1 EVG501/502: Ethical Theory Super-lecture PlanBranches of Ethical Theory UTILITARIANISM and DEONTOLOGY ALTRUISM AND ETHICAL EGOISM SITUATION ETHICS and THE ETHICS OF CARE VIRTUE THEORY,

2 Branches of ethical theory

3 Utilitarianism What is Utilitarianism? Utilitarianism declares that:“An action is right if it produces as much or more of an increase in happiness of all affected by it than any alternative action, and wrong if it does not.” (Singer, P. 1999) It is about “utility”. What does an action accomplish, “what use is it, what has you’re action achieved?” Therefore it is about (predicted!) consequences. (consequentialism) It is a means/ends argument. The ends justifies the means. In order to achieve outcome ‘x’ (most net happiness), action ‘y’ is morally acceptable/demanded

4 Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham ( ) is identified as the founder of utilitarian thought His view was that ethics is about maximizing pleasure/happiness & minimizing pain/unhappiness

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6 Utilitarianism How do we measure happiness?1. Utilitarianism is an egalitarian theory. Everyone’s happiness is to be weighed equally.

7 Utilitarianism How do we measure happiness?2. It is mathematical. A cost/benefit analysis. We can calculate future happiness.

8 Utilitarianism How do we measure happiness?3. The attainment of pleasure/the avoidance of pain (the pleasure principle). QUESTION: What does this mean for animal rights? How might it be used to argue either side of the argument? 4. Need to consider short term and long term consequences.

9 Dr Aziz, from Oxford used around 30 monkeys in tests over 20 years to find cures for Parkinsons disease and many believe that as many as 40,000 people around the world have benefitted from the techniques

10 Utilitarianism How do we measure happiness?1 Intensity: How intense/strong is the pleasure and emotional satisfaction? 2 Duration: How long will the pleasure last? 3 Certainty: How certain am I that pleasure will occur? 4 Immediacy: How soon will the pleasure occur? How near is it? 5 Fecundity: How likely is it that this experience will cause more pleasure in the future? 6 Purity: Is there any pain that accompanies this pleasure? 7 Extent: How many people will be affected?

11 Problems with Utilitarianism1. How accurately can we predict our consequences? 2. How does utilitarianism allow for justice? eg: Race riots and false testimony 3. Are there some things that are wrong, yet have no visibly bad consequences? 4. Only forward facing – facts about the future, not the past. eg: promises 5. Too demanding. 6. Personal Relationships 7. Is happiness a by-product, as opposed to an end?

12 Deontology - Kant Deontology regards ‘duty’What type of duty? Duty to ‘respect the moral law’. To ‘act purely from good will’, ‘good heart’, Yalo Vinaka. To make the correct moral choices, we have to understand what our moral duties are and what correct rules exist to regulate those duties. When we follow our duty, we are behaving morally. When we fail to follow our duty, we are behaving immorally

13 A PAKISTANI HOTEL EMPLOYEE HAS WON ACCLAIM AFTER HANDING IN OVER $50,000 (£33,000) IN CASH THAT HAD BEEN LEFT BEHIND BY A GUEST. ESSA KHAN, 51, DISCOVERED THE MONEY IN $100 NOTES LEFT IN THE ROOM OF A JAPANESE WORKER AT THE SERENA HOTEL IN GILGIT. MR KHAN, WHO EARNS ABOUT 21,000 RUPEES ($235; £153) A MONTH, SAYS HE NEVER CONSIDERED KEEPING THE MONEY. HE HAS BEEN INVITED TO RECEIVE AN AWARD FROM A STATE GOVERNOR FOR HIS HONESTY. "MY DUTY WITH THE HOTEL AND MY FAMILY UPBRINGING TEACHES ME NOTHING ELSE," HE SAID. "TIMES ARE HARD FOR EVERYONE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD START STEALING AND TAKING THINGS WHICH DO NOT BELONG TO US.“ "I WANT PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE MANY GOOD PEOPLE IN PAKISTAN - EVERYBODY IS NOT A TERRORIST HERE.“ BBC News, Karachi 12 July 2010

14 Deontology Acts are right or wrong in-themselves. Not consequences! Must look at the motive/intention. Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law” (Kant, 1785) What does this mean?

15 Deontology What is the motive for your action? What kind of world would we live in if everyone acted from the same motives? Essentially, “what if everybody thought like that!” eg: Lying to the bank for a loan. In order to defend action ‘y’, take action ‘not-y’ and make it a universal law. As such, Murder is always wrong. eg. Axeman in the living room. 10 Commandments Based on a respect for Persons. ‘Ends in themselves’. People must be treated as an end in themselves.

16 The Dilemma in The Dark Knighteach ferry is packed with enough explosives to kill everyone on board 2) the passengers of each ferry have been given a radio-controlled detonator that will destroy the other boat (the convicts can detonate the ship of citizens, and vice versa) unless one boat detonates the other by midnight, the Joker will detonate both boats. Of course, the Joker is monitoring the situation, and any attempt by anyone to escape will result in the Joker blowing up both boats. What will they do?

