Standards of Conduct DoD’s Standards of Conduct

http://www.dod.mil/dodgc/defense_ethics/ AITP’s Standards of Conduct

http://www.aitp.org/organization/about/conduct/conduct.jsp ASCE’s Standards of Conduct

https://www.asce.org/pdf/ethics_manual.pdf Engineers Ireland

http://www.iei.ie/ethics/conduct.pasp Engineers teaching ethics (interesting article)

http://www.onlineethics.org/CMS/edu/instructessays/davis.aspx

Washington’s code of civility http://www.foundationsmag.com/civility.html

Social Responsibility Maintains that businesses should not

function amorally, but should contribute to the welfare of their communities.

Recognizes multiple objectives: economic, social, and environmental

dimensions from each and all activities Related to:

sustainability, Citizenship

If not “amoral,” then has ethical dimensions

What does it mean? In what context? Why it is so important?

Determinants of Moral Behavior

Characteristics(Moral Intensity) of the

IssueSocial Characteristi

cs

Relationships with “others”

Type of Relationships

Structure of Relationships

IndividualCharacteristic

s

SituationalCharacteristic

sLevel of Cognitive Moral

Development

Cognitive

Dissonance

Recognize

the moralIssue

Make aMoral

Judgment(establis

hIntent)

Engage in

MoralBehavior

Steps towards moral behavior

Individual

Utility

Rights

Justice

Care

Personal Characteristics

Culture

Social Networks

Economic Environment

Foreseeable Consequences

Perceptions&

Behavioral Intentions

Situational Framing

Recognition Analysis &

Evaluation

Action

Ethical Philosophies vs. Reasoning

Teleologyvs

Deontologyvs

Virtues

Utilityvs

Justicevs

Rightsvs

Care

Philosophy Perspective

Ethical Philosophies Utilitarianism (Bentham & Mills)

Ethics of consequences Deontology (Kant)

Ethics of Duty (Ethical laws) Principles willed into Universal laws Treat people as ends (not means)

Virtues (Aristotle)

Ethics of Character

UtilitarianismQuestion 1:  I do not care what motivates other

people; I judge them solely on the basis of what they do. Strongly agreeAgreeNeutral/undecidedDisagreeStrongly disagree

Question 2:  When I am trying to decide what the right thing to do is, I look at the consequences of the various alternatives open to me. Strongly agreeAgreeNeutral/undecidedDisagreeStrongly disagree

UtilitarianismQuestion 3:  The right thing to do is whatever

is best for everyone. Strongly agreeAgreeNeutral/undecidedDisagreeStrongly disagree

Question 4:  We should look at the overall consequences of our actions in each and every case. Strongly agreeAgreeNeutral/undecidedDisagreeStrongly disagree

UtilitarianismQuestion 5:  If someone tries to do the right

thing but it works out badly, they still deserve moral credit for trying. Strongly agreeAgreeNeutral/undecidedDisagreeStrongly disagree

Question 6:  What is the most important thing in life? PleasureHappinessIdeals such as truth and beautyHaving your preferences satisfied

Philosophical Ethics Teleological

Results oriented Actions have no intrinsic ethical

character (acquire moral status from their consequences) or

Deontological Act oriented Actions are inherently right or wrong

(e.g., lying, cheating, stealing)

Philosophically Based Ethics (another perspective)

Utilitarianism (Bentham & Mills)

Ethics of consequences Deontology (Kant)

Ethics of Duty (Ethical laws) Principles willed into Universal laws Treat people as ends (not means)

Virtues (Aristotle)

Ethics of Character

Bentham’s Hedonistic Calculus

Bentham (not originally called Utilitarianism) Moral science (vs. ascetic religious)

Quantifying pleasure Pleasure good, pain bad Hedonistic calculus (7 aspects)

1. Intensity (Intrinsic strength of the pleasurable or painful feelings produced.)

2. Duration (how long they last)3. Certainty / Uncertainty (likelihood of sensations

being produced by given action.4. Propinquity / Remoteness (how soon they will

be felt)5. Fecundity (whether actions lead to pleasure)6. Purity (whether actions lead to pain)7. Extent (number of people affected)

Open, public, objective, fair Mill’s types of pleasure (quality vs. quantity)

Basic Insights of Utilitarianism

The purpose of morality is to make the world a better place.

Morality is about producing good consequences, not having good intentions

We should do whatever will bring the most benefit (i.e., intrinsic value) to all of humanity.

The Purpose of Morality

The utilitarian has a very simple answer to the question of why morality exists at all:

The purpose of morality is to guide people’s actions in such a way as to produce a better world.

Consequently, the emphasis in utilitarianism is on consequences, not intentions.

Fundamental Imperative The fundamental imperative of

utilitarianism is:Always act in the way that will produce

the greatest overall amount of good in the world.

The emphasis is clearly on consequences, not intentions.

The Emphasis on the Overall Good

We often speak of “utilitarian” solutions in a disparaging tone, but in fact utilitarianism is a demanding moral position that often asks us to put aside self-interest for the sake of the whole.

Utilitarianism is a morally demanding position for two reasons:

It always asks us to do the most, to maximize utility, not to do the minimum.

It asks us to set aside personal interest.

The Dream of Utilitarianism:Bringing Scientific Certainty to

Ethics Utilitarianism offers us a powerful

vision of the moral life, one that promises to reduce or eliminate moral disagreement.

If we can agree that the purpose of morality is to make the world a better place; and

If we can scientifically assess various possible courses of action to determine which will have the greatest positive effect on the world; then

We can provide a scientific answer to the question of what we ought to do.

Intrinsic Value

Many things have instrumental value, that is, they have value as means to an end.

However, there must be some things which are not merely instrumental, but have value in themselves. This is what we call intrinsic value.

What has intrinsic value? Four principal candidates:

Pleasure Jeremy Bentham

Happiness John Stuart Mill

Ideals G. E. Moore

Preferences Kenneth Arrow

Pleasure Definition: The

enjoyable feeling we experience when a state of deprivation is replaced by fulfillment.

Advantages Easy to quantify Short duration Bodily

Criticisms Came to be known

as “the pig’s philosophy”

Ignores higher values

Could justify living on a pleasure machine

Happiness Advantages

A higher standard, more specific to humans

About realization of goals

Disadvantages More difficult to

measure Competing

conceptions of happiness

The Utilitarian Calculus

Math and ethics finally merge: all consequences must be measured and weighed.

Units of measurement: Hedons: positive Dolors: negative

What do we calculate?

Hedons/dolors may be defined in terms of

Pleasure Happiness Ideals Preferences

For any given action, we must calculate: How many people will be affected, negatively

(dolors) as well as positively (hedons) How intensely they will be affected Similar calculations for all available alternatives Choose the action that produces the greatest

overall amount of utility (hedons minus dolors)