The Wise Owl guide to DSST Ethics in America

Evaluation can fall into 2 categories

Empirical (descriptive)

it can be tested

it is considered to be fact

Normative (moral)

an evaluation that demonstrates the belief of the

evaluator

Ethics is divided into 3 main categories

Normative - The search for a norm or a standard of

behaviors

Applied - Applying ethics to specific problems or

issues

Meta-ethics - the study of the terminology,

systems, and concepts of ethics

Objectivists

Believe that their truth is absolutly true regardless of circumstance.

What is right is always right and what is wrong is always wrong.

Relativists

Believe that right and wrong are defined by cultural or individual circumstances.

Virtues and vices are not fixed.

Cultural relativists

each society determines what is right

Personal relativists

each person defines what is right

Consequentialists

morality is determined by the consequences of the action

Deontologists

morality is not determined by the consequences of the action.

It is right or wrong regardless of the result.

Universal

Applies to all people

An absolutist

holds that an ethical principle should apply without exception.

This is difficult to accept or defend.

Thucydides, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

Prominent greek philosphers

Thucydides (460 - 400)

wrote history of the Peloponnesian war

He believed that war was caused by human nature not gods or fate.

Socrates (470 - 399)

a contemporary of Thucydides

Regarded as the first major ethical philosopher.

Focused on how we should behave.

The socratic method - Everything is open to question.

Socrates believed

- The ultimate human good is happiness

- Happiness comes from a virtuous soul

- Virtue is knowledge

- It is better to suffer an injustice than to inflict one.

Plato (428 - 347)

He was a student of Socrates

Founded the famous "Academy"

Wrote dialogs using Socrates as the central character.

Much of what we know of Socrates comes from Plato's writings.

He wrote

- The Symposium

- Republic - a utopian work - contrasts a life of

virtue with a life of self-interest.

- The Apology - Was written as Socrates defense at

his trial.

The soul is structured with three distinct parts; Appetite, Reason, and Spirit.

Truth is the ultimate source of happiness.

The fundamental virtues are;

- wisdom

- courage

- temperance

- justice

Aristotle (384 - 322)

He studied under Plato

Had an emphasis on rationality and virtue

Believed in the "GOLDEN MEAN"

He wrote "Nicomachean Ethics";

Virtue of character - Reason

Virtue of intellect - Wisdom or learning.

Divine commands

Commands that neither offer nor provide justification

Divine command theory

What God commands is ethically right and what He prohibits is ethically wrong.

Moral Law

It is universal

It encompasses;

- Natural law theory

- Social contract theory

- Kantism

Natural Law theory

Certain moral laws are decreed by nature for rational beings.

Life is immeasurably good; ie, intentions play a major role in determining whether an action is good or bad.

Double effect principle

An action with both good and bad consequences is moral if all of the following conditions are met:

- The action must not be evil.

- The evil must not be the means to the good.

- The evil must not be intended.

- There must be sufficiently good reasons for

permitting the evil.

Stoicism

A form of natural law that suggests that individuals have a duty to follow nature rather than convention.

Stoics

They emphasized rationality and emotional control

Epictetus and Thomas Aquinas

Epictetus (55 - 135 AD)

Grecian who believed that to lead a virtuous happy life in the midst of uncertainty one should do what is in accordance with nature.

One should live virtuously according to nature!

Natural law should prevail over cultural tradition.

Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274 AD)

Created a natural law theory that was the basis of western ethics for hundreds of years

His "Suma Theologica"

Taught that all existence is subject to God's eternal law which defines good and evil.

To act against conscience is always sin

our reason should restrain us from natural impulses that are bad.

The Social Contract Theory

It proposes that ethics are the result of groups of individuals who out of self-interest enter into a kind of contract with each other.

Some notable proponents of the social contract theory are;

- Thomas Hobbes

- John Locke

- David Hume

- Jean Jacques Rousseau

- Thomas Jefferson

- John Rawls

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

Believed that ethical rules were created out of fear and our search for self-preservation.

best known for his book "Leviathan"

Man's natural state is one of war and violence.

Ethical laws do not orginate from God

The price of social peace was that an absolute monarch should rule society.

John Locke (1632-1704)

Believed that ethical rules were more than just an attempt at self-preservation but also an obligation to preserve others so long as it did not threaten their own well-being.

Each person has a right to their own property;

- The person

- The person's labor

- The fruits of that labor (natural property)

He supported the revolutionary forces in the struggles of the English civil war.

He encouraged participation by all in the three branches of government

David Hume (1711 - 1776)

one of history's great skeptics

ethics are based on an individuals sympathy for fellow humans.

Developed the naturalistic philosophy of "what is" versus "what ought to be"

Communitarianism

The needs of the community should be weighed against the needs of the individual.

