Ethics
Ethics (moral philosophy) is the study of distinguishing right from wrong and good from bad.
Types:
1. Practical ethics (What should I do?)
2. Theoretical ethics (Are these standards really right or are they all just arbitrary?)
3. Philosophical ethics is often called normative ethics.
A. Normative ethics searches for norms using authoritative standards (rules) of what ought to be:
Types of Normative Ethics:
C. Hedonism: the view that in the end it only matters if it is pleasurable. It is good if it feels good.
D. Utilitarianism: the theory that the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the test of right and wrong.
E. Perfectionism: the ultimate end is the full development or perfection of the self.
F. Some theories do not readily fall under the above classification. One such is the theological theory: that it is the will of God that determines whether an action is right or wrong.
G. Immanuel Kant: for one's action to be morally right, it must be seen as a universal law. That is, be willing to have everyone act in the same way (Categorical Imperative).
F. Egoism: (Thomas Hobbes) Everyone acts always out of self-interest, maintains that an action is right only if it is in the interest of the agent. I.E. Why should I be moral? What's in it for me?
Other Branches of Ethics:
4. Descriptive ethics (a department of empirical science, akin to sociology) aims to discover what moral beliefs are held in a given culture.
5. Metaethics: Study of ethics. Can we analyze moral concepts without bringing our own moral beliefs into the argument?
6. Moral skepticism: the view that there is no one correct moral code for all times and peoples, that each group has its own morality relative to its wants and values, and that all moral ideas are necessarily relative to a particular culture.
1. Religious Ethics: There can be no morality without religion, because without God there can be no reason to be moral.
2. Social Ethics: Must we obey the law? Is following the rules/mores of society correct? The case of pro-choice/anti-abortion is a social ethical issue.
3. Professional Ethics
Professionals such as teachers, doctors, priests (clergy); lawyers, journalists face ethical issues in their practice of their profession. Some groups have formal codes of ethics (such as the Hippocratic oath) which set forth a set of moral standards for the profession.
New fields of ethics, such as bioethics, engineering ethics, and environmental ethics, deal with issues not previously focused on:
Richard Dawkins on Ethics
Ethics for the Real World
Dilbert on Ethics
Ethics for Dummies
Writing Activity
1. Write a short story or script whose characters are dealing with an ethical dilemma.
2. Choose one type of ethics to focus on in your story. The ethical dilemma should be the main focus or central conflict in your story.
--What does it mean to say that something is right or good?It is the task of ethics to answer such questions.
--What makes right actions right?
--How can disputes about moral questions be resolved?
Types:
1. Practical ethics (What should I do?)
2. Theoretical ethics (Are these standards really right or are they all just arbitrary?)
3. Philosophical ethics is often called normative ethics.
A. Normative ethics searches for norms using authoritative standards (rules) of what ought to be:
–The speed limit is 55. If everyone goes 60, is it wrong to adhere to 55?B. Among the questions of normative ethics are: What makes right actions right? How can we tell what is right? Why should I be moral?
–Murder is considered wrong. If one kills for one’s country, is this a wrongful act?
Types of Normative Ethics:
C. Hedonism: the view that in the end it only matters if it is pleasurable. It is good if it feels good.
D. Utilitarianism: the theory that the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the test of right and wrong.
E. Perfectionism: the ultimate end is the full development or perfection of the self.
F. Some theories do not readily fall under the above classification. One such is the theological theory: that it is the will of God that determines whether an action is right or wrong.
G. Immanuel Kant: for one's action to be morally right, it must be seen as a universal law. That is, be willing to have everyone act in the same way (Categorical Imperative).
F. Egoism: (Thomas Hobbes) Everyone acts always out of self-interest, maintains that an action is right only if it is in the interest of the agent. I.E. Why should I be moral? What's in it for me?
Other Branches of Ethics:
4. Descriptive ethics (a department of empirical science, akin to sociology) aims to discover what moral beliefs are held in a given culture.
5. Metaethics: Study of ethics. Can we analyze moral concepts without bringing our own moral beliefs into the argument?
6. Moral skepticism: the view that there is no one correct moral code for all times and peoples, that each group has its own morality relative to its wants and values, and that all moral ideas are necessarily relative to a particular culture.
A. Accordingly, cannibals are justified in eating human beings by the standards of their own culture even if not by the standards of Western cultureOther Areas:
–There is no basis for claiming that the standards of Western culture are superior to other cultures.
B. Relativism: If there is no right or wrong that can be determined apart from the conventions of one's own culture, the question arises of what ought to be done when different cultures come into conflict.
--Among the cannibals should I do as the cannibals do or should I act according to the standards of my own culture?
1. Religious Ethics: There can be no morality without religion, because without God there can be no reason to be moral.
2. Social Ethics: Must we obey the law? Is following the rules/mores of society correct? The case of pro-choice/anti-abortion is a social ethical issue.
3. Professional Ethics
Professionals such as teachers, doctors, priests (clergy); lawyers, journalists face ethical issues in their practice of their profession. Some groups have formal codes of ethics (such as the Hippocratic oath) which set forth a set of moral standards for the profession.
New fields of ethics, such as bioethics, engineering ethics, and environmental ethics, deal with issues not previously focused on:
–Animal rights
–Cloning
–Stem cell research, etc.
Richard Dawkins on Ethics
Ethics for the Real World
Dilbert on Ethics
Ethics for Dummies
Writing Activity
1. Write a short story or script whose characters are dealing with an ethical dilemma.
2. Choose one type of ethics to focus on in your story. The ethical dilemma should be the main focus or central conflict in your story.
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