TOK and Ethics
A balance between theory and
practice
Some major ethical thinkers
 Plato
 Aristotle
 Immanuel
Kant
 Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
 Nietzsche
 You
PLATO b.427BC
 Plato
believed in an absolute standard of
goodness, independent of God;
 The Form of Good, just like the Form of
Beauty, exists timelessly and spacelessly;
 The main pursuit of the philosophical life is
to escape a world of shadows, and see the
clear, bright light of the forms;
 Balance of wisdom, courage and selfcontrol.
Problems with Plato?

Highly elitist; only a few philosophers (men!) will
ever come close to the Form of Good;
 Strongly opposed to democracy; the greatest
number of people do not necessarily think
morally;
 Plato assumes that those who “come out of the
cave” will necessarily act morally. Is this human
nature?
 No allowance for moral relativism.
ARISTOTLE 384-322BC
 “Nicomachean
Ethics” describes the
various qualities of mind and character
necessary for moral conduct;
 The Supreme Good is “Happiness” (which
the Greeks called Eudaimon; hence
Eudaimonism);
 Community is central; there is no such
thing as a free-thinking individual.
Aristotle and Virtue Theory
 Aristotle
believed there were moral virtues
and intellectual virtues;
 Everyone has the potential to develop
these virtues, but only a few will;
 “Doctrine of the Mean”- We must avoid
excess or deficiency;
 Friendship is the key aim of a moral life.
Problems with Aristotle
 It
is easy to cultivate the virtues if you are
wealthy and your every need is catered for
by slaves (and women)!
 Arguably he is racist; a non-Greek is likely
to be barbarous and sub-human;
 He is also sexist and speciesist;
 Bertrand Russell says “The sufferings of
mankind… do not move him”.
Immanuel Kant 1724-1804
 All
moral concepts have their origin a
priori;
 Morality is deontological;
 A human being should act rationally to
eliminate desires which tend to undermine
rational decision making;
 We must be free to make decisions.
Kant’s Maxims
 The
underlying principle which motivates
an action and determines its moral worth,
is called a maxim.
 “Always tell the truth.”
 “Always tell the truth, unless you are sure
you can get away with lying,” is not a
moral maxim.
Kant’s Categorical Imperative
 Only
act on a maxim that you could will a
universal law;
 Always treat others as ends, never as
means to an end (love thy neighbour);
 Act as if through your maxims you were a
law-making member of a kingdom of ends.
Problems with Kant
 Peter
Singer would call it speciesist;
 Emotion seems to be subservient to
reason;
 Many modern thinkers have a problem
with a universal view of ethics;
 Pays no attention to the consequences of
an action.
John Stuart Mill 1806-1873
 Influenced
by his friend and mentor
Jeremy Bentham;
 Discussed his ethical theories in his book
“Utilitarianism”.
 Utilitarianism is the moral theory which
declares that the morally right action is the
one which is most likely to maximise
happiness.
The Greatest Happiness Principle
 Higher
and lower pleasures;
 The ultimate aim of all human activity is
happiness;
 It should be possible to calculate the
greatest amount of happiness in any given
situation;
 The theory is hedonistic.
Problems with Mill




Who is to say that reading poetry is
morally higher than playing pool?
Are human beings really interested in
pursuing happiness and avoiding pain?
Are human beings really interested in
pursuing a general happiness?
There are lots of problems associated with
calculating the greatest happiness.
Nietzsche (1844-1900)

God is dead.
 Believed that western morality was based on
outmoded moral concepts based on Christianity;
 By studying the etymology of moral concepts he
attempts to cast doubt on the universality of
morality;
 Those who have power should not be denied the
natural expression of their power.
A question on ethics
“Our technologies establish the truth of
many of our scientific laws.” Is there any
comparable means of establishing moral
rules and norms?