ETHICS, PROFESSIONALISM AND

CRITICISM OF THE SOURCES

MIMA LECTURE

Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic

School of Innovation,
Innovation Design and Engineering
Mälardalen University
26 August 2011

1
 Links

‰ http://www.idt.mdh.se/personal/gdc/
p p g

‰ http://www.mdh.se/university/organization/boards/Ethics

2
 Professional Ethics Course

‰ Information about the course:

http://www.idt.mdh.se/kurser/cd5590
htt //
http://www.idt.mdh.se/kurser/ethics/
idt dh /k / thi /

[[Website provides
p ethics resources including
g case studies and
contextualized scenarios in applied/professional ethics, working
examples of applied ethical problems used in teaching to highlight
relevant ethical principles, materials on informed consent,
confidentiality assessment
confidentiality, assessment, privacy
privacy, trust and similar
similar. ]

3
CONTENT

– Identifying Ethical Issues

Basic Moral Orientations
E hi l R
Ethical Relativism,
l i i Ab
Absolutism,
l i and
d Pl
Pluralism
li
Immanuel Kant The Ethics of Duty (Deontological Ethics)
Utilitarianism
Rights
Justice
The Ethics of Character: Virtues and Vices
Egoism
Moral Reasoning and Gender
Environmental Ethics
− Professional Issues
− Plagiarism
− Criticism of the Sources
− Conclusions
4
 Identifying Ethical
Issues

Based on: Lawrence M. Hinman, Ph.D.

Director, The Values Institute
University of San Diego

5
 Ethics and Morality

The terms ethics and morality are often used

interchangeably - indeed, they usually can mean the
same thing,
thing and in casual conversation there isn't
isn t a
problem with switching between one and the other.
However, there is a distinction between them in
philosophy!

6
 Ethics and Morality
Etymology

Morality and ethics have same roots, mores which

means manner and customs from the Latin and
etos which means custom and habits from the Greek
Greek.

Robert Louden, Morality and Moral Theory

7
 Ethics and Morality

Strictly speaking, morality is used to refer to what we

would call moral standards and moral conduct while
ethics is used to refer to the formal study of those
standards and conduct. For this reason, the study of
ethics is also often called "moral philosophy."

8
 Ethics and Morality

‰ Morality: first-order set of beliefs and practices about

how to live a good life.

‰ Ethics: a second-order, conscious reflection on the

adequacy of our moral beliefs.

9
 ETHICS
Philosophers commonly distinguish:
descriptive ethics, the factual study of the
ethical standards or principles of a group or
t diti
tradition;
normative ethics, the development of theories
that systematically denominate right and
wrong actions;
ti
applied ethics, the use of these theories to form
judgments regarding practical cases; and
meta-ethics,
hi careful
f l analysis
l i off the
h meaning
i
and justification of ethical claims

Source: www.ethicsquality.com/philosophy.html
10
 SOCIETY VALUES

ETHICS

LAW MORAL

11
 Identifying Moral Issues

‰ Moral concerns are unavoidable in life.

‰ They are not always easy to identify and define.

12
 Ethics as an Ongoing Conversation

‰ Professional discussions of ethical issues in journals.

‰ We come back to ideas again and again, finding new
meaning in them.

See http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/e/ethics.htm

13
 The Focus of Ethics

‰ Ethics as the Evaluation of Other People’s Behavior

– We are often eager to pass judgment on others

‰ Ethics as the Search for Meaning and Value in Our

Own Lives

14
 Ethics as the Evaluation of Other
People’s Behavior
‰ Ethics often used as a weapon
‰ Hypocrisy
‰ Possibility of knowing other people
‰ The right
g to jjudgeg other p
people
p
‰ The right to intervene
‰ Judging and caring

15
 Ethics as the Search for Meaning
and Value in Our Own Lives

‰ Positive focus
‰ Aims at discerning what is good
‰ Emphasizes personal responsibility for one’s
one s own life

16
 What to Expect from Ethics

‰ Identificationa and description of an issue

‰ Explanation
‰ Support in deliberation

17
 The Point of Ethical Reflection

‰ Ethics as the evaluation of other people’s behavior

‰ Ethics as the search for the meaning of our own lives

18
Basic Moral
Orientations

19
 On what basis do we make moral
decisions? (1)

‰ Divine Command Theories -- “Do what the Bible tells

you” or the Will of God
‰ Utilitarianism -- “Make the world a better place”
‰ Virtue Ethics -- “Be a good person”
‰ The Ethics of Duty -- “Do your duty”
‰ Immanuel Kant’s Moral Theory
‰ Ethi l E
Ethical Egoism
i -- “Watch
“W t h outt for
f #1”

20
 On what basis do we make moral
decisions? (2)

‰ The Ethics of Natural and Human Rights -- “...all

people are created ...with certain unalienable rights”
‰ Social Contract Ethics
‰ Moral Reason versus Moral Feeling
‰ Evolutionary Ethics

21
 Divine Commands
‰ Being
B i good d iis equivalent
i l t tto d
doing
i
whatever the Bible--or the Qur’an or
some other sacred text or source of
revelation--tells
l ti t ll you tto do.
d

‰ “What
What is right”
right equals “What
What God tells
me to do.”

22
 Utilitarianism
(C
(Consequentialism)
ti li )
‰ Hedonistic
H d i ti utilitarianism:
tilit i i S k to
Seeks t
reduce suffering and increase pleasure
or happiness
Epicurus
‰ Epicurus (341-270 BC) Greek (341-270 BC)
“We count pleasure as the originating principle and the goal for the
blessed life”. (Letter to Menoeceus)

‰ Frances Hutcheson (1694-1747)

(1694 1747) Irish
“The action is best, which procures the greatest happiness for the
greatest number; and that worst, which in like manner, occasions
misery.” (An Inquiry Concerning Moral Good and Evil, 3.8)
John Stuart Mill
‰ Bentham s Utilitarian Calculus
Bentham’s 1806 1873
1806-1873

‰ Mill’s Utilitarianism
“Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote [general]
happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of [general]
happiness (Utilitarianism
happiness. (Utilitarianism, 2)

‰ http://www.utilitarism.net/ (in Swedish) 23

Jeremy Bentham
(1748-1832)
 Virtue Ethics
‰ One of the oldest moral theories.
Ancient
A i tG Greekk epic
i poetst andd playwrights
l i ht H
Homer
and Sophocles describe the morality of their
heroes in terms of virtues and vices.

‰ Plato - cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage,

temperance, and justice. Even accepted by Plato (427-347 BCE)
early Christian theologians.

‰ Aristotle: The Nichomachean Ethics

‰ Morality is a matter of being a good

person, which involves having virtuous
character traits.
Aristotle (384
(384-322
322 BCE.)
‰ Seeks to develop individual character
24
 The Ethics of Duty
(Deontological* Ethics)
(Deontological
‰ Ethics is about doing your duty.
– Cicero (stoic): On duties (De Officiis)
– http://www.stoics.com/cicero_book.html
– Medieval philosophers:
duties to God, self and others
– Kant: only moral duties to self and others
Marcus Tullius Cicero
– Samuel von Pufendorf (1632-1694): (106 - 43) BC
moral duties spring from our instinctive drive for survival – we should be
sociable in order to survive.

‰ Intuitionism: we don’t logically deduce

moral duties, we know them as thy are!

‰ For each duty there is a corresponding

virtue.
Immanuel Kant
1724-1804

* ‘deon’ = duty
25
 Immanuel Kant’s
Kant s Moral Theory

‰ Human reason makes moral

demands on our lives

‰ The categorical imperative: Act

so that the maxim [determining
motive
ti off the
th will]
ill] may b
be
capable of becoming a universal
law for all rational beings."

