.
6. What are values, and what are some of the key differences between
moral values and nonmoral values?
- Values are an ambiguous concept that governs human behavior.
- Values can be conceived as objects of our desires or interests.
- Morals and values are not necessarily identical.
-Values can be either moral or non-moral.
-Reason informs us that it is in our interest to promote values that promote
our own survival, happiness, and flourishing as individuals.
- When used to further only our own self-interests, these values are not
necessarily moral values.
- Once we bring in the notion of impartiality, we begin to take the "moral
point of view."
- When we frame the rules of conduct in a moral system, we articulate a
system of values having to do with notions such as autonomy, fairness,
justice, etc., which are moral values.
- Our core moral values are, in turn derived from certain core non-moral
values.
7. How do religion, law, and philosophy each provide different grounds
for justifying a moral principle?
- They have different basis of justifying moral principle. In religion, moral
principle is justified by the commands of the divine authority. Whenever it
offends God or violates some of the commandments, religion justifies it
from the divine authority. The law follows the State’s constitution. Moral
principle is judge of what is stated in the constitution. In philosophy,
regardless of what is obeyed by religion and the law or what’s right or
wrong to the both party, it is what philosophy also followed and obeyed.
8. What is the method of philosophical ethics, and what is a
“philosophical study”? How is a philosophical study used in an
analysis of moral issues?
- The method of philosophical ethics is that if someone violates the divine
authority or civil law it also violates the law of philosophy.
- Philosophical study requires a consistent methodological scheme be
used to verify hypotheses and theories, and these verification schemes
must satisfy criteria of rationality and impartiality.
- It is use by the help of rules of argumentation. These rules are both
rational and impartial.
9. How does a philosophical study differ from a descriptive study? Why
are sociological and anthropological studies of morality usually
descriptive rather than normative in nature?
- Descriptive ethics, also known as comparative ethics, is the study of
people's beliefs about morality. It contrasts with prescriptive or normative
ethics, which is the study of ethical theories that prescribe how people
ought to act, and with meta-ethics, which is the study of what ethical terms
and theories actually refer to. The following examples of questions that
might be considered in each field illustrate the differences between the
fields:
Descriptive ethics: What do people think is right?
Normative (prescriptive) ethics: How should people act?
Applied ethics: How do we take moral knowledge and put it into practice?
Meta-ethics: What does 'right' even mean?
- Sociological and anthropological studies of morality usually descriptive
because descriptive ethics involves empirical investigation.
10. Summarize the four different kinds of “discussion stoppers” in
ethical discourse that we examined.
Discussion stoppers can be articulated in terms of the following four
questions:
1. People disagree about morality; so how can we reach agreement on
moral issues?
- People who hold this view fail to recognize:
a. Experts in other fields of study, such as science and math., also
disagree on what the correct answers to certain questions are.
b. There is common agreement about answers to some moral
questions.
c. People do not always distinguish between "disagreements
about factual matters" and "disagreements on general principles" in
disputes involving morality.
2. Who am I/who are we to judge others and to impose my/our values on
others?
- We need to distinguish between:
a. “Persons Making Judgments” and “Persons Being
Judgmental, “and
b. “Judgments Involving Condemnations” vs. “Judgments Involving
Evaluations”
Also, we are sometimes required to make judgments about others.
3. Isn't morality simply a private matter?
- Many people assume that morality is essentially personal in
nature and that morality must therefore be simply a private matter.
- “Private morality" is essentially an oxymoron or contradictory
notion.
- Morality is a public phenomenon (Gert).
4. Isn't morality simply a matter that different cultures and groups should
determine for themselves?
- According to this view, a moral system is dependent on, or relative
to, a particular culture or group.
- There are some very serious problems with this view, which is
called ethical relativism.
- To understand the problems inherent in this position, it is useful to
distinguish between two positions involving relativism: cultural
relativism and moral relativism.
11. Why are these discussion stoppers problematic for the advancement
of dialogue and debate about ethical issues?
Stopper #1
People disagree on solutions to moral issues.
1. Fails to recognize that experts in many areas disagree on key issues in
their fields.
2. Fails to recognize that there are many moral issues on which people
agree.
3. Fails to distinguish between disagreements about principles and
disagreements about facts.
Stopper #2
Who am I to judge others?
1. Fails to distinguish between the act of judging and being a judgmental
person.
2. Fails to distinguish between judging as condemning and judging as
evaluating.
3. Fails to recognize that sometimes we are required to make judgments
Stopper #3
Ethics is implying a private matter.
1. Fails to recognize that morality is essentially a public system.
2. Fails to note that personally-based morality can cause major harm to
others.
