E1_P1_ Judgement Types, Pre-requisites,Meta-ethics

7/26/2019 E1_P1_ Judgement Types, Pre-requisites,Meta-ethics

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Ethics (http://mrunal.org/category/ethics-2) / 2 weeks Ago

73 Comments (http://mrunal.org/2015/09/e1p1-meta-ethics-judgement-types-freewill-knowle

1. Prologue

2. 3 Types of Judgments

3. 3 Areas in Study of Ethics

1. S1:Meta-Ethics / Critical Ethics

2. S2: Applied Ethics

3. S3: Normative vs. Descriptive Ethics

4. Ethics vs. Morality?

5. Legality vs. Morality

4. 3 Preconditions for Ethical Scrutiny

1. Pc1: Free Will

2. Pc2: Knowledge

3. Pc3: Voluntary Action

5. Case study: Memento

6. Case Study: Crank

Prologue

This article series based on Ethics Lectures by Mr.Kavan Limbasiya (AIR-198, IRS-IT) at SPIP

AhmedabadThe Syllabus of UPSC General Studies Paper-4 Ethics is available here click me

(http://mrunal.org/ethics#syllabus). Accordingly, we can divide the Ethics topic into 8 parts

[Ethics] E1/P1: Human Interface: Types of Judgments, Prerequisite forEthical scrutiny, Meta Ethics, Applied ethics, Normative-Descriptive ethics

English: SP Bakshi(http://www.flipkart.com/objective-general-

english-2012/p/itmdyuqqgafhtehp?pid=9788183480000&affid=mrunalrugm)

Mrunal (http://mrunal.org/)
http://mrunal.org/ethics#syllabushttp://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://www.flipkart.com/objective-general-english-2012/p/itmdyuqqgafhtehp?pid=9788183480000&affid=mrunalrugmhttp://www.flipkart.com/objective-general-english-2012/p/itmdyuqqgafhtehp?pid=9788183480000&affid=mrunalrugmhttp://www.flipkart.com/objective-general-english-2012/p/itmdyuqqgafhtehp?pid=9788183480000&affid=mrunalrugmhttp://www.flipkart.com/objective-general-english-2012/p/itmdyuqqgafhtehp?pid=9788183480000&affid=mrunalrugmhttp://mrunal.org/http://mrunal.org/http://www.flipkart.com/objective-general-english-2012/p/itmdyuqqgafhtehp?pid=9788183480000&affid=mrunalrugmhttp://mrunal.org/ethics#syllabushttp://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://mrunal.org/category/ethics-2


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First part would be Ethics and Human interface- further subdivided into three articlesE1/P1:Types of Judgments, Pre-requisite for Ethical scrutiny, Meta Ethics, Applied ethics,

Normative-Descriptive ethics.

E1/P2:Theories of Ethics: virtual ethics, deontological vs. teleological ethics, utilitarianism,

hedonism, epicureanism, egoism, conduct ethics etc.

E1/P3:Values, Role of family-society-educational institutions in inculcating values, ethics a

private and public relationships.

3 Types of Judgments


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1.Factual or

Epistemological

Earth rotates around Sun. Whether you test or an alien species tests,

the fact will remain the same. There are only two outcomes: True /

False

Theyre not morally right or wrong. Theyre morally empty, theyre

amoral.

2.AestheticJudgment

Concept of beauty, taste, color, sensualities.One person may like red color the other person may like blue color.

3.Moral

Judgment

Our sense of good/bad/right/wrong.

IN GS paper 4, we are concerned with this.

Question: Are these three judgments inter-related?

Traditional thinkers considered them one and same i.e. what is true (factual) is beautiful

(aesthetic) and therefore it is Good (moral). Something like Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram.

They believed, just as facts are not dependent on us, the morals are not dependent on us

The morals are created by the God.

Now we dont see things in the same manner. Consider following question: Was Amitabh

involved in Bofors case? (Factual judgment)

If youre a bigB fan, youd say no he cant be involved because he is a good guy (Moral

judgment). And youd say this without verifying the facts. So, youve internal inconsistency

you like this guy, so you cant believe he can be bad.

