Phil 2135 Final

Front 1

Define Utilitarianism

Back 1

What is good is what produces the greatest level of happiness for the greatest number of people.

Philosophical Leaders: British legal reformer Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill.

A cost-benefit analysis or procedure is usually some form of utilitarianism in that it involves a calculation of costs and benefits.

Front 2

Define Kantian Ethics and other forms of Deontological Ethics

Back 2

Primarily concerned with ethical rules.
Categorical imperative: 1st version: Always act so that you can consistently will that the maxim of your action become a universal law. 2nd version (1st reformulation): An action is right only if the agent would be willing to be so treated if the position of the parties were reversed. 3rd version (2nd reformulation): One must always act so as to treat other people as ends in themselves, and not just means.

Philosophical Leaders: Immanuel Kant

Front 3

Define Virtue Ethics

Back 3

The purpose of ethics is to develop the individual’s moral/ethical character, or virtues.

Philosophical Leaders: Alasdair MacIntyre, Aristotle

Front 4

Define Moral Sense Theory and Ethical Intuitionism

Back 4

Holds that humans have a moral sense (analogous to the physical senses) or intuition – a faculty or perception-device – by which we can and do distinguish between right and wrong.

Philosophical Leaders: Francis Hutchenson, David Hume, James Q. Wilson

Front 5

Define Pragmatic ethics

Back 5

Pragmatism as a philosophical view or stance rejects unchanging or transcendent principles and views and norms, holding instead that principles and views and norms both are and need to be bent or changed in light of actual events or discoveries or situations.

Front 6

Define Ethics based on Nature or “Natural Law.”

Back 6

Holds that humans are beings of nature and have a nature, that this nature can be known, and that ethics can be derived from laws or principles found in that nature.

Philosophical Leaders: John Locke, Thomas Jefferson,

Front 7

Define Contractarian (contract-based) Ethics

Back 7

Ethics is based on an (imagined or hypothetical) contract or agreement among the members of a society.
Veil of ignorance.

Philosophical Leaders: Rawls

Front 8

Define Socialist, Communist, Communitarian, and Marxist Ethics

Back 8

Claims that values (and usually attitudes, as well as success and failure) are socially derived and/or determined. Emphasizes society and social and community action and goals. Usually favors social ownership of the means of production and social distribution of profits and rewards. Holds that what is good is what benefits the social-communal order. Concerned usually with what helps the poorer and less powerful people. Favors the use of government and governmental power, along with taxation and governmental regulation, as a means of accomplishing social-communal goals. Tends to be suspicious of individualism (calling it “selfish”) and personal initiative and entrepreneurship, regarding those as leading to differences of wealth and position, and thus to be anti-social and anti-communal. Criticizes what its advocates hold to be the hugely unequal distribution of wealth in the world, and to regard this inequality as unethical. Tends to dislike corporations and corporate and financial elites, regarding them as pariahs who selfishly manipulate and steal from the poor and from the state. Usually is pro-union and pro-proletariat.Tends to be critical of the free market system, often calling it unethical. Tends to dislike globalism.

Philosophical Leaders: Karl Marx, Amitai Etzioni

Front 9

Define Libertarian Ethics

Back 9

More-or-less directly opposite to the socialist/communist/communitarian view. Holds that the best political, social, and/or governmental system is the one that governs least, that provides for the greatest individual liberty, initiative, entrepreneurship, etc. (Most libertarianism is not anarchist because it does believe in some minimal government – a view sometimes called the night-watchman theory of the state.) Advocates minimizing social and governmental power, action, control, regulation, and taxation, and maximizing individual liberty and freedom. Suspicious of the ability of government and bureaucrats to make good, wise, informed, and beneficial ethical, social, or economic choices for people. Believes instead that people should be left to judge and choose for themselves and to be masters of their own self-interest and benefit, and that they usually make the best choices when they choose freely for themselves. Tends to regard societal and governmental norms and activity as coercive and totalitarian and as leading to serfdom.

Philosophical Leaders: Robert Nozick, Ludwig von Mises, F.A.Hayek’s, Adam Smith

Front 10

Define Ethical Egoism

Back 10

Identifies what is ethically right with the agent’s self-interest. Claims that something is ethically right if and only if it promotes the agent’s (long-term) self-interest. There are at least two versions of this: (1) Descriptive ethical egoism. This claims that, in fact, people usually or always do what they perceive to be in their self-interest, and then go on to claim or say that what they did/are doing is ethical. (2) Normative ethical egoism. This holds that people should do or ought to do what is in their (long term) self-interest.