‰ We have moral responsibility to

Immanuel Kant
p our talents
develop 1724-1804

26
 Ethical Egoism
‰ Says th
S the only
l person tto llook
k outt ffor is
i yourself
lf
‰ Ayn Rand, The Ethics of Selfishness
‰ Well known for her novel, especially Atlas Shrugged

‰ Ayn Rand sets forth the moral principles

of “Objectivism”, the philosophy that holds
that man's life--the life proper to a rational
being--as the standard of moral values.
‰ It regards altruism as incompatible with
man's ' nature,
t with
ith the
th requirements
i t off his
hi
survival, and with a free society.
shrug - To raise (the shoulders), especially as a gesture of doubt, disdain, or
indifference
27
 The Ethics of Rights

‰ The mostt influential

Th i fl ti l morall
notion of the past two centuries
‰ Established minimal conditions
of human decency
‰ Human rights: rights that all humans
supposedly
dl possess.
‰ natural rights: some rights are
grounded in the nature rather than in
governments.
‰ moral rights, positive rights,
legal rights,
rights civil rights
28
 The Ethics of Rights

‰ Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

right from nature implies a liberty to
protect myself
p y from attack in anyy wayy
that I can.
Thomas Hobbes
‰ John Locke (1632-1704)
(1632 1704) (1588-1679)

principal natural rights: life, health,

liberty and possessions.

John Locke
(1632-1704)
29
 Evolutionary Ethics

‰ Human social behavior is an extended development

of biological evolution.
‰ Evolutionary ethics: moral behavior is that which
tends to aid in human survival.
‰ Darwin: Origin of Species focuses on the evolutionary
mechanisms
h i off nonhuman
h animals.
i l
‰ Biologists and philosophers of nineteenth century
attempted to frame morality as an extension of the
evolutionary biological process.
‰ Problem of the theory: what is progress? What is
good? Any
g y signs
g of moral improvement
p since Plato?
30
 Moral Reason versus Moral Feeling

‰ Morality is strictly a matter of rational

judgment: Samuel Clarke (1675-1729)
‰ Since time of Plato: moral truths exist
in a spiritual realm. Samuel Clarke
(1675-1729)
‰ Moral truths like mathematical truths
are eternal.
‰ Morality is strictly a matter of feeling
(emotion): David Hume (1711-1729)
‰ We have a moral sense
David Hume
(1711-1729)
31
 Ethical Relativism
Relativism,
Absolutism,
and Pluralism

Based on: Lawrence M. Hinman, Ph.D.

Director, The Values Institute
University of San Diego

32
 Classical Ethical/Cultural Relativism
The Greek Skeptics (1)
‰ Xenophanes
p ((570-475 BCE))
“Ethiopians say that their gods are flat-nosed and dark, Thracians
that theirs are blue-eyed and red-haired. If oxen and horses and
lions had hands and were able to draw with their hands and do the
same things as men, horses would draw the shapes of gods to
look like horses and oxen to look like ox, and each would make
the god’s bodies have the same shape as they themselves had.”

‰ The historian Heroditus(484-425 BCE)

“Everyone without exception believes his own native customs, and
the religion he was brought up in, to be the best.”

33
 Classical Ethical/Cultural Relativism
The Greek Skeptics (2)
‰ Sextus Empiricus (fl (fl. 200 CE)
Gives example after example of moral standards that
differ from one society to another, such as attitudes
about
b t homosexuality,
h lit incest,
i t cannibalism,
ib li h
human
sacrifice, the killing of elderly, infanticide, theft,
consumption of animal flesh…

Sextus Empiricus concludes that we should doubt the

existence of an independent and universal standard of
morality,
lit andd iinstead
t d regard
d morall values
l as th
the result
lt
of cultural preferences.

34
 Later Ethical Relativism (1)

‰ French philosopher Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592):

Custom has the power to shape every possible kind of
cultural practice
practice. Although we pretend that morality is a
fixed feature of nature, morality too is formed through
custom.

‰ Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776)

“fashion,, vogue,
g , custom,, and law are the chief
foundation of all moral determinations”

35
 Later Ethical Relativism (2)

‰ The fact of moral diversity

‰ We should not pass judgment on practices in other

cultures when we don’t understand them

‰ Sometimes reasonable people may differ on what’s

morally acceptable

36
 Insights of Ethical Relativism

Ethical relativism has several important insights:

‰ The fact of moral diversity
‰ The need for tolerance and understanding
‰ We should not pass judgment on practices in other
cultures when we don’t understand them
‰ Sometimes reasonable people may differ on what’s
morally acceptable

37
 Ethical Relativism: Limitations
‰ Presupposes an epistemological solipsism*

‰ Is unhelpful in dealing with overlaps of cultures--

precisely where we need help.
– Commerce and trade
– Media
– World Wide Web

[[*Solipsism
Solipsism - belief in self as only reality: the belief
that the only thing somebody can be sure of is that he
or she exists, and that true knowledge of anything
else is impossible]

38
 Ethical Relativism:
Overlapping Cultures, 1
‰ Ethical relativism
suggests that we let
each culture live as it
sees fit.
‰ This is onlyy feasible
when cultures don’t
have to interact with
one another.
another

39
 Ethical Relativism:
Overlapping Cultures, 2
‰ The challenge of the
coming century is
precisely overlapping
cultures:
lt
– Multinational corporations
– International media--BBC,
MTV, CNN
– International sports--
Olympics
– World Wide Web

40
 Ethical Relativism:
Overlapping Cultures, 3

‰ The actual situation in

today’s
today s world is much
closer to the diagram at
the right.

41
 Ethical Relativism:
Our Global Village, 5
‰ Whatt if our world
Wh ld was a village
ill
of 100 people?
– 58 would be Asians, 15 Europeans, 13 would come from
the Western Hemisphere
Hemisphere, 12 would
o ld be Africans
– 70 would be non-white
– 67 would be non-Christian (33 Christians; 18 Moslems; 14
Hindus; 6 Buddhists; 5 atheists; 3 Jews; 24 other
other.))
– 16 would speak Chinese; 8 English; 8 Hindi; 6 Spanish; 6
Russian; and 5 Arabic.
– 50 % of the wealth would be held by 6 people
people.
– 70 could not read and
– only one would have a university education.

42
http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/103/3areaoutline.htm
 Ethical Relativism:
A Self-Defensive Position
‰ Ethical relativism maintains that we cannot make
moral judgments about other cultures
‰ Th corollary
The ll off thi
this iis th
thatt we are protected
t t d iin
principle against the judgments made by other
cultures

43
 How Much Dressed? Naked?

Rembrandt
Monk Reading, 1661

Fencer – protective suit

Taliban law requires women in Apollo Belvedere 320 BCE
Afghanistan to wear a chador or
burqa that covers the face and
entire body.

From the solitude of the

Holy Cross Abbey in
Vi i i a monkk works
Virginia, k
on the Internet,
A proper dress? Amazonian 21th century
indigenous woman 44
with child Nuns uniforms
 How Much Dressed? Naked?

Leonardo da Vinci
Dieric Bouts - Madonna and Child Holbein’s Family 1528
Lady with an Ermine 1483-90

45
 Arguments Against Ethical
R l ti i
Relativism
‰ There Are Some Universals in Codes of Behavior
across Cultures

Three core common values:

– caring for children
– truth telling (trust) and
– prohibitions against murder

The societyy must gguard against

g killing,
g, abusing
g the
young, lying etc. that are at its own peril. Were the
society not to establish some rules against such
behaviors, the society itself would cease to exist.

