1. How do you decide what is ethical?
2. Why be ethical?
3. Are there Jewish and non-Jewish ethics?
Prisoner B Stays Silent
Prisoner A Stays Silent Each serves 6 months
Prisoner A Betrays
Prisoner A: goes free
Prisoner B: 10 years
Prisoner B Betrays
Prisoner A: 10 years
Prisoner B: goes free
Each serves 5 years
 Whoever
cooperates gets 2 point on the
midterm.
 Whoever defects (by raising hand) gets
10 points on the midterm.
 If 5 students defect then nobody gets any
more points and the game is over.
“Nature has placed
mankind under the
governance of two
sovereign masters, pain
and pleasure. It is for
them alone to point out
what we ought to do, as
well as to determine what
we shall do.”
- An Introduction to the
Principles of Morals and
Legislation, p. 1.
England 1748 – 1832
Utilitarianism is “the creed
which accepts as the
foundation of morals, Utility,
or the Greatest Happiness
Principle, holds that actions
are right in proportion as
they tend to promote
happiness, [and] wrong as
they tend to produce the
reverse of happiness.”
- “Utilitarianism”
England 1806 – 1873
 Not
intuitively satisfying – no absolute
good
 Happiness is an elusive term
 Not possible to calculate future outcomes
 Can justify euthanasia, genocide
‫‪ ‬וַי ַָּרח יְֹדוָֹּד ֶאת ֵריחַ הַ נִּיחֹחַ וַי ֹאמֶ ר יְֹדוָֹּד ֶאל‬
‫לִּּבו ל ֹא א ִֹּסף ל ְַקלֵל עוֹד ֶאת הָּ אֲ ֹדָּ מָּ ה ּבַ עֲבּור‬
‫הָּ ָּאֹדָּ ם כִּ י יֵצֶ ר ֵלב הָּ ָּאֹדָּ ם ַרע ִּמ ְנע ָֻּריו וְ ל ֹא‬
‫יתי‪:‬‬
‫א ִֹּסף עוֹד לְהַ כות ֶאת כָּל חַ י כַאֲ שֶ ר עָּ ִּש ִּ‬

The words of torah are like life-giving medicine.
A parable of a king who got angry at his son and
wounded him badly and placed a medical
bandage on the wound. He told his son, as long
as this bandage is on your wound you many eat
what you wish, drink what you wish, wash in hot
or cold and you will not be harmed at all. But, if
you remove it then it will immediately become
infected. So too God told Israel, my son, I created
for you an evil inclination of the worst kind…if
you delve into the words of the Torah it will not
control you but if you leave the words of the
Torah then it will control you…
‫‪ ‬ושמתם את ֹדברי אלה על לבבכם‪ ,‬מגיֹד שנמשלו ֹדברי תורה כסם‬
‫חיים משל למלך שכעס על בנו והכהו מכה רעה ונתן רטיה על גבי‬
‫מכתו ואמר לו בני כל זמן שרטיה זו על גבי מכתך אכול מה שהנאך‬
‫ושתה מה שהנאך ורחוץ בין בחמין בין בצונן ואין אתה נזוק כלום‬
‫אבל אם הגבהת אותה מיֹד הוא מעלה נומי כך אמר להם הקֹדוש‬
‫ברוך הוא לישראל בני בראתי לכם יצר הרע שאין רע הימנו (בראשית‬
‫ֹד‪:‬ז) הלא אם תטיב שאת היו עסוקים בֹדברי תורה ואינו שולט בכם‬
‫ואם פורשים אתם מֹדברי תורה הרי הוא שולט בכם‬
‫‪ ‬שנאמר (בראשית ֹד‪:‬ז) לפתח חטאת רובץ‪ ,‬ואליך תשוקתו אין משאו‬
‫ומתנו אלא בך אבל אם רצה אתה תשלט בו שנאמר ואתה תמשל בו‬
‫ואומר (משלי כה‪:‬כא ‪ -‬כב) אם רעב שונאך האכילהו לחם כי גחלים‬
‫אתה חותה על ראשו‪ ,‬רע הוא יצר הרע שמי שברא אותו מעיֹד עליו‬
‫שהוא רע שנאמר (בראשית ח‪:‬כא) כי יצר לב האֹדם רע‬
Babylonian Talmud Baba Metzia 62a
‫ אם שותין‬,‫ וביֹד אחֹד מהן קיתון של מים‬,‫שנים שהיו מהלכין בֹדרך‬
:‫ ֹדרש בן פטורא‬.‫ מגיע לישוב‬- ‫ ואם שותה אחֹד מהן‬,‫ מתים‬- ‫שניהם‬
‫ ואל יראה אחֹד מהם במיתתו של‬,‫מוטב שישתו שניהם וימותו‬
‫ חייך קוֹדמים‬- ‫ וחי אחיך עמך‬:‫ עֹד שבא רבי עקיבא ולימֹד‬.‫חבירו‬
.‫לחיי חבירך‬
If two men are traveling on a journey and one has a
pitcher of water, if both drink they will both die, but
if one only drinks, he can reach civilization. Ben
Patura taught: “It is better that both should drink and
die rather than that one should behold his
companion’s death.” But Rabbi Akiba taught: “That
your brother may live with you (Lev 25:36). Your life
takes precedence over his life.”
 Consequentialism
- A morally right
action is one that produces a good
outcome. “The ends justify the means.”
Utilitarianism – producing the most
pleasure for the most people is one type.
 Duty-based ethics (deontology) –
Judges actions based on rules and duties.
“Do unto others…”
 Virtue ethics – Judges actions based on
how it develops good character traits.
Kant's three significant
formulations of the categorical
imperative are:
 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.
- The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of
Morals
Germany 1724 – 1804
1000BCE
586
BCE
539 BCE
516 BCE
332 BCE
164 BCE
150BCE-70CE
70 CE
132 CE
50-200 CE
220 CE
200-500 CE
400 CE
500-700 CE
600 CE
King David
Destruction of Temple I
Cyrus the Great – Persian rule
Second Temple Built
Alexander the Great – Greek rule
Maccabean Revolt
Pharisees
Second Temple Destroyed
Bar Kokhba Revolt
Tannaitic Period
Mishnah & Tannaitic Midrash Compiled
Amoraic Period
Yerushalmi & Amoraic Midrash Compiled
Savoraim in Babylonia
Bavli Completed