Was It Morally Good For You, Too

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Was It Morally Good For You, Too?

• A How-to guide to Ethical Decision Making

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Is it possible to teach ethics?
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Is it possible to teach ethics?

• Two components of acting ethically

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Is it possible to teach ethics?

• Two components of acting ethically
• Figuring out the morally right thing to do
• Actually doing it

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Moral Systems

• What does it mean to say X is morally right or
  Y is morally wrong?

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Ethical Rationalism

• There is a reason why any given act is morally
  necessary, morally permissible, or morally
  forbidden, and humans can understand those reasons

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism
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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• X is morally right for me if and only if I think
  so

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• X is morally right for me if and only if I think
  so
• Problems
• Ethics is not ice cream
• We dont just feel ethics, we think
• Moral doubt

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• X is morally right for me if and only if I think
  so
• Problems
• Ethics is not ice cream
• We dont just feel ethics, we think
• Moral doubt
• Insight
• There must be room for personal contemplation and
  reasonable disagreement between smart, caring
  people

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• Cultural Relativism

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• Cultural Relativism
• X is morally right in society S if and only if
  society S approves of X

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• Cultural Relativism
• X is morally right in society S if and only if
  society S approves of X
• Problems
• What is a society?
• We can object to socially acceptable practices on
  moral grounds

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• Cultural Relativism
• X is morally right in society S if and only if
  society S approves of X
• Problems
• What is a society?
• We can object to socially acceptable practices on
  moral grounds
• Insight
• There is often more than one way to do something

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• Cultural Relativism
• Divine Command Theory

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• Cultural Relativism
• Divine Command Theory
• X is morally right if and only if God approves of
  X

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• Cultural Relativism
• Divine Command Theory
• X is morally right if and only if God approves of
  X
• Problems
• Who has Gods cell number? / Problem of
  interpretation
• Problems of soundness and completeness
• Platos paradox

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Barriers to Ethical Rationalism

• Ethical Subjectivism
• Cultural Relativism
• Divine Command Theory
• X is morally right if and only if God approves of
  X
• Problems
• Insights
• Morality must be universal
• There are some sort of rules involved somehow

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Parts of a moral situation

• Who did it?
• What did he do?
• What happened as a result?
• Who did he do it to?
• How is he related to that person?

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Virtue Ethics

• An act X is morally right if and only if doing X
  makes me more like the ideal person I could be

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Virtue Ethics

• An act X is morally right if and only if doing X
  makes me more like the ideal person I could be
• Aristotle vs. Nodding on ideal persons

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Virtue Ethics

• X is morally right if and only if doing X makes
  me more like the ideal person I could be
• Aristotle vs. Nodding on ideal persons
• Problem
• We can be virtuous and evil

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Parts of a moral situation

• Who did it? (Virtue Ethics)
• What did he do?
• What happened as a result?
• Who did he do it to?
• How is he related to that person?

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Duty-based Ethics

• X is morally right if and only if there is a
  universal moral rule always do X.

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Duty-based Ethics

• X is morally right if and only if there is a
  universal moral rule always do X.
• Where do the rules come from?
• Intrinsic rightness and wrongness

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Duty-based Ethics

• X is morally right if and only if there is a
  universal moral rule always do X.
• Where do the rules come from?
• Intrinsic rightness and wrongness
• Problems
• We can act in accord with duty and be wrong
• What do we do when duties conflict?

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Parts of a moral situation

• Who did it? (Virtue Ethics)
• What did he do? (Duty-based Ethics)
• What happened as a result?
• Who did he do it to?
• How is he related to that person?

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Utilitarianism

• X is morally right if and only if X brings about
  the best overall consequences

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Utilitarianism

• X is morally right if and only if X brings about
  the best overall consequences
• Problem
• Sally Struthers and Bono, crime syndicate bosses

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Parts of a moral situation

• Who did it? (Virtue Ethics)
• What did he do? (Duty-based Ethics)
• What happened as a result?(Utilitarianism)
• Who did he do it to?
• How is he related to that person?

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Rights-based Ethics

• X is morally right if and only if it does not
  violate anyones rights

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Rights-based Ethics

• X is morally right if and only if it does not
  violate anyones rights
• Rights responsible for more good than any other
  moral notion
• What are rights and what do we have rights to?

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Rights-based Ethics

• X is morally right if and only if it does not
  violate anyones rights
• Rights responsible for more good than any other
  moral notion
• What are rights and what do we have rights to?
• Problem
• You can be well within your rights and still be a
  complete jerk

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Parts of a moral situation

• Who did it? (Virtue Ethics)
• What did he do? (Duty-based Ethics)
• What happened as a result?(Utilitarianism)
• Who did he do it to? (Rights-based Ethics)
• How is he related to that person?

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Care-based Ethics

• X is morally right if and only if you do X
  because you believe that it will help some
  particular person with whom you have a
  relationship live a better life.

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Care-based Ethics

• X is morally right if and only if you do X
  because you believe that it will help some
  particular person with whom you have a
  relationship live a better life.
• Male vs. female centered views
• Relationships come with moral obligations

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Care-based Ethics

• X is morally right if and only if you do X
  because you believe that it will help some
  particular person with whom you have a
  relationship live a better life.
• Male vs. female centered views
• Relationships come with moral obligations
• Problem
• I have moral obligations to people I dont know
  and I dont like

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Parts of a moral situation

• Who did it? (Virtue Ethics)
• What did he do? (Duty-based Ethics)
• What happened as a result?(Utilitarianism)
• Who did he do it to? (Rights-based Ethics)
• How is he related to that person? (Care-based
  Ethics)

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What Now?

• Each approach is flawed because it does not
  consider the relevance of the aspects that the
  others do cover.
• How do we put them together?

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Real Life Moral Dilemmas

• Most of the time, the systems all agree
• Rarely, but occasionally, they disagree

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Real Life Moral Dilemmas

• Most of the time, the systems all agree
• Rarely, but occasionally, they disagree
• The BIG QUESTION
• How do we decide which system takes precedent?

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Real Life Moral Dilemmas

• Most of the time, the systems all agree
• Rarely, but occasionally, they disagree
• The BIG QUESTION
• How do we decide which system takes precedent?
• It depends on the situation

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Real Life Moral Dilemmas

• Most of the time, the systems all agree
• Rarely, but occasionally, they disagree
• The BIG QUESTION
• How do we decide which system takes precedent?
• It depends on the situation
• Not a matter of politics

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Real Life Moral Dilemmas

• Most of the time, the systems all agree
• Rarely, but occasionally, they disagree
• The BIG QUESTION
• How do we decide which system takes precedent?
• It depends on the situation
• Not a matter of politics
• The non-eliminable need for intelligent, civil,
  rational deliberation

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Play Time!

• Is polygamy wrong?
• Is there anything wrong with flag burning?
• Is there anything wrong with one-night stands?
• Is it wrong to tell off-colored jokes?
• Do you tell your wife, Yes, dear. Your butt
  does look big in that?
• What is wrong with cursing? In front of children?