46
 Ethical Objectivism

‰ The view that moral principles have

objective validity whether or not
people recognize them as such
such, that
is, moral rightness or wrongness does Plato (427-347 BCE)

not depend on social approval, but on

such independent considerations as
whether the act or principle promotes
human flourishing g or ameliorates
human suffering.
‰ What is moral depends on the fabric
off human
h nature.
t Immanuel Kant
1724-1804
47
 Ethical Absolutism/Universalism

‰ Ethical Absolutism:
Morality is eternal and unchanging and holds for all
rational beings at all times and places
places. In other
words, moral right and wrong are fundamentally the
same for all people. (Morality is considered different
than mere etiquette)
etiquette).

There is only one correct answer to every moral

problem. A completely absolutist ethic consists of
absolute principles that provide an answer for every
possible situation in life, regardless of culture.

48
 Ethical Absolutism

‰ Absolutism comes in many

versions--including the
divine right of kings
‰ Absolutism is less about
what we believe and more
about how we believe it
‰ Common elements:
– There is a single Truth
Louis XIV
– Their position embodies that (1638 – 1715)
truth Louis the Great, The Sun King

49
 Ethical Absolutism

‰ Ethical absolutism gets some things right

– We need to make judgments
– Certain
C t i thi
things are iintolerable
t l bl

‰ But it gets some things wrong,

wrong including:
– Our truth is the truth
– We can’t learn from others

50
 Ethical Pluralism (1)

‰ Combines insights of both relativism and absolutism:

– Th
The central
t l challenge:
h ll h
how tto lilive ttogether
th with
ith
differing and conflicting values

– Fallibilism: recognizes that we might be mistaken

– Sees
S di
disagreement
t as a possible
ibl strength
t th

51
 Ethical Pluralism (2)

‰ Moral pluralists maintain that there are moral truths,

but they do not form a body of coherent and
consistent truths in the way that one finds in the
science or mathematics. Moral truths are real, but
partial. Moreover, they are inescapably plural. There
are many moral truths, not just one–and
one and they may
conflict with one another.

52
 Ethical Pluralism (3)

‰ Pluralism is the cultural manifestation of ethical

individualism; it is implied by the respect for the
human being,
being for what it means to be human
human.
‰ We have differing moral perspectives, but we must
often inhabit a common world.

53
 Ethical Pluralism (4)
Ethical pluralism offers three categories to describe
actions:
‰ Prohibited: those actions which are not seen as
permissible at all
– Absolutism sees the importance of this
‰ Tolerated: those actions and values in which
legitimate differences are possible
– Relativism sees the importance of this
‰ Ideal: a moral vision of what the ideal society would
be like

54
 Ethical Pluralism (5)

‰ For each action or

policy, we can place it
in one of three regions:
– Ideal--Center
– Permitted--Middle
Permitted Middle
• Respected
• Tolerated
– Prohibited--Outside
P hibit d O t id

55
 Five Questions
‰ What is the p
present state?
‰ What is the ideal state?
‰ What is the minimally acceptable state?
‰ How do we get from the present to the minimally
acceptable state?
‰ How do we get from the minimum to the ideal state?

56
 Immanuel Kant
THE ETHICS OF DUTY
(D
(Deontological*
t l i l* Ethics)
Ethi )

* ‘deon’ = duty 57
 Living by Rules

‰ Most of us live by rules much of

the time.
‰ Some of these are what Kant
called Categorical Imperatives.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

58
 Categorical Imperatives

‰ Always act in such a way that the maxim of your

action can be willed as a universal law of humanity.
--Immanuel
I l Kant
K t

59
 The Ethics of Respect (1)

One of Kant’s most lasting contributions to moral

philosophy was his emphasis on the notion of respect
(Achtung).
(Achtung)

60
 The Ethics of Respect (2)

‰ Respect has become a fundamental moral concept in

contemporary West
– There
Th are rituals
it l off respectt in
i almost
l t allll cultures.
lt
‰ Two central questions:
– What is respect?
– Who or what is the proper object of respect?

61
 Kant on Respect

“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.”

62
 Kant on Respecting Persons
‰ Kant brought the notion of respect (Achtung) to the
center of moral philosophy for the first time.
‰ To respect people is to treat them as ends in
themselves He sees people as autonomous,
themselves. autonomous i.e.,
i e as
giving the moral law to themselves.
‰ The opposite of respecting people is treating them as
mere means to an end.

63
 Using People as Mere Means

‰ The Tuskegee
Th T k Syphilis
S hili
Experiments
– More than four hundred African
A
American
i men iinfected
f t d with
ith
syphilis went untreated for four
decades in a project the
government called the Tuskegee
g g
Study of Untreated Syphilis in the
Negro Male.
– Continued until 1972

64
 Treating
g People
p as Ends in
Themselves
What are the characteristics of treating people as ends
in themselves?
‰ Giving
Gi i ththem relevant
l t andd accurate
t iinformation
f ti
‰ Allowing them freedom of choice

65
 Additional Cases
‰ Plant Closing
g
‰ Firing Long-Time Employees
‰ Medical Experimentation on Prisoners
‰ Medical Donations by Prisoners
‰ Medical Consent Forms

66
 What Is the Proper
p Object
j of
Respect?
‰ For Kant, the proper object of respect is the will.
Hence, respecting a person involves issues related to
the will--knowledge
will knowledge and freedom
freedom.
‰ Other possible objects of respect:
– Feelings
g and emotions
– The dead
– Animals
– The natural world

67
 Self Respect
Self-Respect

‰ Is lack of proper self-respect a moral failing?

‰ The Deferential* Wife

– See article by Tom Hill, “Servility and Self-Respect”

*Deferential = Respectful, considerate

68
 Self Respect
Self-Respect

‰ Aristotle and Self-Love

– What is the difference between self
self-respect
respect
and self-love? Clearly, there is at least a
difference in the affective element.

69
 The Kantian Heritage
What Kant Helped Us to See
Clearly
‰ The Admirable Side of Acting from Duty
– The person of duty remains committed, not matter how
difficult things become.
‰ The Evenhandedness of Morality
– Kantian morality does not play favorites.
‰ Respecting Other People
– The notion of treating people as ends in themselves is
central to much of modern ethics.

70
 The Kantian Heritage
g
Critique of Kant´s Deontology

‰ The Neglect of Moral Integration

– The person of duty can have deep and conflicting
i li ti
inclinations and
d thi
this ddoes nott d
decrease morall
worth—indeed, it seems to increase it in Kant’s
eyes.
y
‰ The Role of Emotions
– For Kant, the emotions are always suspect
b
because th
they are changeable.
h bl

71
 The Kantian Heritage
g
Critique of Kant´s Deontology

‰ The Place of Consequences in the Moral Life

– In order to protect the moral life from the changing
off morall luck,
l k K Kantt h
held
ld a very strong
t position
iti ththatt
refused to attach moral blame to individuals who
were acting g with g
good will, even though
g some
indirect bad consequences could be foreseen.

72
 The Kantian Heritage
g
Conclusion

Overall, after two hundred years, Kant remains an

absolutely central figure in contemporary moral
philosophy one from whom we can learn much even
philosophy,
when we disagree with him.

73
Utilitarianism

74
 Basic Insights of Utilitarianism

‰ The purpose off morality

Th lit iis tto make
k th
the world
ld a b
better
tt
place.

‰ We should do whatever will bring the most benefit to

all of humanity.