Similar case about Sanjay Dutts involvement in 1992 bomb blasts.

3 Areas in Study of Ethics

The study of Ethics is subdivided into three areas: (1) Meta Ethics (2) Applied (3) Normative

Ethics


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S1:Meta-Ethics / Critical Ethics

If we steal, is it good thing? That is an example of ethical question.

What is good? That is meta-ethical question. In other words, Meta-ethics is one step abo

ethics.

If you begin evaluating the ethics itself, then its meta-ethics.

Nature=> philosophy of nature => physics.

Similarly here morality =>ethics => meta-ethics.

S2: Applied Ethics

In subsequent lecture, well discuss various theories of ethics. One such theory is

Utilitarianism, which says if a decision leads to maximum happiness for maximum people

then its an ethical decision.

Now if we apply this utilitarianism theory to a specific field, then itd become Applied Ethi

examples,

Bioethics step cell therapy is good or bad?

Environmental

ethics

cutting trees and displacing the tribal for highway projects is good or

bad?

S3: Normative vs. Descriptive Ethics


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Descriptive Normative / prescriptive

Einsteins equation is E=MC2Should we use that equation or

knowledge to build nuclear weapon?

Newtons third law: action and reaction are

opposite.

Should we use Newtons third law to

build a rocket or a gun?

It describes this is whats happening.It prescribes what should be done or

what ought to be done.

e.g. in imperialist age, white men enslaved

Africans.

However, Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery

so Mr.ABC historian lauds him an ethical

president.However, Lincolns motive to abolish slavery

was to win the war against confederates,

rather than freeing black people so Mr. xyz

Historian in his xyz book doesnt concur with

the views of Mr.ABC.

In the Imperialist age, white men

enslaved Africans and sold them to

American plantation owners,

wherein theyre exploited in the

most inhuman manner.

It was wrong on part of the White

men to exploit other humans for

personal gains. No one should

enslave another human being.

As you can see, only describing, rather thanprescribing.

As you can see- prescribing aboutwhat should have been done.

Examples of Normative theories:

Virtue ethics theory, the views of

Plato and Aristotle

Utilitarianism

Nishkam Karmayoga (Gita)

Ethics vs. Morality?

Subject matter of Physics = Natural phenomenon. It studies nature and derives formulas.

So subject matter nature=> its study is called physics.

Same way subject matter morality => its study is called ethics.

Legality vs. Morality


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Legality Morality

Gay marriage is

illegal

Perhaps in some ethical school of thought, gay marriage could be

considered ethical because everyone has right to have a life partner to

provide him/her emotional support.

Every illegal thing

may not beimmoral

Every moral things may not be legal. If we make lying illegal, theneveryone will be jailed.

One and same

throughout the

region/nation

Varies from culture, religion and region.

Murder is illegalMurder is immoral so its in the intersecting region of legality and

morality.

3 Preconditions for Ethical Scrutiny

For case studies- Before we can decide where an action is worth ethical debate or not, you

should first test whether given case passes 3-preconditions or not?

Pc1: Free Will

In Delhi zoo, a mentally instable person falls in Tiger enclosure. The white tiger kills him,while the crowd is busy capturing the MMS video of the event.

If a person has multiple choices, and freedom to pick one within those choices, only then w

can debate it on ethical ground.

When that white tiger killed the mentally instable man, Tiger didnt have free will or

knowledge. Nature has designed tiger to act that way. Hence tigers action cant be judge

as ethical or immoral. He cant /shouldnt be punished for that.

While crowds action can be termed as unethical- because they had free will: Option A- he


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the person or option B- record MMS on mobile. They chose option A, hence unethical.

Pc2: Knowledge

A Child takes iphone 6s plus from table and dips it in a fishbowl. Phone is permanently

damaged. Was Childs action unethical?

Well, Child had free will- (A) Take selfi and upload on facebook (B) dip it in a fishbowl

She chose optionB. But she didnt have the knowledge that iPhone are not waterproof.

