An Introduction to Philosophy: 06 © James Mooney 2012

What is Ethics? •  Meta-Ethics

–  Addresses questions about the nature of ethics itself. What is morality? Is morality objective or subjective?

•  Normative Ethics –  Focuses on the ethical standards (norms) on which

moral conduct is based. Is the rightness and wrongness of an act determined its consequences? Should I always act in accordance with my duty?

•  Applied Ethics –  Applies philosophical theory to practical issues. Is

abortion permissible? Is there a distinction between killing and letting die? How ought we to act in war? What is the proper form of punishment?

Outlining the basic positions •  Objectivism (realism)

–  The view that values and properties (goodness, beauty) exist independently of human apprehension of them.

•  Subjectivism (anti-realism) –  The view that values such as goodness and beauty are not a feature of external

reality but a product of human beliefs and responses to it. •  Absolutism

–  The view that certain actions are right or wrong under any circumstances. •  Relativism

–  In terms of ethics, the view that notions of rightness and wrongness are wholly determined by, and relative to, particular cultures.

•  Deontology –  The view that rightness or wrongness of an action is determined solely in terms

of duty or intension, irrespective of consequences. •  Consequentialism

–  The view that the rightness or wrongness of an action should be solely determined by its consequences.

The Euthyphro Dilemma “Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?”

Plato, Euthyphro (c.375BCE))

Divine Command

Theory

Moral Relativism

“When Darius was king of Persia, he summoned the Greeks who happened to be present at his court, and asked them what they would take to eat the dead bodies of their fathers. They relied that they would not do it for any money in the world. Later, in the presence of the Greeks and through an interpreter (so they could understand what was said) he asked some Indian, of the tribe Callatiae, who do in fact eat their parents’ dead bodies, what they would take to burn them [as was the Greek custom]. They uttered a cry of horror and forbade him to mention such a dreadful thing. One can see by this what custom can do, and Pindar, in my opinion was right when he called it ‘king of all’.”

Herodotus, Histories (c.440BCE)

Emotivism “Take any action allow’d to be vicious: Wilful murder, for instance. Examine it in all lights, and see if you can find the matter of fact, or real existence, which you call vice… You can never find it, till you turn your reflection into your own breast, and find a sentiment of disapprobation, which arises in you, toward this action. Here is a matter of fact; but ‘tis the object of feeling, not reason.”

David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, 1740

Boo! Hurrah!

(Why) should we be moral?

Egoism Plato’s ‘Ring of Gyges’

Utilitarianism ‘The greatest happiness of the greatest number’

“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and

pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do.” Introduction to the Principles of Morals

and Legislation (1789) Jeremy Bentham 1748-1832

John Stuart Mill 1806-1873

“It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig

satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool

satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is because they only know their

own side of the question.”

Higher and Lower Pleasures

“Prejudice apart… the game of push-pin is of equal value with the arts and sciences of music and poetry”

(Bentham)

The Experience Machine “Suppose there were an experience machine that would give you any experience you desired. Superduper neuropsychologists could stimulate your brain so that you would think that you were writing a great novel, or making a friend, or reading an interesting book. All the time you would be floating in a tank, with electrodes attached to your brain. Should you plug into this machine for life, preprogramming your life’s desires? … Of course, while in the tank you won’t know that you’re there; you’ll think it’s all actually happening … Would you plug in? What else can matter to us, other than how our lives feel from the inside?”

Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State,and Utopia, 1974

Peeping Toms and

Scapegoats

Further Problems •  Calculating pleasure •  Unforeseen outcomes

Kantianism

“Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.” “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply as a means.”

Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (1785)

‘The categorical imperative’

Immanuel Kant

1724-1804

The Case of the Inquiring Murderer

Beyond Good and Evil

God is dead!

“Fear is the mother of morality”

A return to virtue?

•  Virtue Ethics – Competitor to Utilitarianism and Kantianism – Asks ‘What sort of person should I be?’ as

opposed to ‘What should I do?’ – Emphasis on character, not on individual action.

The goodness of an action derives from the person that performs it, not vice versa.

–  Inspiration for contemporary virtue ethics comes from Aristotle."

Aristotle’s Ethics •  Aristotle believes that everything has a purpose or function (ergon) which it

must perfect in order to flourish. •  The ergon for humans is to live according to reason. •  This involves developing the excellences of character which he identifies as the

virtues. •  A good upbringing is important to becoming a virtuous person. •  Living according to the virtues is known as eudaimonia. •  Aristotle proposes twelve moral virtues:

–  Courage, temperance, liberality, magnificence, magnanimity, proper ambition, patience, truthfulness, wittiness, friendliness, modesty, righteous indignation.

•  The ‘doctrine of the mean’ –  Aristotle states that the virtuous person must avoid the vices of excess or deficiency

and act according to the mean. –  E.g. One must be courageous rather than cowardly; but not to the extent of being

foolhardy. •  The ‘unity of the virtues’

–  In addition, in order to have any one virtue, one must possess them all. This enables you to choose the mean between them.

–  E,g. One must be able to identify at what stage truthfulness should give way to loyalty.

“The Good of man is the active exercise of his soul’s faculties in accordance with excellence or

virtue… Moreover, this activity must occupy a complete lifetime; for one swallow does not make spring,

nor does one fine day.”

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, c.350BCE

James Mooney Open Studies The University of Edinburgh j.mooney@ed.ac.uk www.filmandphilosophy.com @film_philosophy

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