Introduction To Ethics

Introduction to Ethics By Philip H. Troutman, A.B. M.Div. Adjunct Instructor Midway College, Midway, Kentucky

Copyright 2008 by Philip H. Troutman. The right of the author to be recognized as creator of this presentation is fully reserved under all applicable international law.

Why Study Ethics?  Guidance for our Decisions. Through a study of ethics, we learn to make moral decisions based on values, principles, rather than on personal preference alone or ─ at random!  Aid to Self-evaluation ─ Studying ethics helps us see our own virtues and vices, and to evaluate our own behavior more objectively.  Protects us from deception, exploitation ─ The best protection against being deceived by others is knowing what you believe, and why you believe it.

Etymologies, Definitions  Ethics ─ fr. Greek ēthikós “moral, ethical.”

 Ethics ─ n. ─ “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad or right and wrong or with moral duty and obligation” (MW).  Moral, morality ─ fr. Latin, moralis “customary”  Moral ─ adj. ─ “of or relating to principles or considerations of right and wrong action or good and bad character” (MW).

Definitions  Norms ─ standards of conduct, principles of right action, “ought” statements.  Values ─ principles, qualities, behaviors, etc., we view as intrinsically worthy, desirable, important, or useful.

 Values => Norms ─ Ethical norms express our fundamental values in concrete prescriptions for morally acceptable behavior.

Thoughts to ponder:  Do we always behave in consonance with our fundamental values?

 Does our behavior demonstrate what we truly value?

“Actions speak louder than words.”

Sub-disciplines of Ethics  Metaethics ─ (lit. “beyond ethics”) “the study of the origin and meaning of ethical concepts” (IEP). Lays the theoretical foundations for …  Normative ethics ─ develops theories of morality which set standards of right and wrong conduct  Applied ethics ─ examines specific, controversial ethical issues, seeking a morally justifiable position (or positions) and ethical course(s)s of action.

Approaches to Ethics  Normative ethics ─ deals with what people ought to do, with what kind of persons they ought to be.  Descriptive ethics ─ describes what a group, culture or society actually does, what they actually believe is right and wrong.

Approaches to Ethics  Action-based ethics ─ Sees ethics as a matter of doing right. Key question: “What ought we to do? What action should we take?”  Virtue-based ethics ─ Sees ethics as a matter of being good. Key question: “What sort of persons ought we to be?”

Source of Normativity  Objectivism ─ Views the proper source of ethical norms as external to human persons, in the objective features of the world. These norms apply universally to all moral beings.  Subjectivism ─ Sees the proper source of ethical norms as internal to human persons, in the subjective feelings, beliefs, and preferences of the person or group. These norms apply only to the person or group which formulates them.

Potential Sources of Normativity  Religion ─ Most religions specify the nature of good and evil, what type of person one should be, and how one should live.  Natural Law ─ Some ethical systems see right and wrong as inherent in the nature of the world and human nature (natural law).

 Culture, Society ─ All societies permit/praise some actions, and prohibit/blame others. Some ethicists believe that right and wrong are determined exclusively by the culture or social group of which one is a member.

Potential Sources of Normativity  Intuition ─ Some ethicists believe that human beings intuitively know right from wrong. These ethical standards apply to all people universally.

 Personal preference ─ Some ethicists feels that statements about right and wrong are, ultimately, no more than expressions of individual preference. Each one’s ethical standards apply to oneself only.

Important Ethical Theories  Divine Command Theory ─ asserts that guidelines for right conduct have been revealed to humankind by God, who requires obedience to them. Morality is what God wills it to be.  Natural Law Theory ─ holds that the moral standards which govern human behavior are derived from the nature of human beings and of the world itself.

Important Ethical Theories  Consequentialism ─ holds that an action is morally right if the consequences are more favorable than unfavorable. For consequentialism, the end result determines an action’s morality. • Ethical Egoism ─ an action is moral if its consequences are more favorable than unfavorable only to the agent doing the action. “I should do what’s best for me.” • Ethical Altruism ─ an action is moral if its consequences are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone except the agent. “I should do what is best for others.” • Utilitarianism ─ an action is moral if its consequences are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone. “I should do what’s best for us all.”

Important Ethical Theories  Kantian Ethics ─ based on the teachings of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). He asserted that truly ethical actions are: 1) motivated by a sense of duty; and 2) universalizable, i.e. they can be recommended to all people everywhere.  Social Contract Theory ─ the view that the

moral and/or political obligations of any group of people are dependent upon a contract or agreement between them to form society and live according to its rules.

Important Ethical Theories  Intuitionism ─ holds that certain actions are intrinsically right or wrong, and that human beings can (often) intuitively recognize and distinguish between them. Because humans are fallible, the intuitive opinion of a group may be more reliable than that of a single individual.  Virtue Ethics ─ insists that ethical actions are those performed by a virtuous person, who possesses the full range of moral excellence and virtue, whose only necessary motivation for action is that, “Such-and-such is intrinsically right, therefore I must do it.”

Important Ethical Theories  Feminist Ethics ─ seeks to rethink and reformulate those aspects of traditional Western ethics that depreciate or devalue women's moral experience. Some feminist ethicists affirm that women may have moral insights which differ fundamentally from those of men. They also suggests that women may make moral decisions based more on an intuitive grasp of the situation than on considerations of duty or rules. And it is suggested that in evaluating possible courses of action, women may place relatively more emphasis on issues of relationship and caring than do men.

Important Ethical Theories  Moral Relativism ─ the position that there are no objective, universal moral truths; definitions of right and wrong are relative to social, cultural, historical or personal beliefs and circumstances. Varieties of relativism include cultural relativism, historicism, and extreme or individual relativism.  Moral Nihilism (Latin nihil “nothing”) ─ literally, moral nothingness. This is the (meta-ethical) view that objective morality does not exist, and therefore no action is ethically superior or preferable to any other.