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 - 1778)

Believed that extremes of great wealth and great poverty worked to destroy freedom.

While not asserting that all people should be powerful and wealthy, he did say that extremes were destructive.

In "the social contract" he asserted that by giving up their "natural rights" to the "general will", individuals gain both safety and freedom.

Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1804)

Wrote the declaration of independence with a great deal of influence from John Locke.

He believed that laws made for the common good should be institutionalized in the political system (three branches) and the laws, not men, rule society.

John Rawls (1921 - ?)

Was a proponent of justice

He wrote the theory of justice.

Two situations must exist in order for the social contract to be fair.

- The veil of ignorance - not knowing wether you will be rich or poor.

- The original position - individuals must be as free as possible without infringing on others.

Kantism (Immanuel Kant)

He lived a life of structure and reason.

He wrote "foundations of metaphysics of morals"

Ethical behavior is found in adherence to a set of absolute rules.

Life is a set of imperatives

Hypothetical Imperatives - what actions could be followed or are desired regardless of wether they are good or bad desires.

Categorical Imperatives - actions that are required to be done regardless of the individuals desires.

Driven by reason.

universality

If i can ethically do something to you, than you should be able to ethically do it to me.

Josiah Royce (1855 - 1916)

He expanded Kant's path

He proposed that the highest duty was loyalty and that other duties and obligations follow from it.

Autonomy, Justice, and Benevolence are all aspects of loyalty.

Ayn Rand (1905 - 1982)

Wrote "Fountainhead" and "atlas shrugged"

She encouraged a choice of values based soley on reason.

A vocal opponent of Kant.

Martin Luther King Jr. (1939 - 1968)

An unjust law is no law at all.

A just law agrees with moral law.

Robert Nozick

He opposed and challenged Rawl

Consequential ethics

An action is good or bad based on the consequences of the action

Consequential ethics encompasses.

- Hedonism

- Utilitarianism

- Ethics of altruism and egoism

Hedonism

Good is pleasure and Bad is pain.

Epicurus (341 - 270 BC)

He believed that good is pleasure or freedom from a troubled mind.

He believed that gods have no influence on the lives of humans

He held that prudence or moderation was the greatest virtue.

Cyrenean ethics

The ethical theory proposed the pursuit of pleasure without moderation.

Utilitarianism

An action is good if the good consequences outweigh the bad consequences for all.

- Act utilitarianism - an act is morally required if it produces the most good for the most people.

- Rule utilitarianism - there are rules behind the act that produce the most good for the most people. The focus is on the rule that drives the act.

Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832)

He introduced several new ideas to utilitarianism.

An action is ethical if it promotes the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Principle of utility

Hedonic calculus

John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873

A close friend of Bentham.

Where Bentham had stated the only the quantity of happiness was relevant, Mill believed that the quality of happiness must also be considered.

He developed the "greatest happiness principle"

- The degree of goodness was determined by the degree of happiness produced not only for the individual but also for others affected.

Harm Principle

Ethics of Altruism

For an act to be good it must produce more happiness and less unhappiness for others

Ethics of Egoism

For an act to be good, it must produce more happiness and less unhappiness for myself.

Psychological Egoism

The belief that people are primarily motivated by biological self interest.

Ethical Egoism

The belief that a person should act in his or her own self-interest though it is not a biological necessity.

Adam Smith (1723 - 1790)

The common good is best advanced by the pursuit of self-interest

Feminist ethics

Ethics of care

Carol Gilligan (1936 - ?)

Game studies between boys and girls.

Boys are more rule-oriented while girls are less focused on the rules and will often quit playing to avoid conflict.

Nel Noddings

Natural caring - caring because of an attachment or love.

Ethical caring - caring not through emotional attachment but because it is the right thing to do.

Active Euthanasia

An individual causes somones death

A lethal injection is an example

Passive Euthanasia

An individual allows someone to die by not intervening with natural processes.

Removing feeding tube is an example

Equal opportunity

Individuals with equal skills and experience have equal opportunity for employment and advancement.

Protected Classes

Minorities in the work place

Three Types of Justice

Distributive

Retributive

Compensatory

Distributive justice

The extent to which our laws distribute justice fairly.

Retributive justice

Refers to the fairness of punishment

Does the punishment fit the severity and intent of the crime.

Compensatory justice

Refers to the fairness of the compensation offered to the harmed party.

Three levels of opposition to war

Pacifists

Just war tradition

Self-defense

Offense principle

This principle states that the government can restrict people from harming themselves even if the person is a competent adult.

Paternalism

The government can restrict people from harming themselves even if the person is a competent adult.

Legal moralism

The government can restrict people for activities that the government deems to be immoral even if no one is harmed by the activity.