ETHICS
Moral
Responsibility
-Dante P. 274
-No Escape from Moral
Responsibility:
It’s a-priori
Having No Morals is a Moral
Standard
Plato:
Balance and Character Ethics
-Two Horses: “Spirit” and “Appetite”,
held by “Rationality”.
-Everyone has physical and
mental needs and that’s okay
-The key is “balance”
-A “tyrant” is someone who is
out of balance
-Teleology = Purpose
: Timaric: Athlete, achiever
: Oligarchical: Materials
: Philosopher: Finding Balance
: Democratic: Jack of all trades
-Everyone
has a purpose (like Stoicism) Don’t
judge a stapler on how well it shovels
snow.
The
Republic: Plato’s book on the perfect
government
Big
Questions In Ethics:
- Are true ethics based on Altruism, or Self Preservation?
- What is the role of Pleasure in Ethics?
- What is the role of Duty in Ethics?
- Are Ethics Set or do they change – Or some of Both?
Utilitarianism
Was A Social Reform in England
: Child
Labor
:Rise of
Middle Class
Kings Made the Law, and it could be “arbitrary and
capricious”
Need for “objective” rules
Blends with the French and American Revolutions
Was an idea ready to “pop” – Paradigm shift
Utility leads to Collective morality and democratic laws
-The rise of
Unions is a utilitarian movement
-Pragmatism
is Utilitarian
-Public
Education
Mill: It is vain to talk about the interest of the
individual without talking about the interests of the community (what does this
mean) ?
Problems
with Utilitarianism:
-You may be
“conditioned” to it because you are American
-It is
somewhat an argument for “relative” and “Situational” ethics.
-It puts
pleasure at the core. (may not be a
problem).
-No action
is necessarily right or wrong. Actions
are moral if they maximize the net value of utility
-The Ends
sometimes justify the Means
Freud’s
Outlook on this:
-Social Setting determines what’s
“acceptable”
--There is a “Competition” between
desire and acceptability
-“Violation” leads to guilt and
moral suffering
-People go to great extremes to
avoid guilt.
:Make something
unacceptable, acceptable
:Find a “Moral
Authority” to agree with you
b: Conclude
that all Morals are relative (justification)
: Deny it (repression and neurosis).
Two Big
problems with Moral Relativism:
-The principal of Non Contradiction.
-Some things appear to be
self-evidently wrong or right.
Kant:
Absolute Truth: Logically Consistent, Universal, Unconditional
Duty regardless of Consequences,
Happiness, Self, or Balance
Ends never justify means
Actions are correct and done from
Duty – for Duty’s sake
Continuum
between Universalism and Relativism:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hard Soft Relativism
Universalism Universalism
Morals vs.
Acts of Prudence and Preference
-To avoid punishment is not moral
-To look good is not moral
-To have a “bent” or “preference” is
not moral
EXISTENTIAL
ETHICS Nietzsche
Reality is
an art form
Morality is
man-made
We determine
our own morality as we are ultimately free
All attempts
to explain it is taking an easy way out of the problem
Since we
create our own morality, create it well
Continuously
transfer passion into creativity through strength, courage and pride
Intuition
Ethics - Noddings
Intuition is
often greater than reason
There are
exceptions to all moral rules
Relationship
is often greater than truth
Care is
often more important than duty
Objectivism: Is Selfishness Okay?
Altruism…………………………………………………………………………………………….Objectivism
-Altruism is
a form of selfishness
-Altruism
is, in the end, destructive
-Man must
live for his/her own sake
-Rational
selfishness is, in the end, productive and benefits everyone
