Five Categories of Ethical Five Categories of Ethical TheoriesTheories

1. Ethical Theories based on Virtue

Aristotle’s Mean/Confucius’ Golden Mean

2. Ethical Theories based on Duty

Kant’s Categorical Imperative

3. Ethical Theories based on Utility

Mill’s Principle of Utility

4. Ethical Theories based on Rights

Rawls’s Veil of Ignorance

5. Ethical Theories based on Love

Judeo-Christian Persons as Ends

Ethical Guidelines Ethical Guidelines Based on VirtueBased on Virtue

Aristotle’s Mean

Confucius’ Golden Mean

Aristotle’s MeanAristotle’s Mean

“Moral virtue is amiddle state determined by

practical wisdom”

Four Cardinal Virtues Four Cardinal Virtues

TEMPERANCE

JUSTICE

COURAGE

WISDOM

ExtremesExtremes

JUSTICE

COURAGE

WISDOM SpontaneityCaution

Cowardice Temerity

Indifference Indulgence

Main IdeasMain Ideas

• Propriety before duty or love

• Character over conduct

• Outer behavior as a reflection of inner

disposition

• Equilibrium and harmony

Practical WisdomPractical Wisdom• Phronesis

• Moral discernment

• Knowledge of the proper ends

(telos) of conduct and the

means of attaining them

• Distinct from both theoretical

knowledge and technical skill

"wisdom to take counsel, to judge the goods and evils and all the things in life that are desirable and to be avoided, to use all the available goods finely, to behave rightly in society, to observe due occasions, to employ both speech and action with sagacity, to have expert knowledge of all things that are useful”

Using Practical WisdomUsing Practical Wisdom

• Applied to “individual facts” by locating “the mean between two vices, that which depends on excess and that which depends on defect”

ExceptionsExceptions• Not all actions or emotions can be justified by a

middle state

• What actions and emotions are intrinsically wicked whether or not they are practiced with temperance? Do you agree with the list below?

Adultery

Theft

Murder

Spite

Shamelessness

Envy

Summary of Aristotle’s Summary of Aristotle’s Mean Mean

• NOT a weak-minded consensus• NOT a compromise• NOT a mathematically equal distance

between two extremes• Aristotle’s mean involves the correct

quantity, the correct timing, the correct people, the correct motives, and the correct manner

Confucius’ Golden Confucius’ Golden MeanMean

“Moral virtue is the appropriate

location between two extremes”

Main IdeasMain Ideas

• Rooted in virtue

• Virtue as benevolence, kindness,

generosity, and balance (a mean between

two extremes)

• Excellence dependent on character not

social position

Equilibrium and Equilibrium and HarmonyHarmony

“Equilibrium (chung) is the great root fromwhich grow all human actings in the world. And harmony (yung) is the universal path allshould pursue. Let the states of equilibriumand harmony exist in perfection, and happyorder will prevail throughout heaven andearth, and all things will be nourished andflourish”

Applying Confucius’ Applying Confucius’ Golden MeanGolden Mean

1. Identify all extremes

2. Resolve competing obligations using the

Golden Mean

3. Reject any extremes

4. Choose the middle path

Additional LinksAdditional LinksNicomachean Ethics An online version of Aristotle’s text.

Book II, chapter 6 is a good place to start.

Aristotle Overview This article describes the life, writings, ethics, and politics of Aristotle.

Aristotle’s “Doctrine of the Mean” A chart illustrating Aristotle’s concepts of virtue and vice.

Confucius An overview of Confucian beliefs

The Doctrine of the Mean An online version of the article by Confucius cited by the text

Ethical Guidelines Ethical Guidelines Based on DutyBased on Duty

Kant’s Categorical Imperative

Kant’s Categorical Kant’s Categorical ImperativeImperative

“Act only on that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should

become a universal law”

Main IdeasMain Ideas• Ethics are objective• Any genuine moral obligation can be

universalized• Categorical = unconditional• What is right must be done regardless of

circumstances• Existence of higher truths• Deontological ethics

Higher TruthsHigher Truths

• Noumena

• Superior to reason

• Transcend physical universe

• Innate in human beings

• Apprehended by conscience NOT reason

Deontological EthicsDeontological Ethics

• From deon (Greek for duty)

• Rule determines the result

• Rule is the basis of the act

• Rule is good regardless of the act

• Result always calculated within the rules

Application of Kant’s Application of Kant’s Categorical ImperativeCategorical Imperative

• Moral law is unconditionally binding on all

rational beings.