75
 The Purpose of Morality
‰ The utilitarian has a simple answer to the question of
why morality exists at all:
– The ppurpose
p of morality
y is to g
guide p
people’s
p actions
in such a way as to produce a better world.
‰ Consequently, the emphasis in utilitarianism is on
consequences not intentions.
consequences, intentions
(At times, the road to hell is pawed with good intentions)

76
 Fundamental Imperative

‰ The fundamental imperative of utilitarianism is:

Always act in the way that will produce the greatest
overallll amountt off good
d iin th
the world.
ld

77
 The Emphasis
p on the Overall
Good

‰ Utilitarianism is a demanding moral position that often

asks us to put aside self-interest for the sake of the
whole.
h l
– It always asks us to do the most, to maximize
utility, not to do the minimum.
– It asks us to set aside personal interest.

78
 The Dream of Utilitarianism:
Bringing Scientific Certainty to
Ethics
‰ Utilitarianism offers a powerful vision of the moral life,
one that promises to reduce or eliminate moral
disagreement.
– If we can agree that the purpose of morality is to
make the world a better place; and
– If we can scientificallyy assess various p
possible
courses of action to determine which will have the
greatest positive effect on the world; then
– We can provide a scientific answer to the question
off what
h t we ought
ht to
t do.
d

79
 Standards of Utility:
I t i i Value
Intrinsic V l
‰ Manyy things
g have instrumental value, that is, they
y
have value as means to an end.
‰ However, there must be some things which are not
merely instrumental, but have value in themselves.
Thi is
This i what
h t we callll iintrinsic
t i i value.
l
‰ What has intrinsic value? Four principal candidates:
– Pleasure - Jeremyy Bentham
– Happiness - John Stuart Mill
– Ideals - George Edward Moore
– Preferences - Kenneth Arrow

80
 Jeremy
y Bentham
1748-1832

‰ Bentham believed that we

should try to increase the
overall amount of pleasure in
the world.

81
 Pleasure

‰ Definition: The enjoyable ‰ Criticisms

feeling we experience – Came to be known
when a state of
deprivation is replaced by as “the
“th pig’s
i ’
fulfillment. philosophy”
‰ Advantages – Ignores spiritual
– Easy to quantify values
– Short duration – Could justify living on
– Bodily a pleasure
l machine
hi
or “happy pill”

82
 John Stuart Mill
1806-1873

‰ Bentham’s godson
‰ Believed that happiness, not
pleasure, should be the
standard of utility.

83
 Happiness

‰ Advantages ‰ Disadvantages
– A higher standard, – More difficult to
more specific
ifi tto measure
humans – Competing
– About realization of conceptions of
goals happiness

84
 Ideal Values
‰ G. E. Moore suggested that we
sho ld stri
should strive
e to ma
maximize
imi e ideal
values such as freedom, knowledge,
justice, and beauty.
‰ The world may not be a better place
with more pleasure in it, but it
certainly will be a better place with
more freedom, more knowledge,
more justice, and more beauty.
‰ Moore’s
Moore s candidates for intrinsic good
remain difficult to quantify. G. E. Moore
1873-1958

85
 Preferences
‰ Kenneth Arrow, a Nobel Prize
winning Stanford economist,
argued that what has intrinsic
value is preference satisfaction.

‰ The advantage of Arrow’s

approach is that
that, in effect
effect, it lets
people choose for themselves
KENNETH J. ARROW
what has intrinsic value. Stanford University
Professor of Economics (Emeritus)
It simply defines intrinsic value as
whatever satisfies an agent’s
preferences. It is elegant and
pluralistic.
86
 May
y this help?
p Lets make everyone
y
happy!

Happy pill as a universal solution?

87
 The Utilitarian Calculus
‰ Math and ethics finally merged: all
consequences must be measured
and weighed!
‰ U it off measurement:
Units t
– Hedons: positive
– Dolors: negative

88
 What do we calculate?
‰ Hedons/dolors defined in terms of
– Pleasure
– Happiness
pp
– Ideals
– Preferences

89
 What do we calculate?
‰ For any given action,
action we must calculate:

– How many people will be affected, negatively

(dolors) as well as positively (hedons)
– How intensely they will be affected
– Similar calculations for all available alternatives
– Choose the action that produces the greatest
overall amount of utility (hedons minus dolors)

90
 How much can we quantify?

‰ Pleasure and preference satisfaction are easier to

quantify than happiness or ideals
‰ Two distinct issues:
– Can everything be quantified?
The danger: if it can’t be counted, it doesn’t count.
– Are quantified goods necessarily commensurable?
Are a fine dinner and a good night’s sleep
commensurable?

91
 “…the problems of three little people don’t
amount to a hill of beans in this crazy
world.”

Utilitarianism doesn’t always

h
have a cold
ld and
d calculating
l l ti
face—we perform utilitarian
y y life.
calculations in everyday

92
 Criticisms of Utilitarianism
1. Responsibility
‰ Utilitarianism suggests that we are responsible for all
the consequences of our choices.
‰ The problem is that sometimes we can not foresee
consequences of other people’s actions that are
taken in response to our own acts. Are we
responsible
ibl ffor th
those actions,
ti even th
though
h we d
don’t
’t
choose them or approve of them?

93
 Criticisms of Utilitarianism
2. Integrity

‰ Utilitarianism often demands that we put aside self-

interest. Sometimes this may mean putting aside our
own moral convictions.
convictions
‰ Integrity may involve certain identity-conferring
commitments, such that the violation of those
commitments entails a violation of who we are at our
core.

94
 Criticisms of Utilitarianism
3. Intentions

‰ Utilitarianism is concerned almost exclusively about

consequences, not intentions.
– There is a version of utilitarianism called “motive
utilitarianism,” developed by Robert Adams, that
attempts to correct this.
this

95
 Criticisms of Utilitarianism
4. Moral Luck
‰ By concentrating exclusively on consequences,
utilitarianism makes the moral worth of our
actions a matter of luck. We must await the final
consequences before
b f we find
fi d outt if our action
ti
was good or bad.

‰ This seems to make

Thi k the
h morall life
lif a matter off
chance, which runs counter to our basic moral
intuitions.

96
 Criticisms of Utilitarianism
5. Who does the calculating?
‰ Historically, this was an issue for the British in India
Historically India.
The British felt they wanted to do what was best for
India, but that they were the ones to judge what that
was.
– See Ragavan Iyer, Utilitarianism and All That

‰ Typically, the count differs depending on who does

Typically
the counting

97
 Criticisms of Utilitarianism
6 Who
6. Wh is
i included?
i l d d?
‰ When we consider the issue of consequences, we
must ask who is included within that circle
circle.

‰ Classical utilitarianism has often claimed that we

should acknowledge the pain and suffering of
animals and not restrict the calculus just to human
beings.
beings

98
 Concluding Assessment

‰ Utilitarianism is most appropriate for policy decisions,

as long as a strong notion of fundamental human
rights guarantees that it will not violate rights of
minorities, otherwise it is possible to use to justify
outvoting minorities.

99
Rights

100
 Rights:
g
Changing Western History
‰ Many of the great documents of the last two centuries
have centered around the notion of rights.
– The
Th Bill off Ri
Rights
ht
– The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
– The United Nation Declaration of Human Rights

101
 Human Rights

After the King John of England violated a number

of ancient laws and customs by which England
had been governed,
governed his subjects forced him to
sign the Magna Carta, or Great Charter, which
enumerates what later came to be thought of
as human
h rights.
i ht

102
 Human Rights

Among rights of Magna Carta were the right of the

church to be free from governmental interference, the
rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property
and be free from excessive taxes. It established the
right of widows who owned property to choose not to
remarry, and established principles of due process
and equality before the law. It also contained
provisions forbidding bribery and official misconduct.

