ToK - Ethics
We all have an intuitive feel for ‘fairness’
A sense of what is right and what is wrong
“Leave him alone - he isn’t hurting anyone!”
“There is a queue here – you can’t just push in!”
“But you said you would help me!”
ToK - Ethics
Which is worse – to lie to a friend, or to a teacher?
Which is worse – to take a bar of chocolate from
someone's desk, or some money?
Consider this story…..
Jessamyn and Mandango were lovers. They were perfectly matched and conscious of the fine pair
they made. They planned to marry soon. Jessamyn was in fact rushing down to the river to cross
the bridge to meet Mandango. He would become impatient and jealous if she was late. Jessamyn
took this as a sign of his great passion for her.
But it had been raining for two days and she found the bridge washed out when she got to the river.
Desperately she ran along the swollen river looking for a place where it might be possible to cross.
At a great burst of lightning she ran into Ferryman Sinbad’s hut. Sinbad lived there alone since his
wife died to years before. He welcomed her in and she warmed herself at his fire and begged his
help. Sinbad shook his head and told her it was death to try to cross the river in flood. But as he took
in her young body under her wet clothes an offer appeared in his eyes. Jessamyn was horrified. But
her anxiety over Mandango’s displeasure began to arise again. He was really a good catch for her –
the richest man in the valley. Sinbad was lower class of course, but his strong body was attractive –
the thunder clapped – and the lightning snaked across the sky – and the rain poured down
torrentially … and she had always been highly sexed … and it was, after all, for Mandango.
An hour later she was running into Mandango’s arms glowing with the fulfillment of having reached
him against all odds. When he finally got her to tell him how she had succeeded, he thrust her away
with revulsion. “You slut,” he shouted. “You slept with the boatman? I never want to see you again! I
cannot imagine marrying you or that you would be the mother of my children.” Although she wept
bitterly and pleaded, he left her.
Poor Jessamyn, her sacrifice for love rejected, lay there till Arunta, her childhood friend, came and
lifted her gently. Jessamyn told him of the price she had paid for love. Arunta, who had loved and
lost Jessamyn to Mandango, was outraged. He ran down to Mandango’s house and dragged him
out and broke his jaw. He ran back to comfort Jessamyn and soon persuaded her to take shelter in
his house … out of the rain and cold.
ToK - Ethics
The Study of Human Action
• Ethics studies not how human beings do act
(human sciences) ...
• nor how they have acted in the past (history) ...
• but how they should act
________
Seeks to give general perspectives that can apply to
particular cases
All public and private actions (whether of thought, speech
or deed) have a moral and ethical dimension ….
ToK - Ethics
“What should I do?”
“How do I know what is the right
thing to do?”
“How should human beings treat
each other?”
ToK - Ethics
Definitions:
• Morality is our sense of right and wrong
• Ethics is the area of knowledge that
examines that sense of morality and
the moral codes we develop from it
_________
Both words, ‘Ethics’ and ‘Morality’ have their
roots in words that mean ‘Custom’
ToK - Ethics
• We expect people to be able to justify
their value judgments
• We expect consistency in people’s
moral judgments
• We expect moral judgments to be
impartial
ToK - Ethics
Sources of Morality
1. The source of morality is human nature:
• Human beings are naturally good and
tend toward cooperation with others
• Human beings are naturally selfish and
find that cooperation with others maximizes
their own benefit
ToK - Ethics
Sources of Morality
2. The source of morality is religion:
• Both theist and non-theist religions teach
codes of morality
___________
• Can be arbitrary depending on interpretation
• Can we know the true divine authority?
• What if there are multiple divine authorities?
• What if there are conflicting religiously
sanctioned moral values
ToK - Ethics
Sources of Morality
3. The source of morality is reasoning
and observation:
• Some have used reasoning as a way
to recognize moral obligations and
• Others have used observation and
prediction as a way of anticipating the
effects of our actions on others
____________
• Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative
• John Stuart Mill’s principle of utility
ToK - Ethics
Sources of Morality
4. The source of morality is emotional
empathy:
• Seeking moral guidance not in the
reasoning that leads to concepts of
justice but in the emotional concern
and development of relationships that
leads to nurturing and care for others
ToK - Ethics
Sources of Morality
5. The source of morality is social and
political:
• The traditions and laws of a society
(anthropology and history give us
perspectives on cultural traditions and
change)
______________
• International Human Rights law
• National justice systems
• The unwritten codes which guide social action
ToK - Ethics
Moral Relativism:
Arguments for:
• Diversity
The sheer variety of moral practices
around the world suggests that there
are no objective moral values
• Lack of foundations
There does not seem to be an
independent ‘moral reality’ against
which we can test our values to see if
they are true or false
• Encourages tolerance
ToK - Ethics
Moral Relativism:
Arguments against Moral Relativism:
• Core values accepted by all cultures
Can we find a culture where people
are proud of cheating on their friends
or where it is considered good to
steal from the poor?