• Certain actions are always wrong.

• Certain actions are always right.

• Examples

Questions to ConsiderQuestions to Consider• What happens when there is a

conflict of duties? (2 rules that are universalized)

• Is every rule we would universalize a moral duty?

• Can we truly ignore results in decision-making?

• Do we really want to make reason the final, sole authority in determining right and wrong?

Additional LinksAdditional LinksCritique of Practical Reason The online version of Kant’s writings

on epistemology and ethics.

Kant’s Argument for the Categorical Imperative An outline of Kant’s reasoning for the categorical imperative

Immanuel Kant and the Categorical Imperative A critical evaluation of Kant’s categorical imperative

Kant’s Four Examples of How to Apply the Categorical Imperative Kant’s own application from his work, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals

Ethical Guidelines Ethical Guidelines Based on UtilityBased on Utility

Mill’s Principle of Utility

Mill’s Principle of UtilityMill’s Principle of Utility

“Seek the greatest

happiness for the greatest

number”

Main IdeasMain Ideas

• Consider what course will yield the best consequences for the welfare of human beings

• Ethical choice produces the greatest balance of good over evil

• Good end must be promoted, bad end must be restrained

The Good EndThe Good End• Happiness or pleasure• To Mill, preventing pain and promoting

pleasure are the only desirable ends.• Pluralistic utilitarians argue that other

values besides happiness possess intrinsic worth (friendship, knowledge, health).– Rightness or wrongness assessed according to

total value ultimately produced

Application of the Application of the Principle of UtilityPrinciple of Utility

1. Calculate the consequences of various options. How much benefit and how much harm would result in the lives of everyone affected, including ourselves?

2. Choose the alternative that bothA. Produces the greatest possible balance of

good over evil

B. Distributes this balance as widely as possible

Two Types of Two Types of UtilitarianismUtilitarianism

1. Act Utilitarianism: Greatest good in a specific caseWill a particular action in a particular situation result in a balance of good over evil?

2. Rule Utilitarianism: Greatest good for general welfareWill a general rule result in a balance of good over evil?

Questions to ConsiderQuestions to Consider

• How do we account for the long term consequences of a decision that are not always able to be forseen?

• What if the majority rejects basic standards of decency?

• What problems are generated by defining the public good as the sum total of all private goods?

Additional LinksAdditional Links

John Stuart Mill A description of Mill’s life and writings.

What Utilitarianism Is John Stuart Mill’s explanation of the principle of utility from his book, Utilitarianism.

A Millian Critique of Library Censorship A discussion of utilitarian arguments in favor of and against censorship.

Intellectual Property, Innovation, and Social Progress Intellectual property is evaluated from the perspective of utilitarianism.

Ethical Guidelines Ethical Guidelines Based on RightsBased on Rights

Rawls’s Veil of Ignorance

Rawls’s Veil of Rawls’s Veil of IgnoranceIgnorance

“Justice emerges when

negotiating without social

differentiations”

Rawls’s Veil of Rawls’s Veil of IgnoranceIgnorance

Fairness = Justice

(sometimes means

quantity)

Justice

Helps determine

what is “right” in any given situation

Same reward given to everyone for same work

No arbitrary distinctions can determine who receives what; or what is “right” in any situation (although inherent ones may)

SO, we set up the “veil” to help eliminate these distinctions

This means

It functions like a Barrier: keeps out race, class, gender, group interests, sexual orientation, age, occupations, etc. -- puts players on equal playing field -- decisions based on “fairness”

This is the veil....we step behind it to make decisions - the other side is “real life”

Helps us iron out a “social contract’ that by definition is just

Gives the “little guy” a leg up

Who you are, what you have shouldn’t determine what you

now should get

Main IdeasMain Ideas

• Fairness fundamental to justice

• Egalitarian perspective

• Fairness as quantitative in basic cases

• Elimination of arbitrary distinction

• Emphasizes the morally appropriate action,

not the action that benefits the most people

Veil of IgnoranceVeil of Ignorance

• Roles and social differentiations eliminated

• Race, class, gender, and other personality features suspended behind the veil

• Equality behind the veil intended to protect the weaker party and minimize risks

Two PrinciplesTwo Principles

1. Maximal system of equal basic liberty

2. All social goods other than liberty may be

distributed unequally only if distribution

favors the least advantaged side

Additional LinksAdditional LinksJohn Rawls A biographical sketch of Rawls along with a

discussion of his major works.