17 The choice to a passenger on either boat looks like this: 1) I don’t blow up the other boat, and either; a. The other boat doesn’t blow us up, and the Joker blows us both up at midnight; or b. The other boat blows us up, meaning that we die but they live. 2) I do blow up the other boat, meaning that they die while we live.

18 The Dark Knight – Analysis - UtilitarianismWHAT HAPPENS!! How do we choose the ethically right action according to utilitarianism? A utilitarian would argue that it is right to blow up the other boat. If we look at the predicted consequences, greatest happiness is served by at least half the passengers surviving. Problems? Are consequences ever certain? A Batman rescue? Joker betrays them? Press the detonator at the same time!! Is there something missing here?

19 The Dark Knight – Analysis - DeontologyHow do we choose the ethically right action according to deontology? Deontology would argue that it is never right to take another life for the motive of preserving one’s own life. If this principle were universalized what would be the result? Could we in good heart wish for such an outcome? No. We must do our moral duty and abstain from killing. Problem? But surely this results in the worst possible outcome!… or did it??? What happens when duties conflict?

20 Altruism To act purely out of a concern for others, without any thought to the self, or without any intent to receive a personal benefit. “A good deed is its own reward.” Key terms/ideas: Taking others suffering as one’s own (empathy) Evolutionary instinct (herd behaviour) Socialisation: eg: offering a ride. Self-sacrifice

21 Altruism To act purely out of a concern for othersMotivation to help others or do good without reward "At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.’  Mother Teresa 

22 Brave Fijian saves sailor 14/07/2010, South PacificWhen Fanifau's ship, the MV Scarlett Lucy, arrived on the scene, they faced an enormous task of rescuing the two men. While other crew members felt reluctant in their attempt to rescue the survivors, brave Mr Fanifau placed himself in great danger by going over the side into very rough seas to help the two exhausted elderly survivors of the Sumatra II. prrrfection/?xjMsgID=136774

23 Ethical Egoism Ethical Egoism is a theory, in ethics, that human beings act or should act in their own interests and desires. “Immanuel Kant is the real villain of our age” Ayn Rand. We should all pursue our own self-interests! Why: Altruism is demeaning. Nietzsche – we ought not deny the self, or willingly make ourselves a slave to others. It leads to a better world. Think of sports or economic competition. We know what we ourselves want best. It leads to self-reliance and personal responsibility. Its not that different, and it’s a lot more honest about people’s motivations. ie: simply taking a long-term view and thinking of psychological egoism.

24 Do we know what’s best for us? Ethical Egoism “Is it still possible to have friendship with this understanding? Are we now all in a world full of strangers? Heather Mills' former publicist is finally opening up about working with Paul McCartney's ex-wife. And it ain't pretty. "Heather is a calculating, pathological liar and the biggest b---- on the planet," Mills' former rep Michele Elyzabeth told Britain's News of the World. "She not only misled me, she misled the entire world." Elyzabeth stopped working for Mills six weeks ago when, she says, she realized the former model was lying to her. According to Elyzabeth, Mills leaked false stories about McCartney to the press and bugged his phone calls Do we know what’s best for us? Contradictory – The command that you should follow your self-interest, is not in my self-interest!

25 Aristotle held that women are defective men, human beings lacking in what is essential to the nature of man; the ability to reason. He thought the nature of men is to reason in ways that are distinctively human; the nature and function of women is to reproduce, like other animals (Held, V. 2006:59) Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) claims that women are incapable of being fully moral because of their reliance on emotion rather than reason. Kant said women were not fit to vote, that they needed the guidance of more rational males. Autonomy was not really for women (MacKinnon, B. 2004).

26 Simone De Beauvoir ( ) De Beauvoir believed that it is only tradition and social constraints that put women in an inferior position. Many people at that time accepted the belief that women were born inferior. Her ideas shocked many people but brought inspiration and hope to millions of women who recognized their own lives in her writing brief-bio-a42274

27 Situation Ethics and Ethics of Care“It is easy to see the influence of men’s experience in the ethical theories they’ve created. Men dominate public life, and in politics and business, one’s relations with other people are typically impersonal and contractual. Often the relationship is adversarial – others have interests that conflict with our own. So we negotiate, we bargain and make deals. Moreover in public life our decisions may affect large numbers of people we do not know. So we may try to calculate, in an impersonal way, which decisions have the best overall outcome for the most people. And what do men’s theories emphasise? Impersonal duty, contracts, the harmonization of competing interests, and the calculation of costs and benefits.” (Rachels, 1999, pg173)

28 ETHICS OF CARE What is it to live an ethical life?Is living an ethical life really about one’s duty (deontological ethics)? Is living an ethical life about bringing much utility and happiness as possible for a great number of people (utilitarianism) Is living an ethical life about maintaining excellent traits and characteristics (virtue theory)?

