EthicsA Philosophical Crash Course

Are there any objective ethical rules? Or does every moral judgement depend on the

circumstances?

Ethics – plural noun ◦1 the moral principles governing or influencing conduct.

◦2 the branch of knowledge concerned with moral principles.

Both ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’ are derived from words that originally meant ‘custom’.

Ethics Defined

Ethics is the study of morals

Previously…

Ethics morals

Previously…

Ethics morals

now… Ethics

MoralsMorals

Morals

extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources

In ethical philosophy, one uses parsimony to avoid the complications of dealing with the individual and case studies.

Extreme parsimony even excludes groups within society.

Parsimony – noun

Implies there are definite rights and wrongs that apply all over the world and for all people

Ethical Absolutism

Implies that all people should be judged by a “higher uniting ethical code”

Ethical Absolutism

Implies if people do not live up to the code they should be punished

Ethical Absolutism

Implies all people around the world should be judged and coerced into living by the standard—and only then will they live an ethically correct life

Ethical Absolutism

There is no real wrong or right answer

Moral Relativism

Ethics are created by cultures in which the ethics apply.

Moral Relativism

One culture cannot judge what is right or wrong in another culture…

Moral Relativism

…because they cannot understand the other culture well enough.

It is impossible for one culture to justify imposing its ethical standards upon another culture.

Cultural and ethical imperialism only leads to misunderstanding, agitation, and oftentimes, open hostility.

Moral Relativism

Can there be any good or bad if there is no absolute power which describes what is good and what is bad?

When one culture imposes its values on other cultures…

Cultural Imperialism

Imagine we meet a new civilization… let’s call them the One-Eyed Thugs.

The One-Eyed Thugs impose their values on other cultures.

Does relativism imply tolerance?

“In our culture it is OK to impose our values on other people, and you have no right to impose your value that you-shouldn’t-impose-your-values-on-other-people on us!”

Does relativism imply tolerance?

What the One-Eyed Thugs are saying is…

while tolerance may be a value in your culture, it is not a value in their culture.

Does relativism imply tolerance?

A relativist has to accept the One-Eyed Thug’s culture and values… even if they do not align with the value of tolerance in the relativist’s culture.

Ergo… universal tolerance is not consistent with moral relativism.

Does relativism imply tolerance?

Complications with relativism

Can we ever be truly altruistic?

If we are all always selfish, does selfish even keep its definition?

Self-Interest Theory

The Leviathan (lev-eye-eth-en)

Human nature and the need for a strong government to curb man’s inherently selfish nature.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

Just as a sea monster lurks beneath the tranquil surface of the water, so does something also equally as dangerous and terrible lurk beneath the seemingly calm surface of makind’s civilization.

The sea monster metaphor applies both to the individual and the society.

Consider where we see the potential for human selfishness within individuals…

Consider where we see the potential for human selfishness within societies…

Hobbes’s The Leviathan

If humans are be nature selfish, why have we not destroyed ourselves?

Hobbes suggests that humans recognize that to reach our long-term goals, we must make short-term sacrifices.◦ E.g. We will not rob our neighbor to attain

immediate wealth because if this were acceptable behavior, we would continuously be afraid the neighbor would come steal our money.

Therefore we enter a social contract.

Social Contracts

Has the rise in capitalism and industrialization made us more selfish? And therefore further ethical constraints are necessary?

To what extent can this be true if empathy and selfishness are considered to be equal in terms of biological inheritance?

The Evolutionary Argument

If we capitulate to the ethics of our society, are we rewarded?

Is the reward enough to stimulate and mediate ethical behavior in a society?

Hidden Benefits Argument

Is it merely the fear of punishment that keeps us in line and prevents “wrong” doing?

Consider the changes in people’s actions when they know they can or cannot be caught.

Fear of Punishment Argument

George OrwellA Philosopher

Encompasses interplay of◦politics◦society◦Economics◦psychology

between the individual and the group.

Orwell’s Philosophy

“Society” defined as larger and generic (too confined by parsimony)

“Group” universal and of more immediate importance to the individual’s well being

Orwell’s “Group”

“The struggle between the individual and the group.”

Remember that the group is a smaller, more immediate section of society.

This could be family … this could be a farm ;)

Orwell on the Surface

The individual's relationship to the particular group in which he or she lives and functions, and, in turn, the group's attitude toward the individual will ultimately determine the individual's autonomy, that is, his freedom to be himself; to be.

The Heart of Orwell’s Philosophy

To what extent does Orwell’s philosophy…

align with existentialism?

"If you hate violence and don't believe in politics, the only major remedy remaining is education. Perhaps society is past praying for, but there is always hope for the individual human being."

Orwell's idea of the only viable, long-term remedy for the ills of society is, I believe, summed up by him in this quote: