ToK - Ethics

We all have an intuitive feel for ‘fairness’

A sense of what is right and what is wrong

“Leave him alone - he isn’t hurting anyone!”

“There is a queue here – you can’t just push in!”

“But you said you would help me!”

ToK - Ethics

Which is worse – to lie to a friend, or to a teacher?

Which is worse – to take a bar of chocolate from someone's desk, or some money?

Consider this story…..

Jessamyn and Mandango were lovers. They were perfectly matched and conscious of the fine pair they made. They planned to marry soon. Jessamyn was in fact rushing down to the river to cross the bridge to meet Mandango. He would become impatient and jealous if she was late. Jessamyn took this as a sign of his great passion for her.

But it had been raining for two days and she found the bridge washed out when she got to the river. Desperately she ran along the swollen river looking for a place where it might be possible to cross. At a great burst of lightning she ran into Ferryman Sinbad’s hut. Sinbad lived there alone since his wife died to years before. He welcomed her in and she warmed herself at his fire and begged his help. Sinbad shook his head and told her it was death to try to cross the river in flood. But as he took in her young body under her wet clothes an offer appeared in his eyes. Jessamyn was horrified. But her anxiety over Mandango’s displeasure began to arise again. He was really a good catch for her – the richest man in the valley. Sinbad was lower class of course, but his strong body was attractive – the thunder clapped – and the lightning snaked across the sky – and the rain poured down torrentially … and she had always been highly sexed … and it was, after all, for Mandango.

An hour later she was running into Mandango’s arms glowing with the fulfillment of having reached him against all odds. When he finally got her to tell him how she had succeeded, he thrust her away with revulsion. “You slut,” he shouted. “You slept with the boatman? I never want to see you again! I cannot imagine marrying you or that you would be the mother of my children.” Although she wept bitterly and pleaded, he left her.

Poor Jessamyn, her sacrifice for love rejected, lay there till Arunta, her childhood friend, came and lifted her gently. Jessamyn told him of the price she had paid for love. Arunta, who had loved and lost Jessamyn to Mandango, was outraged. He ran down to Mandango’s house and dragged him out and broke his jaw. He ran back to comfort Jessamyn and soon persuaded her to take shelter in his house … out of the rain and cold.

ToK - Ethics

The Study of Human Action

• Ethics studies not how human beings do act (human sciences) ...

• nor how they have acted in the past (history) ...• but how they should act

________

Seeks to give general perspectives that can apply to particular cases

All public and private actions (whether of thought, speech or deed) have a moral and ethical dimension ….

ToK - Ethics

“What should I do?”

“How do I know what is the right thing to do?”

“How should human beings treat each other?”

ToK - Ethics

Definitions:

• Morality is our sense of right and wrong• Ethics is the area of knowledge that examines that sense of morality and the moral codes we develop from it

_________

Both words, ‘Ethics’ and ‘Morality’ have their roots in words that mean ‘Custom’

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• We expect people to be able to justify

their value judgments

• We expect consistency in people’s moral judgments

• We expect moral judgments to be impartial

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1. The source of morality is human nature:

• Human beings are naturally good and tend toward cooperation with others

• Human beings are naturally selfish and find that cooperation with others maximizes their own benefit

Sources of Morality

ToK - Ethics

2. The source of morality is religion:• Both theist and non-theist religions teach

codes of morality___________

• Can be arbitrary depending on interpretation• Can we know the true divine authority?• What if there are multiple divine authorities?• What if there are conflicting religiously

sanctioned moral values

Sources of Morality

ToK - Ethics

3. The source of morality is reasoning and observation:

• Some have used reasoning as a way to recognize moral obligations and

• Others have used observation and prediction as a way of anticipating the effects of our actions on others

____________• Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative• John Stuart Mill’s principle of utility

Sources of Morality

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4. The source of morality is emotional empathy:

• Seeking moral guidance not in the reasoning that leads to concepts of justice but in the emotional concern and development of relationships that leads to nurturing and care for others

Sources of Morality

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5. The source of morality is social and political:

• The traditions and laws of a society (anthropology and history give us perspectives on cultural traditions and change)

______________

• International Human Rights law• National justice systems• The unwritten codes which guide social action

Sources of Morality

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Moral Relativism:

Arguments for:• Diversity

The sheer variety of moral practices around the world suggests that there are no objective moral values

• Lack of foundationsThere does not seem to be an independent ‘moral reality’ against which we can test our values to see if they are true or false

• Encourages tolerance

ToK - Ethics

Moral Relativism:

Arguments against Moral Relativism:• Core values accepted by all cultures

Can we find a culture where people are proud of cheating on their friends or where it is considered good to steal from the poor?

