Philosophy Of Ethics

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Descriptive Ethical Relativism (DER)

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"All moral beliefs between people/societies are somewhat different

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What are the forms of ethical relativism/absolutism?

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"1. Descriptive Ethical Relativism (DER)

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Descriptive Ethical Absolutism (DEA)

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"At the most fundamental level there are at least so

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Normative Ethical Relativism (NER)

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"Denies the existence of any universally applicable moral standards

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Normative Ethical Absolutism (NEA)

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Some universally applicable moral standards that exist outside of the beliefs/attitudes of culture

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"

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Evidence for the truth of DER

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Circumstantial Variation

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Cultural practices and and moral attitudes of one culture may reflect the same beliefs/attitudes in response to different circumstances.

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Give an example of circumstantial variation

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"Tribes that expect the old members of society to walk off into the forrest to their deaths.

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Necessary moral judgements

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"Some moral judgements are key to the continued survival of a society's members.

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Commonly identified Norms: 'Necessary moral judgements'

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"1. Truth-telling

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Truth Telling"

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"-No reason to presume anyone is telling you the truth.

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Anti-murder"

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"-Each member has the incentive to seek a defense against other members of the group.

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Evidence supporting the norm against murder

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"Since numbers serve as an excellent defense against murder:

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Valuing children's lives within society?"

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"Children would be less likely to survive --->

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Why is it often assumed that DER entails NER?

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Confusion over an ambiguity in the claim that there is no universal moral standard.

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DER interpretation of the absence of a universally ________moral standard

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absence of a universally APPLIED moral standard.

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NER interpretation of the absence of a universally ________moral standard

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absence of a universally APPLICABLE moral standard

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Example of how it is not typically true that the fact that people have different beliefs about a subject entails that there is no fact of the matter independent of these beliefs?

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"Cause of disease: belief in germ theory vs demonic spirits.

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What must the defender of the inference from DER to NER explain to be right?

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Why individuals or cultures CANNOT be wrong about their moral beliefs

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Implications of NER

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"-Impossibility of intercultural comparisons

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Why is it impossible to engage in cross-cultural moral comparisons according to NER?

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NER holds that there are no moral standards that are applicable across cultures.

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According to NER, actions are morally wrong if and only if they are condemned by whom?

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The prevailing attitudes in the society of which the actor is a member.

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The notion of moral progress requires______comparisons

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Cross-Cultural

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Moral progress is impossible according to NER because:

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NER renders cross-cultural comparisons impossible

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Interpersonal moral comparisons are rendered unintelligible by________

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Normative Ethical Relativism (NER)

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According to NER, what does our moral criticism of others with whom we live and interact reveal?

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"-We have fundamentally different moral attitudes

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According to NER, why does cultural relativism degenerate into individual relativism

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We cannot engage in cross-cultural comparisons since we all belong to different subcultures holding our own moral beliefs.

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Popular reason for initiallly finding NER to be compelling

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The belief that the only way to value tolerence of other societies is by endorsing it.

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According to NER, what actually dictates whether we should interfere with others' cultures

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What our own culture says/believes.

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"""What is right to do depends on the attitudes of the society to which the agent belongs"" is a view held by:"

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Normal Ethical Relativism (NER)

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NER only endorses tolerance if...

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our own culture endorses tolerence

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What is a common misperception taken from Normal Ethical Absolutism (NEA)?

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We ourselves know what the best moral theory is, therefore we are justified in spreading our moral theories and eliminating other cultures' moralities

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All NEA implies is that there is some______ about what people ought to do morally

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All NEA implies is that there is some OBJECTIVE FACT about what people ought to do morally.

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We do not necessarily know that we have the best moral theory, therefore we have reason to:"

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Observe and analyze the moralities of other cultures in order to learn from them.

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What are te claims of Religious Moralism regarding the truth of moral claims?

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The truth of moral claims depends on the truth of religious claims

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according to _______"

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"God; right; wrong

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Right and wrong can only exist if god exists

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RM claim

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Secular moralism (SM)

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The negation of RM

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RM is consistent with both ______ and ______

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Theism; Atheism

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RM + Theism:

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"God exists and he creates morality

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RM + atheism:

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"God does not exist--> There is no morality

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SM + theism:

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"God exists, but there is an independent standard for morality

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SM + atheism:

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"God does not exist, and that is irrelevant to morality.

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What are the two necessary conditions that define Divine Command Theory (DCT)?

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"1. The Extensional Equivalence Thesis

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Extensional Equivalence Thesis:

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"-an action is morally right if, and only if, God wills it.

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The Dependency Thesis:

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"God's willing of an action is the reason that said action is morally right

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Criticisms of DCT:

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"1. The Euthyphro Argument

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Euthyphro's Thesis

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An act is pious if, and only if, it is loved by the gods.

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Socrates' Question

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Are pious actions loved by the gods because they are pious or are they pious because they are loved by the gods?

