CONSIDERING ETHICAL THEORIES

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CONSIDERING ETHICAL THEORIES

• PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT STRATEGY 6

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DO THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES PROVIDE US WITH THE
RULES OR EFFECTIVE PRINCIPLES NEEDED TO LIVE
AN ETHICAL LIFE?
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PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT STRATEGY 6

• Now its your turn
• What aspects of the theories weve discussed
  could help you think more fully about ethical
  dilemmas?
• What aspects of the theories do you reject
  outright? Why?

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Lawrence KohlbergMorality goes well beyond
rule-making following rules, in fact, is the
easy way out keeps us safe
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TIBETAN PROTEST
VIDEO LINK
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UTILITARIANMust consider the greatest good
for the greatest number Moves away from
rule-following (to a degree) to focus on
justice/equality
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So, how do we decide right action?Thats your
challenge in Performance Assessment Strategy 6.
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TELEOLOGICAL THEORIES

• The consequences (as opposed to motives or
  intentions) determine an acts worth or
  correctness. That is, the rightness or wrongness
  of an act can be judged by the result.

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DEONTOLOGICAL THEORIESRule or law
centeredWhat is right and what is wrong does
not depend on outcome but on principles or rules
applied in making the decision
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Think of a situation where such a perspective
might be acceptable and one where it might be
totally unacceptable
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IS UTILITARIANISM (THE GREATEST GOOD FOR THE
GREATEST NUMBER) TOO SIMPLISTIC TO BE RIGHT???
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Might we not also consider relationshipsCredito
r to DebtorParent to ChildCitizen to Citizen
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Prima Facie Duty Presumption That Duty Exists

• A parent must care for a child.
• A workermust go to work and do a fair days work
  for a fair days pay.
• A citizenmust not dump oil down the storm drain.

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But how does one WEIGH prima facie obligations
against each other?Indeed, we experience
COMPETING interests and obligations.
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Privacy
National Security
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W. D. ROSS

• No general rules
• can be laid down

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ARISTOTLE

• Practical wisdom/
• Intellectual wisdom

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ARISTOTLE

• Recall the truths we have learned, inspect
  them, make sense of them practical wisdom

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We have obligations in our community to our
employer, our nation, our family and we must
balance these competing values, yes?
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THOMAS NAGEL

• A reasoned capacity exists for balancing values.

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Aristotle, Nagel, Ross all agree we can reason

• We can reason rationally, though, without
  rules
• Others argue If we can reason, shouldnt we be
  able to make these reasons explicit? Shouldnt we
  be able to come up with the rules?

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OBLIGATIONS, RIGHTS, JUSTICE, DUTY ALL CONFLICT
CONSTANTLY IN MEDICAL RESEARCHPOLITICSPERSONA
L LIFE
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Obviously, centuries of philosophical debate have
not brought consensus on what constitutes ethical
decision-making!
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THE ABILITY TO FORMULATE EXPLICIT RULES IN
PRINCIPLE IS PRETTY THIN!
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DO WE LEARN LANGUAGE BY LEARNING THE RULES?
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DO WE NOT LEARN MUSIC, LANGUAGE, BLACKSMITHING,
AND ETHICS BY MASTERING BODIES OF PRACTICE RATHER
THAN BY LEARNING SPECIFIC RULES?
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SO, HOW DO WE DO THE WEIGHING?IF THERE ARE
REASONS, SHOULDNT WE BE ABLE TO FORMULATE THEM?
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W. D. ROSS

• We must balanceNo general rules, so far as I
  can see, can be laid down. We can only say that
  we have duties to keep our promises, to repair
  wrongs weve done, and to compensate for services
  weve received.

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PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT STRATEGY 6

• Now its your turn
• What aspects of the theories weve discussed
  could help you think more fully about ethical
  dilemmas?
• What aspects of the theories do you reject
  outright? Why?

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EXPECTATION OF PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT STRATEGY 6

• A BEGINNING INVESTIGATION/
• CONSIDERATION