___________

• Does not provide guidance on how to decide what to do!

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Self-interest theory:

1. Definitional argument

• You are being selfish when you do what you want to do, and you always end up doing what you want to do!

__________

• Does this suggest that Altruism is impossible?• Necessary to distinguish between self-

regarding desires, and other-regarding desires

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Self-interest theory:

2. Evolutionary argument

• Human beings are naturally selfish and are programmed to pursue their own interests

____________

• But there is evidence that empathy and altruism are part of our biological inheritance. For example?

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Self-interest theory:

3. Hidden benefits argument

• Being kind to other people brings us gratitude, praise, enhanced reputation and a positive image of ourselves

___________

• There are many examples of apparent selfless, altruistic behaviours. For example?

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Self-interest theory:

4. Fear of punishment argument

• “What if I get caught?”

________

• Is all behavior is motivated by fear?

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Duty ethics:

• Some acts are just inherently right or wrong

• We therefore have a duty to do (or refrain from doing) certain things

____________• What are the correct rules which regulate our

moral duties? • Religious commandments?

• Doctor’s duty to cure; teacher’s to teach

Ethical theories

ToK - Ethics

Virtue ethics:

• We should strive to become better people by cultivating virtues such as courage, kindness etc. Develop good character traits

• Focus is not on how we act but on the kinds of people we should be

______________

• What sort of person do I want to be? • What virtues are characteristic of the person I want to be? • Do you think it makes more sense to say that people are

basically good and are corrupted by society, or that people are basically bad and must be kept in line by society?

Ethical theories

ToK - Ethics

Virtue ethics:

• The importance of motives/intention:The moral value of an action is determined by the motive for which it is done rather than the consequences that follow from it

___________

• If you are trying to be helpful but things turn out badly, we usually don’t blame you.

Ethical theories

ToK - Ethics

Consequentialist ethics:

• When choosing whether to do something we should consider not the nature of the act itself but whether it will produce desirable consequences

___________• If actions have the correct consequences, one has acted morally• But we cannot know the full consequences of our actions

Ethical theories

ToK - Ethics

Consequentialist ethics:Types:

Ethical Egoism• Consequences of the action to the moral

agent performing the action. Ethical Altruism

• Consequences of the action to everyone except the moral agent.

Ethical Utilitarianism• Consequences of the action to everyone. • Choose the action that brings the greatest

‘utility’ or happiness to the greatest number of people

Ethical theories

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Utilitarianism:

One supreme moral principle –

We should seek the greatest happiness of the greatest number

John Stuart Mill

___________

• But how do we measure happiness?• Does constant pleasure make for a happy life?• How can we predict the consequences of our actions?

Ethical theories

ToK - Ethics

Environmental Ethics:

Our ethical rights and responsibilities towards the environment

How do you think of yourself in relation to “all that stuff beyond your skin?”

__________

• Value-based approaches

• Psychologically-based approaches

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Environmental Ethics:

Value-based approach• Instrumental Value

• Useful to human ends• Short-term gain through changing and using

nature• Unrestrained resource use leads to depletion

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Environmental Ethics:

Value-based approach

• Intrinsic Value• Having value in and of itself – regardless of

whether of use to humans• Organisms which have moral standing have

rights and are owed certain duties • Awareness-based ethics: (“Can it suffer?”)• Life-based ethics: All living things – the entire

biosphere is seen as an interconnected system with moral standing

• Cosmic purpose ethics: include evolutionary and theological arguments about the ultimate ends of evolution, or the nature of God’s purposes.

ToK - Ethics

Environmental Ethics:

Psychologically-based approach

• Sense of identification• Deep ecology

• The central problem in human ecology is the relationship of mind to nature.

• Concerned with the process of understanding• Concerned with the relationship between

thought and action, where actions are informed not so much from a sense of moral duty, as from an inclination arising from an expansive conception of self

Ethics

PerceptionIs perception

colored by values?

ReasonHow important is

consistency in moral reasoning?

ReligionHow have

religions shaped people’s moral

beliefs?

ArtsDo the arts have a moral function? History

Does History show that we

have made moral progress?

Human SciencesHow do ethical factors affect experiments?

EmotionIs ethics a matter of the head, or of

the heart?

Natural Sciences

Are scientists morally responsible for how their discoveries are

used?

ToK - Ethics