We cannot exercise free will in an ethical/unethical manner, unless and until we have

knowledge of its consequence.Hence babys action cant be termed as ethical or unethic

Pc3: Voluntary Action

If someone puts a gun on your head or straps a bomb on your waist and then orders you t

commit a crime, then its an involuntary action by you, hence we cant judge it on ethicalgrounds.

Apart from above three, following conditions also make it difficult to evaluate an action on

ethical grounds:

Fear /

violence

If someone tries to kill/loot you and you kill/injure him in self-defense,

youre acting under fear for your life. So, its subject to legal scrutiny but

not ethical scrutiny. Because it was either you or him.

Ignorance

Foreigner comes to Gujarat and drinks in a desi-liquor den. This is illegal

but not unethical IF the foreigner was unaware of the prohibition law in

Gujarat.

Passion

A husband finds his wife in a compromising position with another man,

he gets enraged and murders both of them. Illegal but difficult to

scrutinize on ethical grounds, since his passion was not aroused by

himself.

A man takes narcotic drugs and under its influence he

rapes/murders/maims someone, it is both illegal and unethical because

he himself aroused his passion.

Hence, In murder cases, court looks at aggravating and mitigating factor


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Pathological

status

Husband suffering from schizophrenia mistreats his wife/children.

This is not subject to ethical scrutiny because hes suffering from a

mental disorder so he lacks the knowledge and free will.

Same way the mistake of mentally instable person falling in tiger

enclosure in Delhi is, is beyond ethical scrutiny.

Habit,

temperament

Since childhood, Japanese are trained to apologize profusely even forslightest mistake or discomfort caused to another human.

If an American executive working in Japan, doesnt behave in similar

fashion, it cant be termed as unethical. Because its not in American

habits.

Value system

A fallen Samurai would prefer to commit ritual suicide (seppuku) rather

than suffering torture/humiliation by his enemies. Because it is part ofhis Bushido honor code.

If a fallen American soldier doesnt commit suicide, it cant be evaluated

on ethical grounds.

Now you can see the broad picture- consider following Case: Mr.X murders Mr.Y to acquire his

property.

Action Component

Mr.X Moral Agent

He killed Mr.Y

Human Action. (Recall3 types of assumptions: if he

had done with out free will, knowledge and voluntary

action, wed have called it non-human action and topic

would end here.

Mr.Xs action is morally wrong.Moral Judgment. (Recall 3-types of Judgments-factual,

aesthetic and moral)

It is wrong to murder another

humanMoral Standard=> Ethics => Meta-Ethics.

No person shall be deprived of his

life or personal liberty except


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according to procedure

established by law.

Article 21, Constitution of India

Whoever commits murder shall

be punished with death, or

imprisonment for life, and shall

also be liable to fine.

Section 302, Indian Penal Code (IPC)

Case study: Memento

n the movie Memento, the protagonist- Mr. Leonard Shelby suffers from short-term memor

oss. Following people take advantage of his mental conditions:

A waitress: by making the protagonistkill her abusive boyfriend after court and police fail

to give her protection or justice.

A Cop:by making the protagonist kill various criminals for cleansing the society as well as

looting the money from dead corpses. He uses this money to tip-off informants and fight

against crime.

A motel-receptionist:by charging the protagonist multiple rooms not used by him,

because receptionists boss had ordered him to increase revenue by doing so, else

threatened to fire him from job. This receptionist has a daughter for marriage and a son in

expensive coaching at Delhi/Kota so he cant afford to lose job.

n above case, whose action(s) is/are subject to ethical scrutiny? If yes, then are they ethical or

unethical?

A. Leonard Shelby

B. Waitress

C. Cop

D. Motel receptionist

Case Study: Crank

n the movie Crank, Chinese Mobsters inject our protagonist Jason Statham with a synthetic

drug which inhibits the flow of adrenaline, slowing the heart and eventually killing the victim.

ason enters a hospital trying to explain his condition to staff but nurses refuse to believe him


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and doctor says hed need to run 24 hours medical tests before giving him any drug, despite

repeated requests by Jason that he requires immediate shot of Adrenaline. Impatient Jason

breaks into the storeroom and tries to steal vials containing synthetic adrenaline, so he can

nject them to survive. But the staff and policemen try to apprehend him. Jason fights back,

njures a few of them before escaping the hospital. In above case, whose action(s) is/are subje

o ethical scrutiny? If yes, then are they ethical or unethical?

