11.1 Classical Ethics

8/13/2019 11.1 Classical Ethics

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Ethical outlooks


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Ethical outlooks

For the Greeks ethics and politics

were two sides of the same coin.


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Ethical outlooks

Act based/Contemporary

Consequentialists

What matters:

Benefit

What doesnt matter:

Why you did something

Whether you promised not to

Intentionalists

What matters:

Duty

What doesnt matter:

Exceptional circumstances

Outcomes


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Ethical outlooks


Consequentialists

Benefit

Ethical Egoism An act can only bemoral if you do it, so

you must do it b/c you

want to

Utilitarianism

Intentionalists

Duty


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John Stuart Mill 1806-1875

Utilitarianism

Published 1863

An act is right if and

only if if causes the

greatest happiness tothe greatest number

(Or maximizes the value

of the consequences)


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Immanuel Kant 1724-1804Groundwork for the

Metaphysics of Morals

Published 1785

Act only in accordance withthat maxim through which you

can at the same time will that it

become a universal law.

Never act in such a way thatyou treat Humanity, whether in

yourself or in others, as a

means only but always as an

end in itself.


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Ethical outlooks


Consequentialists

Benefit

Ethical Egoism An act can only bemoral if you do it, so

you must do it b/c you

want to

Utilitarianism Greatest happiness to

the greatest number

Intentionalists

Duty

Kantianism Dont treat others onlyas means

Your maxims must be

universalizable

Obligationism Follow the law for the

sake of the command


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Ethical outlooks

Contemporary

Conflict between

Duty Self-interest

Act based

Consequence orintention based

Classic Greek

No necessary conflict,

only shortsightedness

Character based

Who do you want to be?


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Techn vs. Action

Like know-how (techn)

You have to learn by

doing [II.i, 1103a32] You have to know

how to act [II.iv,1105a32]

You have tounderstand the

particularities of the

situation

Unlike know-how

You have to choose the

actsfor their own sake

making something isntstrictly speaking acting

The acts have to reflect

your character

A skilled dentist couldruin your teeth if they

wanted to.

But a virtuous action is

always preferable


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Virtue Ethics


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Ethical outlooks

Myths of the Fall

Sin and Guilt Beauty (Kalos)

Justice

Virtue (Arete)


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Ethical outlooks

Contemporary Classic Greek


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Ethical outlooks

In Classical Greek there is no

word for sin.

The nearest is:or Hamartia

which means to miss the mark

Plato has Socrates repeat in no

less that 3 dialogues that:

No one does wrong willingly


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Kalos

Ancient

Good

Noble

Beautiful

Contemporary

Hungry

Poor

Meek


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Justice

Ancient

Larger scope

Right thing to do

Relation btw

individuals

Opposite: Pleonexia orgreediness

Contemporary

Smaller scope

Legal rights

Relation btw

individual and state

Opposite: Violation ofa rule


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Justice

Justice is the Virtue of the Soul

Justice is the Virtue of the City

(Plato) What it is to be a person

Harmonious relation btw parts of the soul

What it is to be a polis

Harmonious relation between part of city

How the two go together


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Different Takes

Justice

Virtue

Goodness

Contemporary

Legal term

Smaller scope

Btw individuals and the state

Good divorced from good at

External standard

Hungry, poor, and meek

Ancient

Appropriate actions

Larger Scope

Balance btw individuals

Good and Good at

Who you are

Good, Noble, Beautiful


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Virtue or Excellence

Aristos = best

Aret = bestness

Aristocracy = power to the best

Greek 101.07


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Functionalism

Axes are for chopping

so

A good/virtuous axe is one that chops well

and

an axe is able to chop in virtue of it being sharp

therefore

Sharpness is an axes virtue

Sharpness makes an axe and axe

and

makes an axe a good axe


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Humans have some essential function

(political and/or intellectual)

so

the human virtue will involve:

justice and/or thinking

and

being just and/or thinking well will make you ahuman well, that is, you will flourish


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An excellent axe chops well

sharpness is a virtue

but an axe doesnt have to be sharp morally A excellent human is successful morally

courage is a virtue

but one has to perform the courageous act, morally/courageously

the function of a human is therefore intrinsically moral in a way

that the function of an axe isnt.


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Why should being virtuous make you flourish?

Well anything natural can flourish.

We, for instance, are naturally political

so we can build just societies in which we flourish.


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Four approaches to ethical decisions

Plato

Aristotle

Kant

Hume


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Plato

justice

courage

moderation

wisdom

(holiness)

Feeling

j, c, m +

generosity munificence

self-worth

honor/ambition

even temper

friendliness

truthfulness

wittiness

Thinking

techn phronsis

episteme/scient

ific

nous/intellectual

(philo)sophia

Aristotle


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Knowledge (of the definition) of the virtues

(Socratic Period) Happier if you are put to death but lead a virtuous life.

Reason using your spirit to control your desires

(Republic)

Plato


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Aristotle

Nicomachean Ethics


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Our discussion will be adequate if it has as

much clearness as the subject-matter admits

of, for it is the mark of an educated man

to look for precision in each class of things

just so far as the nature of the subjectadmits; it is evidently equally foolish to

accept probable reasoning from a

mathematician and to demand from arhetorician scientific proofs.


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There are no universal moral laws

becausepractical wisdom (phronesis)

involves specificity

so

moral action isnt about following rules

Aristotle


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The basis of morality is habituated feeling.

For any situation and for any person there is theright way to feel.

e.g., You should desire chocolate consistent

withyourneed for food and constitution,

consistent with excelling in life,not too much, not too littlethe golden mean.

e.g., cowardicecouragefoolhardiness

(again this isnt a rule to help us choose)

Aristotle


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Those who truly excel (those lucky enough to

have been brought up the right way) feel the

right way and want to do the right thing.

The rest of us (who arent vicious) struggle

with weak will ((in)continence)but doing the

right thing makes it easier to feel the right waynext time. (Punishments can also help.)

Art (specifically tragedy) can help us rebalance

our feelings.

Aristotle


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Where does deliberation come it?

The light under which we think about thingsmakes a big difference to how we feel about

them. (You are enjoying a meal and then I tell

you, you are eating cat.)

We can deliberate the means we are going to

use toward our goal of fulfillment.

Aristotle


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Us vs. Aristotle

We are worried about ethical skepticism (nihilism)ethical relativism (Thrasymachus)

To skepticism, Aristotle would reply,

Did your parents teach you nothing? Ethics isnt about proving that we are right, but an analysis

of how we flourish and how we can flourish better.

To relativism, Aristotle would reply

as social animals, our flourishing must be social. We canonly flourish in a social context and if that society

flourishes.

But whether there are other ways of flourishing at other

times and places, why does that matter?


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Kant 1724 - 1804 Groundwork for the

Metaphysics of Morals

1785

Practical Reason 1788 Act only in accordance

with that maxim through

which you can at the

same time will that it

become a universal law.


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Emotions cloud your judgment

You need rational criterion by whichto know what correct action is.

Then emotions are irrelevant.

Kant


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Hume 1711-1776

Treatise 1740

Enquiry Concerning

The Principles of

Morals 1751


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Reason cant motivateonly feeling can do that.

Reasons cant conflict with feelingssince they only deal with what is

matters of fact or relationships between ideas

(although they can help us figure out means to an end.)

Thus Reason is, and ought only to bea slave to the passions. Treatise [2.3.3.4]

Hume


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11.1 Classical Ethics