103
 Rights:
g
A Base for Moral Change
‰ Many of the great movements of
this century have centered
around the notion of rights
rights.
– The Civil Rights Movement
– Equal
q rights
g for women
– Movements for the rights of
indigenous peoples
– Children’s
Child ’ rights
i h
– Gay rights

104
Justifications for Rights

‰ Self-evidence
‰ Divine Foundation
‰ N t lL
Natural Law
‰ Human Nature

105
 Self evidence
Self-evidence

‰ “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men

are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights
Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776

106
 Divine Foundation
‰ “We
We have granted to God, and by
this our present Charter have
confirmed, for us and our Heirs for
ever That the Church of England
ever,
shall be free, and shall have her
whole rights and liberties inviolable.
We have granted also, and given to
all the freemen of our realm, for us
and our Heirs for ever, these liberties
underwritten, to have and to hold to
them and their Heirs, of us and our
Heirs for ever
ever.”
The Magna Carta, 1297 107
 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
Article 1.
‰ All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights.
rights They are endowed with reason and
conscience and should act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood.

‰ http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

108
 Rights related Questions
Rights-related

‰ Freedom of Speech
‰ Death Penalty
‰ The Disappeared
‰ Economic & Social Rights
‰ T
Terrorism
i &A
Anti-Terrorism
ti T i
‰ Corruption

109
 Natural Law

‰ According to natural law ethical theory, the moral

standards that govern human behavior are, in
some sense,
sense objectively derived from the nature
of human beings.

110
 Natural Law
Human Nature
‰ Arguments for natural rights that appeal to human
nature involve the following steps:

– Establish that some characteristic of human

nature, such as the abilityy to make free choices,
is essential to human life.

111
 Natural Law
Human Nature
– Establish that certain empirical conditions,
such as the absence of physical constraints,
are necessary for the existence or the exercise
of that characteristic;

– Conclude that people have a right to those

empirical conditions.

112
 Two Concepts of Rights
‰ The distinction depends on the obligation that is
placed on those who must respect your rights.
‰ Negative Rights
– Obliges others not to interfere with your exercise
of the right.
‰ Positive Rights
– Obligates others to provide you with positive
assistance in the exercise of that right.

113
 Negative Rights

‰ Negative rights simply impose on others the duty not

to interfere with your rights.
– The
Th right
i ht tto life,
lif construed
t d as a negativeti right,
i ht
obliges others not to kill you.
– The right to free speech, construed as a negative
right, obliges others not to interfere with your free
speech

114
 Positive Rights
‰ Positive rights impose on others a specific obligation
to do something to assist you in the exercise of your
right
– The right to life, construed as a positive right,
obliges others to provide you with the basics
necessary to sustain life if you are unable to
provide these for yourself
– The right to free speech, construed as a positive
right, obligates others to provide you with the
necessary conditions for your free speech--e
speech e.g., g
air time, newspaper space, etc.
– Welfare rights are typically construed as positive
rights.
115
 Positive Rights:
g
Critique
‰ Who is obligated to provide positive assistance?
– People in general
– Each of us individually
– The state (government)

116
The Limitations of Rights Concept

‰ Rights, Community, and Individualism

‰ Rights and Close Relationships

117
 The Limitations of Rights Concept
Contradicting rights:
rights Athos and
Women
‰ Greek public community is indignant at the decision
recently taken by the Dutch court and at the
resolution of European parliament
parliament.
‰ In January, a Greek law that allows monks from the
Athos Monasteryy not to let women to the Holy y Mount
was officially declared in court as contradicting
human rights.

118
 The Limitations of Rights Concept
Contradicting rights: Athos and
Women

An official response to the declaration was immediate:

governmental spokesman told European human
rights activists that the right of the Athos monastery
republic not to let women to the Holy Mount was
confirmed in the treaty of Greece-s incorporation into
the European Union.

119
 Concluding Evaluation

‰ Rights do not tell the whole story of ethics, especially

in the area of personal relationships.

‰ Rights are always defined for groups of people

(humanity, women, indigenous people, workers etc).

120
Personal Integrity vs Public Safety

121
Justice

122
 Introduction
‰ All of us have been the recipients of demands of
j
justice.
– My 6 year old daughter protesting, “Daddy, it’s not
fair for you to get a cookie at night and I don’t.”
‰ All of us have also been in the position of demanding
justice.
– I told the builder of my house that
that, since he
replaced defective windows for a neighbor, he
should replace my defective windows.

123
 Conceptions of Justice

‰ Distributive Justice
– Benefits and burdens
‰ Compensatory/Recompensatory Justice
– Criminal justice

124
 Distributive Justice

‰ The central question of distributive justice is the

question of how the benefits and burdens of our lives
are to be distributed.
distributed
– Justice involves giving each person his or her due.
– Equals are to be treated equally.

125
 Goods Subject to Distribution

‰ What is to be distributed?
– Income
– Wealth
– Opportunities

126
 Subjects of Distribution

‰ To whom are good to be distributed?

– Individual persons
– Groups of persons
– Classes

127
 Basis for Distribution

‰ On what basis should goods be distributed?

– Equality
– Individual needs or desires
– Free market transactions
– Ability
Abilit tto make
k bbestt use off the
th goods
d

128
 Strict Egalitarianism

‰ Basic principle: every person should have the same

level of material goods and services
‰ C iti i
Criticisms
– Unduly restricts individual freedom
– May conflict with what people deserve

129
 The Difference Principle

‰ More wealth may be produced in a system where

those who are more productive earn greater incomes.
‰ St i t egalitarianism
Strict lit i i may di
discourage maximal
i l
production of wealth.

130
 Welfare Based Approaches
Welfare-Based

‰ Seek to maximize well-being of society as a whole

131
 Desert* Based Approaches
Desert*-Based
‰ Distributive systems are just insofar as they
distribute incomes according to the different levels
earned or deserved by the individuals in the
society
i t ffor th
their
i productive
d ti llabors,
b efforts
ff t or
contributions. (Feinberg)

*desert - förtjänst; förtjänt lön, vedergällning 132

according to one's deserts efter förtjänst
 Desert* Based Approaches
Desert*-Based
‰ Distribution is based on:
– Actual contribution to the social product
– Effort one expend in work activity
– Compensation to the costs
‰ Seeks to raise the overall standard of living by
rewarding effort and achievement
‰ May be applied only to working adults

133
Try to run “Wealth Distribution”, a model that simulates
the distribution of wealth.
wealth
http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/WealthDistrib
134
ution
The Ethics of Character:
Virtues and Vices

135
 Introduction

Concern for character has

flourished in the West
since the time of Plato,
whose early dialogues
explored such virtues as
courage and piety*.