A. Jason Statham

B. Nurses

C. Doctor

D. Policemen

n the next part (E1/P2) well look at various theories of Ethics. Visit Mrunal.org/Ethics

http://mrunal.org/ethics)for more study material on Ethics.

Tags: Kavan (http://mrunal.org/tag/kavan)

Mrunal recommends

SBI/IBPS Bank Exams

UPSC Civil Service

SSC CGL: Staff selection

CDS: Defense Services

CAT/IIM MBA Entrance

ACIO Intel Officer
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R E P L Y ( H T T P : / / M R U N A L . O R G / 2 0 1 5 / 0 9 / E 1 P 1 - M E T A - E T H I C S - J U D G E M E N T - T Y P E S - F R E E W I L L -

K N O W L E D G E - NO R M A T I V E - E T HI C S . H T M L ? R E P LY T O C O M = 3 6 4 9 72 # R E S P O N D )

srajan

thanku so much sir

plzz go on



R SIWACH

nothing can be better than this

.thanks mrunal SIR



narayan vaze

thank you so much!!



shalini dhiman

Hello sir.thanks for providing such useful information. Sir I cant take any

coaching , so please guide me for mains exam.my subject is sociology.Thanks again



om prakash pandey
http://mrunal.org/2015/09/e1p1-meta-ethics-judgement-types-freewill-knowledge-normative-ethics.html?replytocom=365847#respondhttp://mrunal.org/2015/09/e1p1-meta-ethics-judgement-types-freewill-knowledge-normative-ethics.html?replytocom=365580#respondhttp://mrunal.org/2015/09/e1p1-meta-ethics-judgement-types-freewill-knowledge-normative-ethics.html?replytocom=365395#respondhttp://mrunal.org/2015/09/e1p1-meta-ethics-judgement-types-freewill-knowledge-normative-ethics.html?replytocom=365057#respondhttp://mrunal.org/2015/09/e1p1-meta-ethics-judgement-types-freewill-knowledge-normative-ethics.html?replytocom=364972#respond


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Excellent material



om prakash pandey

Thank u very much sir



Naresh Kaveti

The book that followed by the author was McGraw Hill one (By Nanda

Kishore, Santhosh Ajmera)

R E P L Y ( H T T P : / / M R U N A L . O R G / 2 0 1 5 / 0 9 / E 1 P 1 - M E T A - E T H I C S - J U D G E M E N T - T Y P E S - F R E E W I L L -K N O W L E D G E - NO R M A T I V E - E T HI C S . H T M L ? R E P LY T O C O M = 3 6 5 9 60 # R E S P O N D )

Raghuram

Yes.. The content matches..



Prashant rawat

Thanks sir..



KUMAR MEHTA

Can we answeres to case studies in Ethics E1/P1
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Revathi

Can you please upload the lectures on youtube sir.



Lingaraj

MEMENTO CASE STUDY:

1. Actions of LEONARD SHELBY was Illegal but cannot be termed asEthical/Unethical becoz he is unable to act on his FREE WILL becoz of

his Mental State coupled with the lack of knowledge(add info: in the

movie he doesnt knw his wifes killer)

2. Actions of the WAITRESS is illegal as well as Unethical becoz her

purpose to kill her boyfriend is revenge but not for self defence.

3. Actions of the COP may be subject to Legal Scrutiny(if whether the

criminals deserved to die) but Unethical becoz he took advantage of

Leonards mental condition without consulting his counterparts.

4. The Actions of MOTEL RECEPTIONIST is ILLEGAL but Subject to Ethical

Scrutiny( did he do it out of pressure/fear of losing his job or futher

wanted to fill his pocket)
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E1_P1_ Judgement Types, Pre-requisites,Meta-ethics