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Socrates' Argument

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"-If pious actions are loved by the gods because they are pious then the piety of the action explains the fact that it is loved by the gods.

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According to Socrates' argument, Euthyphro is not giving a view analogous to a DCT because:

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Euthyphro does not accept a dependency thesis.

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Euthyphro's Dilemma:

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If pious actions are pious because they are loved by the gods then....

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"There is some explanation for the gods' love of pious actions that is not pased on their being pious...

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If there is such an explanation then:

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Whatever explains the gods' love for these actions is the explanation of an action's being pious

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If there is no explanation of why the gods love certain acts:

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Then the gods' love is capricious and whimsical... Therefore:

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The gods are either capricious and whimsical or their love is not the explanation of why a pious action is pious.

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What does socrates' argument show?

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"God is either Capricious and whimsical

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"

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"No matter what God were to will, it would be morally required.

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Objection to the Abraham argument

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"God is all-good and loving

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Even if god is all-good and loving and would not command Abraham to kill Isaac..."

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"

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The objection misses the point because the issue is not __________ but what would be ________ if God _________

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"What God would command;

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Types of Normative Ethical Theories?

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"A. Axiological Theories of Obligation

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B. Deontological Theories of Obligation

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Axiological theories of obligation

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"Rightness and wrongness depend entirely on:

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Not all axiological theories hold that it is the goodness of the ______ that matters. Some hold that it is the goodness of the ______ that determine the rightness of the action.

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"Consequences;

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Consequentialism

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The most popular form of axiological theories

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Consequentialism perspective of determining rightness/wrongness:

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"Depends entirely on the moral goodness of the CONSEQUENCES

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Deontological Theories of Obligation

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"Do not depend entirely on considerations of goodness.

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Esamples of Deontological Theories of Obligation include?

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"Divine Command Theory (DCT)

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Intrinsic value

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Value in itself - apart from any other considerations, including considerations of its effects

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Extrinsic Value

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Has value in virtue of its capacity to produce something of intrinsic value

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All chains of extrinsic value_______ in something of ________

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"Terminate;

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Types of Utilitarianism:

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"1. Hedonism

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What are the two basic beliefs of hedonism?

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"Only pleasure has intrinsic value

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Pleasure Machine Thought Experiment from Robert Nozick

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"Argument against hedonism

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"1.) Derives pleasure from success and accomplishments

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If one prefers the first life as opposed to the second what do they believe?

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They have already rejected hedonism.

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Objective List

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"Several things exist that have intrinsic value

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John Stuart Mill

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"is an Objective List utilitarian

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What are some of the things John Stuart Mill thinks are objectively valuable?

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Security

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Individuality

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Harmonious development of oneself

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Concern for the well-being of others

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Mill and Voltaire argue....

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Some parts of happieness are qualitatively better than others

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Ability to experience some types of happiness are more important than any amount of actual lesser

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Mill's quote on the priorities of pleasures?

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"""It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.""

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One ought to act so as to:"

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"Maximize the total individual value

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Why does Mill think it is better to be a dissatisfied Socrates than a satisfied fool?

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Everyone who experiences both options prefers to be wise

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The wise have experienced the capacities that the fool has, but the fool has not experienced the capacities of the wise.

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Only the wise are in a position to judge between them and the wise invariably prefer the HIGHER PLEASURES

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Criticisims of utilitarianism from application

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"1.) Disutility of calculating

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Disutility of calculating

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"Utilitarianism has bad consequences due to the time taken to calculate how to act in a situation.

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Example of disutility of calculating

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Utilitarian calculates what maximizes utility while a child drowns because it takes him so long to think whether or not to save him.

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Utilitarianism recommends the course of action that _______

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Produces the BEST consequences

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According to utilitarianism, what should be done if calculating produces worse consequences than some alternative?

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do not calculate

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What leads us to know what maximizes utility without calculating?

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"a long history of experimentation.

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Define 'incommensurable'

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-unable to be judged by the same standards

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What type of utilitarians deal with potential incommensurability of utility?

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Pluralistic utilitarians

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Example of incommensurability of utility

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if liberty and security are both intrinsically valuable and there is no common standard on which both can be measured then there is no possibility of reconciling conflicts between these two values.

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Counter-intuitive consequences of utilitarianism

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A. Killing vs. Letting die

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B. Justice

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C. Problems with population size

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D. Excessive Demands

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Killing versus letting die (Example)

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"Paramilitary decision:

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Utilitarian response to killing vs. lettin die example (paramilitary)

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You must obviously kill the one person yourself since it simply comes down to the loss of one life vs. the loss of three.

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Utilitarianism seems incapable of showing...

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Why we should not abuse the few for the gain of the many

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"""The ones who walk away from omelas"" demonstrates"

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"cold hard utilitarianism.

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"Utilitarianism standpoint on ""The ones who... Omelas""

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Behavior is justified

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Duty to Procreate"

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Requirement of maximizing INDIVIDIUAL utility

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How does the utilitarianism avoid the problem of having a duty to procreate?