Plato (by Michaelangelo)

136
* fromhet
 Two Moral Questions

‰ The Question of Action:

– How ought I to act?
‰ The Question of Character
– What kind of person ought I to be?
‰ O concern here
Our h iis with
ith th
the question
ti off character
h t

137
 An Analogy
gy from the Criminal
Justice System
• As a country, we place our trust for just decisions in the
legal arena in two places:
– Laws,
L which
hi h provide
id th
the necessary rules
l
– People, who (as judge and jury) apply rules judiciously
• Similarly,
Similarly ethics places its trust in:
– Theories, which provide rules for conduct
– Virtue,, which provides
p the wisdom necessaryy for
applying rules in particular instances

138
 Virtue
‰ Strength of character
(habit)
‰ Involving both feeling,
knowing and action
‰ Seeks the mean
between excess and
deficiency relative to us
‰ Dynamic balance
‰ S
Secure d
desirable
i bl
Aristotle (by Michaelangelo)
behavior

139
 The Seven Essential Virtues
Defining “Moral IQ”

‰ Empathy ‰ Wisdom*
‰ Conscience ‰ Courage*
‰ S lf C t l
Self-Control ‰ T
Temperance* *
‰ Respect ‰ Justice*
‰ Tolerance ‰ Integrity
‰ Fairness ‰ Responsibility
‰ Kindness ‰ Honesty y

140
*Aristotles cardinal virtues
 Virtues (1)
Sphere of
Deficiency Mean Excess
Existence
Arrogance
Proper Self-Love Conceit
Attitude toward Servility
Proper Pride Egoism
self Self-deprecation
Self-Respect Narcissism
Vanity
Attitude toward Anger Revenge
Ignoring them
offenses of Forgiveness Grudge
Being a Doormat
others Understanding Resentment
Attitude toward
Suspicion
good Gratitude Over
E
Envy
deeds of Admiration indebtedness
Ignoring them
others
Regret,
Attitude toward Indifference Toxic Guilt
Remorse
our Remorselessness Scrupulosity
M ki A
Making Amends
d
own offenses Downplaying Shame
Self-Forgiveness
Attitude toward
Indifference Loyalty Obsequiousness
our friends

141
 Virtues (2)
Sphere of
Deficiency Mean Excess
Existence
Attitude toward Sense of
Belittling Self-
our Accomplishment
own good deeds Disappointment righteousness
Humility
Attitude toward Pity
y
th
the
suffering of
Callousness Compassion “Bleeding
others Heart”
Attitude toward Self-
the satisfaction Admiration
achievements of
E
Envy
Complacency Emulation
others Competition
Attitude toward
death Cowardice Courage Foolhardiness
and danger
Attitude toward
Temperance Lust
our Anhedonia
own desires Moderation Gluttony
Attitude toward
other people
Exploitation Respect Deferentiality

142
 Two Concepts of Morality

‰ In a simplified scheme, we can contrast two approaches

to the morality.
morality
– Restrictive concept:
• Child vs. adult
• Comes from outside (usually parents).
• “Don’t touch that stove burner!”
• Rules and habit formation are central
central.
– Affirmative concept:
• Adult vs. adult
• Comes from within (self-directed).
• “This is the kind of person I want to be”
• Virtue-centered,, often modeled on ideals.

143
 Rightly-ordered
g y Desires and the
Goals of Moral Education
‰ Moral education may initially seek to control unruly
desires through rules, the formation of habits, etc.
‰ Ulti t l morall education
Ultimately, d ti aims
i att fforming
i andd
cultivating virtuous conduct.

144
 Virtue As the Golden Mean

‰ Strength of character (virtue), Aristotle suggests,

involves finding the proper balance between two
extremes.
extremes
– Excess: having too much of something.
– Deficiency: having too little of something.
‰ Not mediocrity, but harmony and balance.

145
 Virtue and Habit

‰ For Aristotle, virtue is something that is practiced and

thereby learned—it is habit (hexis).
‰ Thi has
This h clear
l implications
i li ti ffor morall education,
d ti ffor
Aristotle obviously thinks that you can teach people
to be virtuous.

146
Egoism
g

147
 Two Types of Egoism

‰ Two types of egoism:

– Psychological egoism
• Asserts that as a matter of fact we do always
act selfishly
• Purely descriptive
– Ethical egoism
• Maintains that we should alwaysy act selfishlyy

148
 What does it mean to be selfish?

‰ If we are selfish, do we only do

things that are in our genuine
self-interest?
– What about the chain smoker? Is
this person acting out of genuine
self-interest?
– In fact
fact, the smoker may be acting
selfishly (doing what he wants
without regard to others) but not
self-interestedly (doing what will
ultimately benefit him).

149
 What does it mean to be selfish?

‰ If we are selfish, do we only

do things we believe are in
our self-interest?
– What about those who believe
that sometimes they act
altruistically?
– Does anyone truly believe
Mother Theresa was completely
selfish?
Mother Theresa (1910-1997)
‰ Think of the actions of
parents.
t Don’t
D ’t parents
t
sometimes act for the sake of
their children, even when it is
against their narrow self-
interest to do so?
150
 Re-conceptualizing Psychological
Egoism
In addition to having two independent axes, we must distinguish
between the intentions of actions and their consequences. Thus
we get two graphs:

Intentions Consequences
St
Strongly
l iintended
t d d tto hhelp
l others
th High beneficial To others

Nott
N Strongly Highly Highly
intended intended harmful beneficial
to benefit to benefit to self to self
self self

Highly harmful to others

Strongly intended to harm others

151
Ethical Egoism

152
 Ethical Egoism

‰ Selfishness is praised as a virtue

– Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness
‰ May appeal to psychological egoism
as a foundation
‰ Often very compelling for high school
students

Ayn
y Rand
a d ((1905-1982).
905 98 )
(born Alice Rosenbaum)

153
 Versions of Ethical Egoism
‰ Personal Ethical Egoism
g
– “I am going to act only in my own interest, and
everyone else can do whatever they want.”
‰ Individual Ethical Egoism
– “Everyone should act in my own interest.”
‰ Universal Ethical Egoism
– “Each individual should act in his or her own self
interest.”

154
 Altruism

‰ Unselfish concern for the welfare of others;

selflessness, charity, generosity.
‰ Z l
Zoology. I ti ti cooperative
Instinctive ti bbehavior
h i th thatt iis
detrimental (harmful) to the individual but contributes
to the survival of the species.
p

155
 Universalizing
g Ethical Egoism
g
‰ Can the ethical egoist consistently will that everyone
else follow the tenets of ethical egoism?
– It seems to be in one’s self-interest to be selfish
oneself and yet get everyone else to act
altruisticallyy ((especially
p y if they
y act for yyour benefit).
)
This leads to individual ethical egoism.
‰ Some philosophers such as Jesse Kalin have argued
that in sports we consistently universalize ethical
egoism: we intend to win, but we want our opponents
to try as hard as they can!

156
 Egoism,
g , Altruism,, and
the Ideal World
Aristotle
‰ Ideally, we seek a society in
Ideally Tocqueville’s
q
Kant “Self-interest rightly understood”
which self-interest and regard for High
others converge—the green Altruism
zone.
‰ Egoism at the expense of others Self-interest
Self-sacrificing and regard
and altruism at the expense of altruism for others
self-interest both create worlds in converge
which goodness and selfself-regard
regard Low High
are mutually exclusive—the Egoism Egoism
yellow zone. Not beneficial Self-interest
either to self at the expense
‰ No one want the red zone,, which
or others of others
is against both self-interest and
regard for others.
Low
Drug addiction Altruism
Hobbes’s
Al h li
Alcoholism, etc. State of Nature,
Nature
Nietzsche?
157
Sinking Titanic: Egoism vs. Altruism
(Even risks in technical systems)

158
 Moral Reasoning and
Gender

The Kohlberg-Gilligan Debate and

y
Beyond

159
 Le Deuxième Sexe - The Second Sex
Simone de Beauvoir 1949

‰ Woman as the Other

“For a long time I have hesitated to
write
it a b
book k on woman. ThThe
subject is irritating, especially to
women; and it is not new. Enough
ink has been spilled in quarrelling
…”

Simone de Beauvoir

http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/beav.htm 160
 Lawrence Kohlberg

