THEORIE

S OF

ETHIC

S

PART

2 O

F CHAPT

ER 12 (E

THIC

S)

1. Religious Ethics

2. Duty Ethics

3. Utilitarianism

3 THEORIES OF ETHICS

• Some people use religion as a rule book of moral principles to follow

RELIGIOUS ETHICS

• According to some philosophers, ethics is fundamentally a matter of doing your duty and fulfilling your obligations.

DUTY ETHICS

IMMANUEL KANT’S APPROACH TO ETHICS• We can determine our duties by appealing to reason.• Kant argued that the way to decide if something is

your duty is to see whether or not you can consistently generalize it.• My traffic example… If everyone tried to pass everyone by

driving on the shoulder, there would be chaos!!!

• Kant argued that we should keep our promises and refrain from such things as stealing, murder an d suicide.• What would happen if everyone broke their promises?• Would you say, I promise to do X unless I change my mind? (Not

a promise)

• Special Pleading: making excuses to justify behavior

KANT’S ETHICAL VIEWS (CONTINUED)

• Kant believed that we should at least try to be impartial and look at things objectively without making exceptions in our own case

Golden Rule: ‘Do as you would be done by’

• A good way to be objective is to imagine various situations through a veil of ignorance. • Take yourself out of the position• Use hypothetical situations

•According to Kant, if something has value it can be replaced by something else of equal value, but if it has dignity it is irreplaceable.

VALUES AND DIGNITY

THE IMPORTANCE OF MOTIVES

• Another key aspect of Kant’s ethics is that the moral value of an action is determined by the motive for which it is done rather than the consequences that follow from it.

• Kant insisted that to be truly moral our actions should be motivated by reason rather than feeling.

• 3 different motives for doing good:

1. You can expect something in return

2. Sympathy

3. Duty

CRITICISMS OF KANT’S ETHICS

• Rule Worship: to blindly follow a moral rule without regard to the consequences• Moral absolutism: the belief that certain moral

principles should always be followed irrespective of context

• Conflicts of Duty: Kant’s ethics leaves us no way of resolving conflicts of duty.• If a person has been unfaithful to their partner,

should they confess and make their partner unhappy, or say nothing and deceive them?

• Moral Coldness: Kant’s approach to ethics seems too focused on reason at the expense of feelings.

• There is one and only one supreme and moral principle- we should seek the greatest happiness of the greatest number.

• Maximize Happiness!

UTILITARIANISM

•Developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill

•They wanted to establish ethics on a scientific foundation

UTILITARIANISM

ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF UTILITARIANISM1. It is a simple and coherent theory.

2. It is a democratic theory because each individual is considered to be the best judge of what makes him or her happy.

3. It is a rational theory because it encourages us to take into account both short and long term consequences for our actions.

4. It is an egalitarian theory because it can justify redistributing money from the rich to the poor.

PRACTICAL OBJECTIONS TO UTILITARIANISM• It is difficult to put into practice.

• How do you measure happiness?

• Does a constant stream of pleasures make for a happy life?

• How can we predict the consequences of our actions?

THEORETICAL OBJECTIONS TO UTILITARIANISM1. Bad pleasures: Some argue that there are bad

pleasures• Malicious pleasures: derived from the suffering of

other people• Empty pleasures: do not help us to develop our

potential or flourish as human beings

2. Judging actions: How can we judge/predict actions?

3. Obligations and rights: Kant’s ethics leaves no room for respecting moral obligations or human rights.• Can we lie because it makes us happy?