3. Confuses moral choices with individual or personal preferences.
Stopper #4
Morality is simply a matter for individual cultures to decide.
1. Fails to distinguish between descriptive and normative claims about
morality.
2. Assumes that people can never reach common agreement on some
moral principles.
3. Assumes that a system is moral because a majority in a culture decides
it is moral.
12. What is moral relativism? How is it different from cultural relativism?
- Moral relativism asserts that no universal standard of morality is possible
because different people have different beliefs about what is right and
wrong. From this inference, relativists appear to further suggest that, in
matters of morality, anything goes. But this principle of reasoning is
problematic because it is essentially incoherent and inconsistent.
- Cultural relativism is the principle that one's beliefs and activities should
be interpreted in terms of one's own culture.
13. What is ethical theory, and what important functions do ethical
theories play in the analysis of moral issues?
- An essential feature of theory in general is that it guides us in our
investigations.
- In science, theory provides us with some general principles and
structures to analyze our data.
- The purpose of ethical theory, like scientific theory, is to provide us with a
framework for analyzing moral issues.
- Ideally, a good theory should be coherent, consistent, comprehensive,
and systematic.
14. What are the distinguishing features of consequence-based ethical
theories?
- Some argue that the primary goal of a moral system is to produce
desirable consequences or outcomes for its members.
- On this view, the consequences of actions and policies that provide the
ultimate standard against which moral decisions must be evaluated.
- So if choosing between acts A or B, the morally correct action will be the
one that produces the most desirable outcome.
15. Describe some of the key differences between act utilitarianism and
rule utilitarianism.
- Act utilitarianism is a utilitarian theory of ethics which states that the
morally right action is the one which produces the greatest amount of
happiness for the greatest number of people. Act utilitarianism is opposed
to rule utilitarianism, which states that the morally right action is the one
that is in accordance with a moral rule whose general observance would
create the most happiness. Act utilitarianism makes no appeals to general
rules, but instead demands that the agent evaluate individual
circumstances.
- Rule utilitarianism is a form of utilitarianism which states that moral
actions are those which conform to the rules which lead to the greatest
good, or that "the rightness or wrongness of a particular action is a
function of the correctness of the rule of which it is an instance."[1] For
rule utilitarian, the correctness of a rule is determined by the amount of
good it brings about when it is followed. In contrast, act utilitarian judge
actions in terms of the goodness of their consequences without reference
to rules of action.
16. Which features distinguish
alternative types of theories?
duty-based
ethical
theories
from
- Duty-based stresses the role of duty and respect for persons.
- Consequence-based stresses promotion of happiness and utility.
- Contract-based provides a motivation for morality.
- Character-based stresses moral development and moral education.
17. Describe some of the main differences between act deontology and
rule deontology.
- Rule Deontology act always on that maxim or principle (or rule) which
ensures that all individuals will be treated as ends-in-themselves and
never merely as a means to an end.
- Act Deontology:
Ross argues that when two or more moral duties clash, we have to
look at individual situations to seewhich duty is overriding.
Like act utilitarians, Ross stresses the importance of analyzing
individual actions and situations to determine the morally
appropriate course of action to take.
18. What is meant by expression “contract-based” ethical theories?
- From the perspective of social-contract theory, a moral system comes
into being by virtue of certain contractual agreements between individuals.
- It is in our individual self-interest to develop a moral system with rules.
- This type of motivation for establishing a moral system is absent in both
the utilitarian or deontological theories.
- So a contract-based ethical theory would seem to have one advantage
over them.
19. What features distinguish “character-based” (or “virtue-based”)
ethical theories from alternative scheme of morality?
- Virtue ethics (also sometimes called "character ethics") ignores the roles
that consequences, duties, and social contracts play in moral systems in
determining the appropriate standard for evaluating moral behavior.
- Virtue ethics focuses on criteria having to do with the character
development of individuals and their acquisition of good character traits
from the kinds of habits they develop.
20. How does James Moor’s “Just Consequentialist” theory incorporate
aspects of utilitarian and deontological theories into one
comprehensive framework?
1. Deliberate over various policies from an impartial point of view to
determine whether they meet the criteria for being ethical policies. A policy
is ethical if it:
a. Does not cause any unnecessary harm to individual groups.
b. Supports individual rights, the fulfilling of duties, etc.
2. Select the best policy from the set of just policies arrived at the
deliberation stage by ranking ethical policies in terms of benefits and
justifiable (harms). In doing this, be sure to:
a. Weigh carefully between the good consequences and the bad
consequences in the ethical policies and
b. Distinguish between disagreements about facts and disagreements
about principles and values, when deciding which particular ethical policy
should be adopted. (Knowledge about the facts surrounding a
particular case should inform the decision-making process.)