John Rawls and the Social Contract An evaluation of Rawls’s theory of justice as fairness.

The Antipolitical Philosophy of John Rawls This article considers whether Rawls’s idea of justice is applicable in the modern world.

A Just Man Michael Sandel’s article, referred to in the above link, discussed Rawls’s contributions.

Ethical Guidelines Ethical Guidelines Based on LoveBased on Love

Judeo-Christian Persons as Ends

Noddings’ Relational Ethics

Judeo Christian Persons Judeo Christian Persons as Endsas Ends

“Love your neighbor as yourself”

“What is the Will of Heaven like? The answer is – To love all

men everywhere alike”

Main IdeasMain Ideas

• All moral obligations derived from the command to love God and humankind

• Love for neighbor as normative• Regard for others as personal, not legalistic

(as with Rawls’s contract)• Humans made in the image of God and with

unconditional value apart regardless of circumstances

Agape LoveAgape Love

• Unselfishness, other-regarding care• Much more than friendship, charity, or

benevolence• To love is to accept a person as he or she is

with unalterable commitment and permanent loyalty

• People are never given instrumental value

ConcernsConcerns

• Failure of adherents to practice agape

love

• Love vs. justice

• Reason as distinct from discernment

• Whether agape is universal or had

continuity with other alternatives

AdvantagesAdvantages

• Practical, gives help to those who need it

• Avoids discrimination without denying distinctions

• Does not presume to assign value to an individual

Noddings’ Relational Noddings’ Relational EthicsEthics

“The ‘one-caring’ attends to the ‘cared-for’ in thought and

deeds”

Main IdeasMain Ideas

• Ethics rooted in relationships• Emphasizes nurturing and caring for people,

not avoiding harm to others• Roles of the one-caring and the cared-for• Three dimensions: engrossment,

motivational displacement, and reciprocity

Additional LinksAdditional LinksAgape in Feminist Ethics This article describes several different

approaches to other-regard, contrasting Protestant and feminist appraisals of agape.

Can Agape Be Universalized? The test of universalizability is applied to agape.

Care Ethics and Virtue Ethics A critical evaluation of Noddings’ care ethics.

Longing for the Sacred in Schools: A Conversation with Nel Noddings Nel Noddings defends the place of spirituality in public education.

To Whom Is Moral Duty To Whom Is Moral Duty Owed?Owed?

Who Ought to Decide?Who Ought to Decide?

Five Categories of Five Categories of ObligationObligation

1. Duty to ourselves

2. Duty to clients / subscribers / supporters

3. Duty to our organization or firm

4. Duty to professional colleagues

5. Duty to society

LoyaltiesLoyalties

• Duty to society is critical• Ethical decision-making must be marked by

a sincere sense of social responsibility and a genuine concern for the citizenry

• In the Potter Box the loyalty component necessitates the acknowledgment of the implications of a decision for institutions and social groups before an ethical decision is made.

AccountabilityAccountability• Are parents alone accountable for the programs

their children watch, or do advertisers and networks carry responsibility also?

• Can producers of entertainment dismiss their responsibility for quality programming by arguing that they merely give the public what it wants

• Requiring accountability across the board preferable to giving absolute authority to one person or group.

IndividualsIndividuals

• The individual is the authentic moral agent.

• Though corporations are real, they are not

concrete enough to be assigned praise or

blame in any real sense.

• Ultimately it is the individual who will be

held responsible.

Corporate ObligationCorporate Obligation

• Corporate obligation still meaningful

• Ultimate responsibility rests with individuals but must be distributed among the individuals constituting a corporation.

• Broad attacks on entire media systems are not helpful. Ethics is fundamentally concerned with individual choices.