‰ American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg

(Harvard) studied under Swiss psychologist
and philosopher Jean Piaget (1965), who had
developmental approach to learning. Kohlberg
extended the approach to stages of moral
reasoning.
‰ Using surveys, Kohlberg presented his
subjects with moral dilemmas and asked them
to evaluate the moral conflict. He was able to
prove that youth at various ages, as youth Lawrence Kohlberg
proceed to adulthood, they are able to (1927 - 1987)
progress up the moral development stages
presented
presented,
161
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

LEVEL STAGE SOCIAL ORIENTATION

1 Obedience and Punishment

Pre-conventional
Individualism, Instrumentalism, and
2 Exchange

3 "Good boy/girl"
Conventional
4 Law and Order

5 Social Contract
Post-conventional
6 Principled Conscience

162
 Gender and Kohlberg’s
Kohlberg s scale

‰ Women are more likely to base their explanations for

moral dilemmas on concepts such as caring and
personal relationships.
relationships These concepts are likely to
be scored at the stage three level. Men, on the other
hand, are more likely to base their decisions for moral
dilemmas on social contract or justice and equity.
Those concepts are likely to be scored at stage five
or six.

163
 Carol Gilligan

‰ University Professor of
Gender Studies,
Harvard University (1997
(1997-
present)
‰ In a Different Voice:
Psychological Theory and
Women's Development,
book 1982
1982.
Carol Gilligan,
1936 - present

164
 How do we understand Gilligan’s
claims?
l i ?
Plato: Meno
SOCRATES: (…) By the gods, Meno, be generous, and
tell me what you say that virtue is; (…)
MENO: ((…)) Let us take first the virtue of a man--he
should know how to administer the state, and in the
administration of it to benefit his friends and harm his
enemies; and he must also be careful not to suffer
h
harm hi
himself.
lf A woman's' virtue,
it if you wish
i h tto kknow
about that, may also be easily described: her duty is
to order her house, and keep what is indoors, and
obey her husband.
husband Every ageage, every condition of life
life,
young or old, male or female, bond or free, has a
different virtue (…)

165
 How do we understand Gilligan’s
g
claims?
‰ With the advent of industrial revolution, and welfare
state where all children are given education, and
physical strength has no dominant rolerole, women have
entered the public sphere traditionally dominated by
males.
‰ Female professionals have encountered a culture
that was historically male territory. It caused cultural
shock.
shock

166
 How do we interpret
p Gilligan’s
g
claims?
Four possible positions about female vs. male moral
voices:
‰ Separate
S t but
b t equall
‰ Superiority thesis

‰ Integrationist thesis

‰ Diversity thesis

167
 The Diversity Thesis
– Suggests
gg that there are different moral voices
– Sees this as a source of richness and growth in the
moral life
– External diversity
• Different individuals have different, sex-based moral
voices
• Males with female voices and females with male voices
are admitted
– Internal diversity
• E
Eachh off us have
h b
both
th masculine
li and
d ffeminine
i i morall
voices within us
• Minimizes gender stereotyping

168
 Conclusion
“The Show must go on” (Freddy Mercury)

‰ Kohlberg – Gilligan controversy is but a beginning of

a long process of re-thinking position of women in a
post modern society
post-modern society.
‰ The end of industrialist era and the emergency of
new information technology gy results in conditions that
even more favor female professionals.

169
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

170
 The Earth

"We have not inherited the Earth from our fathers.

We are borrowing it from our children."

Native American saying

171
Environmental Ethics and Philosophy
Are There Universal Ethical Principles?

‰ Universalists: Plato, Kant believe that fundamental

principles of ethics are universal, unchanging and
eternal
‰ Relativists: Sophists- everything contextual. Believe
that moral principles are always relative to a
particular person
‰ Nihilists: Schopenhauer- arbitrary survival. Claim
that the world makes no sense at all and that
everything is completely arbitrary
‰ Utilit i
Utilitarians: B th
Bentham - greatest
t t good d for
f greatest
t t
number of people

172
 Values Rights
Values, Rights, and Obligations

‰ Moral agents. Some philosophers believe that only

humans are moral agents
‰ M l subjects.
Moral bj t Children
Child are considered
id d morall
subjects not moral agents
‰ Inherent, instrumental value
‰ Non-living things, do they have value?

173
Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives

‰ Individual beliefs towards ecology depend on ethical

perspectives
‰ M t people
Most l have
h sett off core values
l or beliefs
b li f
‰ Environmental concerns are a source for
comparisons among different values and perceptions

174
Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives

Domination

‰ Interpretation of some religious values has lead in

past to anthropocentric (human-centered) ecological
principles which believe that humans are the focus of
creation
‰ Current movement in religious organizations to fight
for ecological concerns

175
Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives

Stewardship

‰ Responsibility to manage our ecosystem. To work

together with human and non-human forces to
sustain life

176
Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives
Biocentrism (life-centered), Animal Rights, and
Ecocentrism (ecologically-centered)
( g y )
‰ Biocentrism: biodiversity is the highest ethical value
in nature
‰ Animal rights supporters focus on the individual
‰ Ecocentrism: whole is more important than individual
animal

Ecofeminism
‰ Warren, Shiva, Merchant, Ruether, and King
‰ A network of personal relationships

177
Worldviews and ethical perspectives
p p
A comparison

Philosophy Intrinsic Value Instrumental Value Role of humans

Anthropocentric Humans Nature Masters

Stewardship Humans & Nature Tools Caretakers

Biocentric Species Abiotic nature One of many

Animal rights Individuals Processes Equals

Ecocentric Processes Individuals Destroyers

E f i i
Ecofeminist R l i hi
Relationships R l
Roles C
Caregivers
i

178
 Environmental Justice

‰ Combination of civil rights and environmental

protection that demands a safe, healthy life-giving
environment for everyone
‰ Most people of low socio-economic position are
exposed
p to high
g ppollution levels

179
 Environmental Racism

‰ Unequal distribution of hazardous waste based on

race
‰ Black children 2-3 times more likely to have lead
poisoning

Dumping Across Borders

‰ Toxic colonialism: targeting third/fourth world

countries for waste disposal
‰ Polluting industries move to poor countries
‰ Environmental Justice Act (1992)

180
181
 Science as a Wayy of Knowing
g
A Faustian Bargain?

‰ Technology can create power to save and destroy life

‰ D F
Dr. Faustus
t sold
ld hi
his soull tto th
the d
devilil iin exchange
h ffor
power and wealth (youth)

182
 Management
g Theory
y and the
Environment
‰ Anthropocentric Theories
– Ethics
– Economic
– Corporate Social
Responsibility
• Stakeholder
• Normative
• Social Contract
‰ Green Management Theories
– Ecocentricism
– Adjusted Stakeholder
– Sustainablity
– Resource Based Theory

183
Global Environmental Ethics

184
Environmental Ethics and Business
‰ Western Societyy - Objectifies
j Nature
– Locke - “Something in a state of nature has no
economic value and is of no utility to the human
race
race”
‰ Ethics - a concern with actions and practices directed
to improving the welfare of people.

185
 Economic Fundamentalism and
Ethics
The corporate social responsibility of a business is to
increase profit. - M. Friedman

‰ Those things that cannot be traded on the market

have no value.
‰ Where does the environment fit in these definitions
for environmental ethics?
‰ Will p
people
p and corporations
p do environmentallyy
responsible things on their own? What happens if
they do?