29 “Mothering is NOT a role but a relationship” (Dr Nel Noddings)  An ethics of care starts with the importance of relationships; an ethics of care values emotion (trust, empathy, mutual concern) Ethics of care  An ethics of care starts with the importance of relationships “Mothering is NOT a role but a relationship” (Dr Nel Noddings) Being motivated to act out of love and care rather than out of duty; acting out of duty can be impersonal. This is where ethics of care rejects deontology theory to act out of duty! kethry.wordpress.com/.../mother-child

30 Situation Ethics and an Ethics of CareSituation ethics argues that in each situation we need to find the “most loving” solution. Grand principles do not work in all cases. An Ethics of Care emphasizes the importance of personal relationships, of love (not obligation), and being a certain type of person: Think of weakness in previous theories regarding: Why we look after our children. The principle of treating everyone equally every time. Animals – why sometimes a pet, other times… Lunch! Why might women and men have different ethical approaches?

31 Book of Genesis God called out to Abraham: “Take your only son, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that I will show you, offer him as a sacrifice to me.” Early the next morning, Abraham, with his son, Isaac, and two servants set out on the journey to the place God had directed him. After three days of travel they arrived at Moriah. As Abraham and Isaac walked along, Isaac asked his father “Father, where is the lamb for the sacrifice? Abraham replied to his son, “God himself will provide one”. When they arrived at the place God told Abraham about, Abraham built an altar, tied up his son, and placed him on the altar. Abraham then picked up the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to Abraham, “Abraham, Abraham, don’t hurt the boy. Now I know you have obedient reverence for God because you have not kept back your only son from me. I will richly bless you because you obeyed my command.”

32 This conflict between two duties is called a moral dilemma. Ethics of care  An ethics of care starts with the importance of relationships Abraham is commanded to do something that normally is ethically forbidden, namely to kill one’s child. And out of duty to God, Abraham intends to kill Isaac, a child whose eyes are on Abraham in trust, love and fear. As a father, Abraham has a duty to care for his children. But Abraham also has a duty to obey God’s commands. This conflict between two duties is called a moral dilemma. How would a woman in this situation feel?

33 Would a woman agree to sacrifice her child for God? Ethics of care  An ethics of care starts with the importance of relationships Dr Nel Nodding believes this situation would be horrendous for a mother. Would a woman agree to sacrifice her child for God? Would a woman agree to sacrifice her child for any reason such as to save 10 others or to benefit the greatest good? When Abraham acts out of principle, out of a duty to God, his love for his son takes a back seat to his love and respect for God. Is it easier for a man to do this and harder for a woman?

34 Virtue Theory – Ethics of CharacterVirtue theory is different. Its about moral character. The question is not what is the right thing to do, but what is it that makes a person ‘good’. Aristotle ( BC) talks of ‘Eudaemonia’, which is Ancient Greek, and can translate to ‘excellence’, ‘happiness’, ‘virtue’ or perhaps best to ‘human flourishing’. What is it is to ‘flourish’? Quite simply, to be the best you can possibly be. For humans, Aristotle says this is done by being virtuous.

35 Virtue Theory As virtues must be part of our character we can not be honest one time, and then dishonest at another. We must be consistently virtuous, and through habitual virtuous action we then flourish. Aristotle also spoke of how strength of character (virtue) involves finding the proper balance between two extremes. This is called the Golden Mean (not the Golden Rule!!) Excess: having too much of something Eg: Cowardice Bravery Rashness Pessimistic Hopeful Over-optimistic Timidity Confident Arrogant This is Aristotle’s principle of moderation. Look at the next clip with Thor and The Incredible Hulk in The Avengers. Where might a virtue be slipping to vice in the case of the Hulk?

36 How to apply Virtue Theory?So how can we use virtue theory to tell us what we ought to do? We may take this approach: An action is morally permissable, if and only if, it is the action that a virtuous person would have taken in the circumstances. If a person X, displays the virtues, S1, S2, S3, S4… Sn in action A, then person X is justified in performing action A.

37 Weakness of Virtue TheorySometimes, we may find one type of virtue is not the right virtue for the situation, and lead to the wrong action. eg: friendliness to a serial killer loyalty to a someone who betrays you patience waiting for a parcel never posted Sometimes, virtues actually result in more harm when applied by the wrong people: Eg: the brave suicide bomber the careful thief the confident con-man

38 5 Key Questions to Frame your Super-Arguments!What is the ethical dilemma? What is the choice in the case-study question? What are the ethical issues being raised, what are the possible consequences and whose interests must you take into account? What is the guiding principle provided by the ethical theory you will be applying to the case-study? Weighing happiness, obeying the moral law or being virtuous? How does this shape you’re conclusion that action A, or instead action B, is the right thing to do? Are you entirely happy with this conclusion? What’s been left unsaid.