Philosophical Leaders: Ayn Rand,

Front 11

Summarize the three parts of ethical reasoning

Back 11

(a) a fact or set of facts about something (i.e. observations or statements about something that exists or that has occurred or is occurring in the world), plus
(b) an ethical theory that applies in some important way to those facts.
From those two components, a conclusion (c) is drawn

Front 12

Summarize the four steps you can take if you disagree with an ethical arguement

Back 12

(1) Attack or disagree with the factual premise,
(2) attack or disagree with the ethical principle or
theory used in the argument,
(3) say that the ethical principle or theory used in the argument is good, but that it does not apply in the particular case under investigation, or
(4) point out that there is a mistake in logic – a fallacy, either a formal fallacy or an informal fallacy – in the
argument.

Front 13

Summarize Bayle's three central features of professions

Back 13

(1) Extensive training is required to practice the profession.
(2) The training involves a significant intellectual component
(3) The trained ability provides an important service in society.

Front 14

Summarize Bayles’ three salient features of the role of professions in the US today

Back 14

(1) They all provide an important service
(2) The professions have a significant or monopolistic control of the provision of services and entry into them.
(3) They have monopolistic conditions without much public oversight.

Front 15

Is professional ethics the same as or reducible to ordinary ethics?

Back 15

No, professions have special rights and privileges, which are needed so they can fulfill their role in
providing for basic human needs for us. Having special rights and privileges results in having special
ethical obligations and duties.

Front 16

What is autonomy? Why is it important?

Back 16

The capacity of an individual to make rationally reflective choices about their ends and activities.
It is important in the debate about privacy of employees, as an argument has been made that privacy incursions upon employees reduces their autonomy and this is categorically bad.

Front 17

What is a professional-client relationship for?

Back 17

The client has a need or want that the professional is the one with the required knowledge to fulfill.

Front 18

What five tasks usually need to be accomplished in a professional-client relationship?

Back 18

(1) Analyze the client's needs or wants.
(2) Considering alternative responses.
(3) Deciding which alternative to pursue.
(4) Implementation of the decision.
(5) Education

Front 19

Summarize Faber’s account of five different types of professional-client relationship.

Back 19

(1) Agency Relationship: The professional acts merely as your agent offering no consultation or advice.
(2) Paternalistic Relationship: The professional makes all the decisions for the client.
(3) Contractual Relationship: The responsibilities and decision making is divided up based upon a contract signed by all parties.
(4) Affinity Relationship: The responsibilities are divides up based upon trust and need by the client and professional.
(5) Fiduciary Relationship: The professional analyzes the problem but the client makes the decision.

Front 20

Summarize Alexandra and Miller’s account of fundamental (human) needs and the role of professionals in filling those needs, along with the claim that others have against the professional to fulfill his/her needs.

Back 20

A fundamental need requires there be a rational normative consequence to that need failing to be met. Everyone has an obligation to prevent significant harm to others, and the failure to meet a fundamental need causes significant harm.

Front 21

What is the distinction between a stockholder and a stakeholder?

Back 21

Stakeholder, narrow definition: Those groups who are vital to the survival and success of the corporation.

Stakeholder, wide definition: Any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the corporation.

Stockholder: Owner of stock int he corporation.

Front 22

What is the purpose or goal of stakeholder theory?

Back 22

Stakeholder theories are a way to view who the business owes actions to and what actions are owed.

Front 23

What are the six principles of fair contracts?

Back 23

1.) Any contract must have clearly defined entry, exit, and renegotiation conditions.

2.) The procedure for changing the rules must be agreed upon by unanimous consent.

3.) If a contract between two parties affects a third party the third party must have an option to join the contract.

4.) All parties must share in the cost of contracting.

5.) Any agents must serve the interests of all stakeholders.

6.) The corporation shall be managed as if it shall continue on through time.

Front 24

What is dual-investor theory?

What are Schlossberger’s five main points in his argument.

Back 24

The investors in a business are both the owners and society as a whole (roads, etc.)

1.) Society provides every organization with extensive help which it can't function without.
2.) Every organization knowingly and deliberately employs that help.
3.) Every organization therefore makes use of benefit of great magnitude provided by society.
4.) When one makes us of what another has provided one must strive for the benefit of of your benefactor.
5.) Therefore every organization must strive for the benefit of society.

Front 25

What are Schlossberger’s points and list of questions to ask in giving an ethical evaluation of
organizations.