186
 Corporate Social Responsibility

‰ By doing socially responsible things, businesses

better human life.
‰ H
Hopefully
f ll ..good
d ethics
thi iis good
dbbusiness.
i

‰ Is this true?
‰ Is enlightened self interest a good way?

187
 Incorporating
p g Environment into
Management
‰ Environmental Ethics is a starting point
– Expanding ethics to include nature.
– What is the difficulty in doing this?
– What does the Biocentric ethic say (Goodpaster?)
‰ Bi
Biocentrism
ti
– Natural objects have intrinsic value and morally
considerable in their own right.
g
– Deep Ecology nature has an ethical status at least
equal to humans.

188
 Green Management

‰ Ecocentrism views industrial relationships in a cycle,

and a whole set of philosophies.
How radical is this?

‰ Sustaincentrism - going beyond sustainability of

d
development
l t th
thatt meets
t the
th needs
d off the
th presentt
without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their needs.
– Human and economic relationships inextricably
linked with natural systems.

189
Resource Extraction and Use

‰ Burning of fossil fuels

‰ Destruction of tropical
rainforests and other
biologically rich
landscapes
‰ Production of toxic
wastes

190
Environmental Science

Environment - the
circumstances and
conditions that surround
an organism or a group of
organisms
Environmental science -
the systematic study of
our environment and our
place in it

191
 What ought I to do?

Intention Action Consequence

Duty
Deontological Ethics

192
 What ought I to do?

Intention Action Consequence

Consequentialist Ethics

193
http://www envirolink org/
http://www.envirolink.org/
- Agriculture
- Air Quality
- Climate Change
- Ecosystems
- Energy
- Environmental Disasters
- Environmental Economics
- Environmental Education
- Environmental Ethics
- Environmental Legislation and Policy
- Ground Pollution
- Habitat Conservation
- Human Health
- Natural
N t l History
Hi t
- Oceans
- Outdoor Recreation
- Population
- Sustainable Business
- Sustainable Development
p
- Sustainable Living
- Transportation
- Urban Issues
- Vegetarianism
- Waste Management
- Water Quality
- Wildlife

194
Ethics Contexts

Industry
(Other firms)
Clients Profession
Consumers (Societies)

Engineering firm

Engineer Colleagues
Family
((Private Sphere)
p )

Managers Global environment

Society/Nature
195
 Research Ethics Committee
University of Mälardalen

Ethics committee decision making

Research ethical issues of MDH

MDH, advisory committee:

http://www.mdh.se/university/organization/boards/Ethics

Decision-making (policy-making) body in Uppsala

http://www.epn.se/

196
 What is Professional Ethics?

There are many ways to introduce applied/professional

ethics with different focus:

‰ Pragmatic
‰ Embedded
‰ Theoretical
‰ Emerging
g g Issues

197
 Approach
pp 1
Pragmatic

Ethical issues are introduced via a consideration of their

practical consequences. Consequences are defined
i relation
in l ti tto:
• The framework of rules and procedures defined by
regulatory bodies charged with the task of raising or
maintaining professional standards.
• Research Ethics Committees and the factors that
influence their deliberations

198
 Approach
pp 2
Embedded

Ethical concerns are presented holistically, as an

integral part of some broader area of concern such
as:
• Fitness for Practice.
• P f
Professionalism.
i li
The embedded approach places an emphasis on the
sense of professional identity
identity.

199
 Approach
pp 3
Theoretical

This approach focuses on the understanding of ethics

theory.
The ethics of life-like situations are presented in terms
of the application of different ethical theories.

200
 Emerging Professional Issues

Professional ethics introduces new issues and concerns

by seeking to guide and shape graduate behaviour
as a way of meeting public expectations with regard
to professional conduct and accountability.
accountability

201
 Professional Ethics Primary Objectives

1. To help
T h l professionals
f i l make
k choices
h i th
thatt th
they can lilive
with, and by reducing the emotional and psychological
stress caused by moral indecision and confusion.

2. To ensure that the professional acts in a way that

serves the best interests of societyy in g
general and their
service-users in particular.

3
3. To ensure that the professionals acts in a way that
serves the best interests of their chosen profession.

202
CRITICISM OF THE
SOURCES
A d i H
Academic Honesty

203
 What is cheating?

‰ Plagiarizing - copying, paraphrasing and self-

plagiarizing
‰ U
Unauthorized
th i d co-operation
ti
‰ Joyriding or taking advantage
‰ Fabrication
‰ Un-authorized aids

204
 Consequences

‰ All suspected cases will be reported to the

disciplinary committee
‰ Th teacher
The t h isi nott allowed
ll d tto h
haggle
l or punish!
i h!
‰ Warning or suspension from classes
‰ IDE practice is a zero tolerance against academic
dishonesty

205
 Rules

‰ ”Individually” means by one single person

‰ Be prepared to describe carefully how you solved the
g
assignment
‰ The names on the cover are the names of those who
made the assignment
‰ Use references to everything that is not your own
present work!
‰ When in doubt – ask teacher
‰ Read http://www.mdh.se/ide/utbildning/cheating
http://www mdh se/ide/utbildning/cheating

206
Concluding
Comments

207
 Conclusion
“The Show must go on” (Freddy Mercury)

‰ Complexity of the real world problems – number of

processes go on concurrently
‰ A bi it off th
Ambiguity theoretical
ti l representations
t ti and
d
interpretations
‰ No absolute truth, but the commitment to the
commonly accepted ”good enough” ”reasonably
good” solutions

208
 World seen in different light

What if we could see in any wavelength of the

electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma-rays to
radio waves? How would the world appear to us?
209
 Images of the sun

RADIO ULTRAVIOLET VISIBLE

INFRARED X-RAY
210
 Images of the moon

RADIO ULTRAVIOLET VISIBLE

INFRARED X-RAY
211
 Images of galaxy M81

RADIO ULTRAVIOLET VISIBLE

INFRARED X RAY
X-RAY

212
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/CHAMP/EDUCATION/PUBLIC/multiwavelengthphotos_pics.html
 World as seen in the light
g of different
models

‰ An example: one country has started war on the

other. What are the possible “optics” we can use to
analyze the problem from the ethical point of view?

‰ Virtue Ethics
– The leader of one country was very bad character. Leader of
the other was very good. Which one is which depends
usually on the side in the war.

213
 World as seen in the light
g of different
models
‰ Utilitarian Ethics
– The country have to be helped, pacified, civilized.
– The total benefit from the point of view of the one
who sets the rules and counts benefits is obvious.

‰ Rights
– As a rule in a war human rights are violated. If you
focus on that aspect of the problem you may get
the different picture.

214
 World as seen in the light
g of different
models
‰ Duty
– In a war, defending your country/fighting for your
country is seen as a highest duty.

‰ Egoism
– In egoist
g p
perspective
p war can be used to g
gain
huge benefits.

‰ Feminist
F i i t ethics
thi
– Feminist claim wars are male business.

215
 World as seen in the light
g of different
models
‰ Justice
– The distribution of wealth/natural resources can be
a central issue in a war and so also in ethical
y
analysis of it.

‰ Divine Command
– Very often a war can be seen as a clash between
different religions. Each side fights with the divine
support.
pp ((So it was even in ancient Greece))

216
 References

‰ Basic material:
– http://ethics.acusd.edu/presentations/Hinman/theor
y/relativism/
/ l ti i /
– http://ethics.acusd.edu/socialethics/
– Moral Philosophy Through The AgesAges, James
Fieser, Mayfield Publishing Company, 2001
‰ Additional resources:
– http://www.prs.heacademy.ac.uk/projects/ethics/
– http://ethics.acusd.edu/relativism.html

217