MORALITY AND ETHICS
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Where does morality come from?
Morality comes from God?
Plato’s Euthyphro
Is something wrong because God says it’s wrong or
does God say its wrong because it is wrong.
We have to use our own judgment to decide right and
wrong.
Metaethics
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How do we determine what is right and wrong?
System of ethics
Justification for ethics
Three popular ethical schemes:
1)
2)
3)
Virtue ethics
Deontological ethics
Utilitarianism
Virtue Ethics
Aristotle (384 B.C. – 322 B.C.)
Ancient Greek philosopher and student of Plato
Virtue consists of realizing our natural human potential
as rational animals (our telos)
Eudaimonia (happiness, the good life) is achieved
through the cultivation of human virtues, such as
wisdom, justice, courage, generousity, kindness and
moderation.
The good life
People are virtuous in order to cultivate their own soul and
achieve a higher happiness
Focus on motivations for actions, rather than consequences
The goal is self-realization: to be noble, honorable, decent
Cf. Confucious’s junzi 君子
What kind of people do we want to be?
Do we want to be the kind of people who would do that?
Problems with virtue ethics
Do people really have a telos? If not, how can the
virtues be justified?
Is cultivating the virtues really the best way for an
individual to maximize his human potential?
People can do the wrong thing for the right reasons
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Surely the action is wrong even if the motivation is
right
Deontological Ethics
Kant (1724-1804), German philosopher
Rightness of actions is independent of consequences.
The Categorical Imperative defines our moral duties.
Moral duties, e.g.
not to kill or harm innocent people
not to lie
to keep promises
to respect the rights of others
The Categorical Imperative can be understood through reason.
Deontological Ethics (cont.)
The Categorical Imperative can be worked out through the principle of
universalizability:
"Always act according to that maxim whose universality as a law you can at
the same time will", and is the "only condition under which a will can never
come into conflict with itself…"
(Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals)
Rational beings have an intrinsic worth and dignity.
The end (purpose) of morality is in preserving the well-being and dignity of all
rational agents:
“Act with reference to every rational being (whether yourself or another) so
that it is an end in itself in your maxim…“
(Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals)
You must never treat a person as a means, but always as an end.
Problems with deontological ethics
Problem of justification for Categorical Imperative
– where does it come from
Not all good actions can be universalized
Rigid
e.g. if we have a categorical imperative not to lie,
it is wrong to lie even if by lying to a mad gunman,
we can save an innocent person’s life
It is not always possible never to treat a rational agent as an
end, e.g. war
Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), English philosopher
A form of consequentialism
An act is judged to be moral or immoral according to its
consequences.
Instrumentalist good vs. Intrinsic good
Instrumentalist good: good as a means by which to realize an
intrinsic good, e.g. medicine
Intrinsic good: something good in and of itself, e.g. happiness
Utilitarianism (cont.)
Happiness and the absence of suffering are the ultimate
intrinsic goods.
The goal of morality is to maximize happiness (“the
greatest good for the greatest number”)
An act is good if it maximizes the collective happiness
and minimizes the collective suffering.
Problems with Utilitarianism
Seemingly immoral acts can be judged moral, e.g. killing an
innocent person.
Consequences are often difficult or impossible to predict.
The morality of an act may depend on chance (how the
consequences happen to play out).
How can you calculate units of goodness (utiles)?
Happiness and lack of suffering may not be the only
intrinsic goods.
Varieties of Utilitarianism
Act utilitarianism
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classic utilitarianism
Preference utilitarianism
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aim to maximize the fulfillment of people’s preferences,
rather than happiness
Rule utilitarianism
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act in accordance with rules that, in the long run, tend to
maximize happiness/preferences
Thought experiments
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Kid breaks a vase
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Transplant case
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Should he lie to his Mom? What’s the harm?
Kill one innocent bystander and transplant his organs to five
patients to save their lives
Trolley case
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A runaway train is about to hit 5 people standing on the track.
Should you push a fat man in front of the train?
A runaway train is about to hit 5 people on Track A. Should you
throw a switch to make the train go down Track B, where one
person is standing (and will be hit).
Suggested readings
Internet Sources:
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Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, at: http://plato.stanford.edu/
Entries on: Consequentialism and Deontological Ethics and Virtue Ethics
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Mill, John Stuart, Utilitarianism (1863), available at:
www.utilitarianism.com/mill1.htm
On reserve in Philosophy Dept. Office:
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Stephen Law, The Philosophy Gym, Chapter 17, “Killing Mary to Save Jodie”