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Maximize AVERAGE utility over individual utility.

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Maximizing average utility entails:

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A Duty to exterminate those with low levels of utility

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Utilitarian theories are restricted to specific situations that make them incomplete

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Situations where population size doesn't seem to change

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What problem is created by utilitarianism's maximizing doctrine?

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"Only one absolute ""best permissible"" action.

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EXCESSIVE DEMANDS

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Kant's Deontology (basic argument)

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There is nothing that is unconditionally good except a good will.

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Examples of conditional specificity demonstrated by Kant's Deontology:

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"an ""ill-gotten' pleasure is not good

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the pleasure of a bad person is not good

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"

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Acts from moral duty (not just according to it)

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Priority of Right

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"Rightness of moral duty comes before any concept of goodness

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Why?"

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"Kant is not an Axiologist because

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Kant's Theory of Right

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"Includes:

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Maxim

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"A ""rule"" on which we are acting when we act voluntarily

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Acting according TO duty

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"What one ought to do and what one is doing are the same.

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Acting FROM duty:

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"To do what one's duty says BECAUSE IT IS ONE'S DUTY.

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Kant really cares about what aspect of action?

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The REASONS for action

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Is an example of what type of imperative?"

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a HYPOTHETICAL Imperative

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e.g., ""if you want sex, buy me shoes""

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"Whether you have the aim stated in the antecedent (the ""if"" clause)

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Categorical Imperatives

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Prescribes action without condition

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Kant believed all moral imperatives were_____, however there is only one________

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"Categorical;

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THE Categorical Imperative (CI)

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The one supreme categorical imperative defined by Kant.

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Universalizability of the CI

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"A.) Statement of the Universal Law of Nature formulation of the CI

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B. The Rational Basis of the CI

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C. Two ways to fail the CI

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"""Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will, a universal law of nature""

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Requires us to act on maxims that we could will everyone to act on

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The CI is a test of _______

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Moral Permissibility

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If an action's maxim passes the test of universalizability...

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The action is PERMISSABLE

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What makes an action obligatory?

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If the non-performance of the action is impermissible

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Failing to act on a maxim that you would will as a universal natural law

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Action is impermissible

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Then..."

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"-Speeding in a school zone is impermissible

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Rational basis of the CI

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"The CI is a requirement of rationality

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Kant considered failure to adhere to the CI:

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Irrational (a kind of inconsistency)

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What are two ways one can fail the CI?

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"1. Contradictions of the Will

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When do contradictions of the will arise?

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"One can imagine everyone acting the maxim of one's action

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Example of a contradiction of the will

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Not helping others in need

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When do Formal Contradictions occur?

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When it is impossible even to imagine one's maxim being universal law.

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Example of a Formal Contradiction

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The Lying Promise

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The Lying Promise

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"""break a promise whenever it is convenient to do so""

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What would happen if everyone did whatever was convenient regardless of what they had said they would do?

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"Example of the lying promise

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The End in Itself formulation of the CI

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"""Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, not simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.""

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What does the afore-mentioned formulation of the end it itself requires that we always respect?

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"- The rationality of others

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By Kant's formulation of the end in itself, if we we treat others as a means, we must also do what?

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Treat them as an end in themselves

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An action is permissible by Kant's formulation for The End in Itself if:

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An action treats others as means and an end.

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If an action treats others merely as a means:

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The action is not permissible

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If an action does not treat others at all:

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The action is permissible

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Rational Basis of the CI as stated by the end in itself?

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"The end in itself may also be seen as a requirement of consistency.

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The easiest way to fail this formulation of the CI?

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Through deception and coercion

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Deceitful and Coercive actions pay no attention to what?

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The ends that the other person has chosen for themselves.

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To treat them as a ________"

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"Bend the other person to one's own ends

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Main Criticisms of Kant's Theory:

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"1. No Exceptions

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1. No Exceptions

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Exceptions to moral rules are impermissible, even in the most dramatic cases.

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An example of the no exceptions criticism of Kant's theory.

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"Example: Murderer at the door

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Murderer at the door demonstrates that

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Morality seems more sensitive to complications than allowed by Kant's theory, so exceptions are plausible.

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2. Problem of determining the maxim of an action

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It is difficult to determine how specific the maxim on one's action is.

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If the maxim on one's action is stated very specifically

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It will be easy to universalize maxims that seem to allow wrong actions

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Example of the problem of excessive specificity

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Nathan's theft

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If the maxim of one's action is stated very generally

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Actions that are actually permissible will come out to be disallowed.

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Example of the problem of excessive generality

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Theft to feed one's family

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*Whether some maxim will pass the universalization test depends on..."

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what kind of hypothetical worlds one is willing to accept.

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On Kant's intent?"

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"This makes what is moral relative to the individual

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"

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An account of what would be rational to accept.

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Example of an account of what it would be rational to accept

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The Rugged Individualist