Back 25

1.) Does the organization make a good faith effort to serve its intended, objective, and conceptual beneficiaries.
2.) Is the perceived good of the organization truly good.
3.) Does the orginization attempt to ensure that its efforts serve what it understand to be the good-in-general.
4.) Is the organization's understanding of the good-in-general correct.
5.) Does the organization succeed in those efforts.
6.) Do the organization's activities violate some other firm precept of morality in a way not justified by the consideration in the first five questions.

Front 26

What is paternalism in the marketplace?

Back 26

Where in a seller of superior knowledge decides whether to sell to a customer or not based upon if they think it will do the customer harm.

Front 27

What is the conflict between engineering and public interest?

Back 27

It's simply not possible to engineer something with no risk.

Front 28

What are Schlossberger’s four types of professional information?

Back 28

1.) General Knowledge: the type found in textbooks.
2.) Tricks of the Trade: Unofficial solutions to common types of problems.
3.) Trade secrets.
4.) Patented Information

Front 29

What are Emanuel and Emanuel's four models of the physician-patient relationship?

Back 29

1.) Paternalistic Model
2.) Informative Model
3.) Interpretive Model
4.) Deliberative Model

Front 30

What is required for informed consent?

Back 30

(3 things: information, no coercion, competence to give
consent.)

Front 31

What are some ethical problems or issues faced by nurses?

Back 31

Having to choose whether to accept or reject an impossible assignment.

Front 32

What is a fiduciary relationship?

Back 32

A legal or ethical relationship of trust between two or more parties.

Front 33

What is the main goal or purpose of counseling?

Back 33

To help empower a patient to be able to solve their own problems.

Front 34

Can the integrity of professional counselors be challenged by the demands or behavior of clients?
(Yes.) What are some circumstances in which this can occur?

Back 34

A parioshener going to his/her minister seeking to divorce.
A financial adviser against their client filing for bankruptcy.

Front 35

What are nonsexual dual relationships? Are they objectionable or problematic?

Back 35

Helping a friend: Can lead to situations friendships aren't meant to handle.
Investing with a Client.
Providing professional help to an employee.

Front 36

Is it permissible for a professional to lie to a client? Why or why not? What test might be given to
distinguish between permissible and impermissible lies?

Back 36

Yes, if it passes the test of publicity. Would you be willing to have your lie and reason for lying broadcast on the nightly news.

Front 37

Monroe Freedman posed three ethical dilemmas for defense lawyers. What are they and why do they
arise?

Back 37

Is it proper to paint as a lie a truthful witness?
Is it proper to put a witness on the stand to lie?
Is it proper to give advice about the law that will lead to perjury?

Front 38

Summarize Cohen’s 7 points of a morally good person.

Back 38

1.) Consistent in their treatment of others and makes good on their obligations to others.
2.) Being Truthful.
3.) Moral Courage.
4.) Good monetary habits.
5.) Benevolent
6.) Trustworthy
7.) Moral Autonomy

Front 39

Detmer offers five suggestions for improvement of journalism. What are they?

Back 39

1.) Engage in more investigative reporting
2.) Enlarge the pool of authorities they rely on.
3.) Don't let government or corporate interests set the agenda.
4.) Abandon the doctrine of objectivity.
5.) Abandon both sides approach.

Front 40

What is wrong with the notion of journalist as tabula rasa?

Back 40

Political opinions will occur when you investigate and issue long enough, and it's more important that the journalist has 'good' reasons for holding the beliefs.

Front 41

Cohen-Almagor lists six different categories of events. What are they?

Back 41

1.) Events that have social-public meaning?
2.) Gossip-events that are of little social value but are of interest to the public.
3.) Heightened Events
4.) Exaggerated event and twisted stories
5.) Staged events
6.) Fictitious Events

Front 42

According to Jordan Goodman, in order to solve problems of unethical accounting, change is need in
four specific areas. What are those four areas?

Back 42

1.) Corporate culture needs to change.
2.) Executive compensation has to be controlled
3.) Find corporate leaders who respect the rules
4.) Reconcile tough leadership with profit motive

Front 43

What are the four components of an ethics audit according to KPMG Peat Marwick?

Back 43

(a) “An assessment of the ethical climate of the client encompassing culture, environment, motives, and
pressures.”
(b) An assessment of performance incentives…
(c) Communication of the message about what is acceptable or unacceptable ethical behavior …
(d) Compliance and enforcement…