Mar 2

• Grading Process

  • The exam booklets will be returned in an organized manner.

  • Students must sort through them to find their specific booklet.

  • The grading criteria focus on the first five questions answered; any excess will be disregarded unless the student specifies otherwise.

  • If a student answered six questions, only the first five are graded, and the sixth is omitted.

  • Grades for each of the first five questions are indicated on the cover of the booklet.

  • Students must match their answers with the corresponding grades.

  • A rubric used for grading will be posted on Moodle for student reference.

  • Office hours for clarification regarding grading are Wednesdays from 12:00 to 12:30 at office B 83853.

• Office Hours and Class Structure

  • Exam booklets to be picked up at the end of class; students can reach out via email to arrange discussion over test scores.

  • Class focus for today includes addressing questions from the last lecture and transitioning into virtue ethics as a distinct ethical framework compared to utilitarianism and deontology.

• Subjectivism in Ethics

  • As a continuation of the previous discussion, the instructor addresses questions concerning morality's subjectivity across cultures.

  • Key Question: Can morality be regionally, culturally, or interculturally subjective?

  • Objective vs. Subjective Morality:

    • Objectivity implies external observations shared across cultures, whereas subjectivity pertains to internal beliefs governed by individual perception.

    • Within a culture, moral norms seem objective; crossing cultural boundaries renders them subjective.

    • For example, greeting someone in one's culture may be deemed a moral obligation, whereas outside observers may not universally agree on its significance.

  • The Nature of Morality:

  • Moral laws cannot be strictly subjective as they imply that a right or wrong exists external to cultural dictates.

  • Inquiry into whether one could be deemed wrong by a culture's standards while being outside said culture is considered.

    • The discussion centers around the conditions under which morality is universally applicable regardless of cultural context.

  • Raises questions about moral judgement and objectivity concerning historical practices like slavery in the antebellum South.

  • Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Norms:

  • Distinction made between the norms studied by anthropologists (descriptive) and those concerning moral obligations (prescriptive).

    • Descriptive Norms:

    • Examples illustrate cultural practices, such as slave ownership in the South, which were socially acceptable at the time.

    • Acknowledges that historical figures acted in accordance with their cultural norms without denying their moral implications in a broader context today.

    • Prescriptive Norms:

    • Addresses what actions should be deemed morally right or wrong, typically discussed through philosophical perspective.

    • Kant's categorical imperative and Mill's utilitarianism provide frameworks for how to assess these prescriptive norms.

    • Engages in dialogue questioning if moral assessments can transcend cultural perspectives.

• Utilitarianism and Higher vs. Lower Pleasures

  • Instructor clarifies that distinguishing between higher and lower pleasures is crucial in understanding Mill's utilitarianism.

  • Higher Pleasures:

    • Typically associated with intellectual or mental satisfaction.

  • Lower Pleasures:

    • Associated with physical or basic bodily desires.

  • Mill argues that anyone who has experienced both will inherently choose higher pleasures over lower.

  • Discusses critiques of hedonism under Mill's utilitarianism regarding whether excessive pursuit of lower pleasures without context risks moral degradation.

  • The importance of intention is highlighted as being less critical in utilitarianism compared to the action and its outcomes.

  • Act vs. Rule Utilitarianism:

  • Bentham vs. Mill's approach to calculating utility.

    • Bentham's Act Utilitarianism:

    • Requires evaluating each action's consequences individually.

    • Mill's Rule Utilitarianism:

    • Permits the establishment of rules to streamline moral decision-making, ultimately to serve the greater happiness.

• Introduction to Virtue Ethics

  • Distinction made that virtue ethics is not an act-based theory but focuses on moral character.

  • The aim is not to just evaluate actions, rather to cultivate virtuous qualities within individuals.

  • Aristotle's Contribution:

  • Original virtue ethics traced back to Aristotle, who emphasized the importance of developing character traits aligned with the mean between extremes of excess and deficiency.

  • Moral Exemplars:

  • Introduction of moral role models (e.g., Aristotle's heroes like Achilles) for determining virtue actions.

  • Examines the role of context in judging actions as good or bad.

• Context-Dependent Moral Judgments

  • Recognizes that different situations will yield varying assessments of actions depending on the individual's capacities and cultural understandings.

  • Discusses examples where moral judgment shifts based on individual capabilities (e.g., attempting a rescue).

Conclusion and Future Discussions

• Transition towards discussing the virtues traditionally associated with virtue ethics.