___________
• Does not provide guidance on how to decide what to do!
ToK - Ethics
Self-interest theory:
1. Definitional argument
• You are being selfish when you do
what you want to do, and you always
end up doing what you want to do!
__________
• Does this suggest that Altruism is impossible?
• Necessary to distinguish between self-regarding
desires, and other-regarding desires
ToK - Ethics
Self-interest theory:
2. Evolutionary argument
• Human beings are naturally selfish and
are programmed to pursue their own
interests
____________
• But there is evidence that empathy and altruism
are part of our biological inheritance. For example?
ToK - Ethics
Self-interest theory:
3. Hidden benefits argument
• Being kind to other people brings us
gratitude, praise, enhanced reputation
and a positive image of ourselves
___________
• There are many examples of apparent selfless,
altruistic behaviours. For example?
ToK - Ethics
Self-interest theory:
4. Fear of punishment argument
• “What if I get caught?”
________
• Is all behavior is motivated by fear?
ToK - Ethics
Ethical theories
Duty ethics:
• Some acts are just inherently right or
wrong
• We therefore have a duty to do (or
refrain from doing) certain things
____________
• What are the correct rules which regulate our
moral duties?
• Religious commandments?
• Doctor’s duty to cure; teacher’s to teach
ToK - Ethics
Ethical theories
Virtue ethics:
• We should strive to become better people by
cultivating virtues such as courage, kindness etc.
Develop good character traits
• Focus is not on how we act but on the kinds of
people we should be
______________
• What sort of person do I want to be?
• What virtues are characteristic of the person I want to be?
• Do you think it makes more sense to say that people are
basically good and are corrupted by society, or that people
are basically bad and must be kept in line by society?
ToK - Ethics
Ethical theories
Virtue ethics:
• The importance of motives/intention:
The moral value of an action is determined by
the motive for which it is done rather than the
consequences that follow from it
___________
• If you are trying to be helpful but things turn out
badly, we usually don’t blame you.
ToK - Ethics
Ethical theories
Consequentialist ethics:
• When choosing whether to do
something we should consider not the
nature of the act itself but whether it will
produce desirable consequences
___________
• If actions have the correct consequences, one
has acted morally
• But we cannot know the full consequences of
our actions
ToK - Ethics
Ethical theories
Consequentialist ethics:
Types:
Ethical Egoism
• Consequences of the action to the moral
agent performing the action.
Ethical Altruism
• Consequences of the action to everyone
except the moral agent.
Ethical Utilitarianism
• Consequences of the action to everyone.
• Choose the action that brings the greatest
‘utility’ or happiness to the greatest number of
people
ToK - Ethics
Ethical theories
Utilitarianism:
One supreme moral principle –
We should seek the greatest happiness
of the greatest number
John Stuart Mill
___________
• But how do we measure happiness?
• Does constant pleasure make for a happy life?
• How can we predict the consequences of our actions?
ToK - Ethics
Environmental Ethics:
Our ethical rights and responsibilities
towards the environment
How do you think of yourself in relation to “all
that stuff beyond your skin?”
__________
• Value-based approaches
• Psychologically-based approaches
ToK - Ethics
Environmental Ethics:
Value-based approach
• Instrumental Value
• Useful to human ends
• Short-term gain through changing and using
nature
• Unrestrained resource use leads to depletion
ToK - Ethics
Environmental Ethics:
Value-based approach
• Intrinsic Value
• Having value in and of itself – regardless of
whether of use to humans
• Organisms which have moral standing have
rights and are owed certain duties
• Awareness-based ethics: (“Can it suffer?”)
• Life-based ethics: All living things – the entire
biosphere is seen as an interconnected system with
moral standing
• Cosmic purpose ethics: include evolutionary and
theological arguments about the ultimate ends of
evolution, or the nature of God’s purposes.
ToK - Ethics
Environmental Ethics:
Psychologically-based approach
• Sense of identification
• Deep ecology
• The central problem in human ecology is the
relationship of mind to nature.
• Concerned with the process of understanding
• Concerned with the relationship between
thought and action, where actions are informed
not so much from a sense of moral duty, as from
an inclination arising from an expansive
conception of self
ToK - Ethics
Reason
Perception
How important is
consistency in
moral reasoning?
Is perception
colored by
values?
Emotion
Is ethics a matter
of the head, or of
the heart?
Natural
Sciences
Religion
How have
religions shaped
people’s moral
beliefs?
Ethics
Human
Sciences
Arts
Do the arts have
a moral function?
Are scientists morally
responsible for how
their discoveries are
used?
History
Does History
show that we
have made moral
progress?
How do ethical
factors affect
experiments?