ETHICS AND MORALITY Chapter 1: why be ethical? HRE 4M1 – GRADE 12M RELIGION ETHICS AND MORALITY Chapter 1: why be ethical?

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ETHICS AND MORALITY Ethics comes from the Greek word “ta ethicka” – means having to do with good character Ethics is more interested in the good that humans strive for. Examples of “the good” include happiness and freedom. Ethics is also interested in that search for the good.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ETHICS AND MORALITY Morality comes from the Latin word ‘moralitas’ - means having to do with the customs, manners, and habits shaping human life Morality is interested more in the ways that humans can attain the good. Some examples of “ways” include: rules, laws or commandments which we experience as a duty or obligation to follow.

LETS IMPROVE YOUR UNDERSTANDING... Ethics is like... Morality is like... understanding musical theory, reading music, understanding technique playing music, hitting the right notes, performing People can still play music without musical theory but.....you may/may not make good decisions in a musical arrangement or performance

LETS IMPROVE YOUR UNDERSTANDING... Ethics is like... Morality is like... understanding the basic principles of how our cars work. (Ex. You get good traction because of the friction your tires have with the road and that in a snowstorm this friction is reduced) good driving – knowing and applying the rules of the road in bad weather such as slowing down and allowing greater distance to stop the car. You can operate a car without understanding the laws of physics however you would have difficulty in making good decisions should dramatic changes arise

So do Ethics trump Morality? Ethics has a certain priority because our focus on “the good” will steer us to choose the human thing to do in any given situation. Ethics guides morality – it gives us the vision of our action (we can’t paint if we don’t know what to paint) Ethics gives us an understanding of the essential principles underlying our activity Ethics point towards the application of morality The purpose of ethics is to find the highest possible good in various circumstances and under certain conditions (i.e. self defence vs. Thou shall not kill) Rules, norms, commandments and duties are not the final word......the GOOD is! If the rules or laws don’t contribute to that highest good - the rules or laws need to be reconsidered.

4 Types of Ethical Experiences: #1 The Scream – The Personal Response There is a spontaneous decision to help – it is not a decision you make. There is a drive to move and act – an automatic response which urges you not to think but to act. The scream forces you to an awareness of your responsibility for another person.

4 Types of Ethical Experiences: #2 The Beggar – The Experience of the Other All face to face encounters are ethical because they remind us of our responsibility for others. The other person takes you hostage as they evoke a response from you (it can be guilt) and makes you responsible The face stays with you even after you decide what to do – he or she is inside you while you are busy defending your decision to give or not to give.

4 Types of Ethical Experiences: #3 “I have to 4 Types of Ethical Experiences: #3 “I have to...” – The Obligation Experience This experience of feeling obliged to obey a rule or law has everything to do with your ethical side. You feel an intrinsic duty to oblige (i.e. To follow parent’s rules). The order or wish from an authority figure can invade our consciousness, change our ethical framework and demand a response. If you choose to ignore the ethical response, the unrest stays with you.

4 Types of Ethical Experiences: #4 “This isn’t fair 4 Types of Ethical Experiences: #4 “This isn’t fair!” – The Experience of Contrast This experience occurs when you feel outraged by something blatantly unjust or unfair happening to yourself or to others. When you feel overwhelmed by the unjust suffering of others, the indignation you feel is an experience of contrast with what the world should look like. These experiences lead us to thoughts of “That is not fair!” or “This must be stopped!” or “This is intolerable!” This is a response to a terrifying event that contrasts greatly with how we think humans should be acting. Can cause a change that opposes this destruction.

Determine which of the four ethical experiences these video clips are portraying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=echAo3hmz3E&feature=related (Fisher King) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrbNSNpdnTY&feature=related (Grey’s Anatomy - give me my dad) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLyz78t5IKI&feature=related (Grey’s anatomy – the door is open) Hotel Rawanda (scene 7) Spider Man 2 (scene 33) Crash (scene 13)

4 Types of Ethical Experiences - Summary We all have an ethical core – we are called to react in one way or another when confronted with a dilemma. Whether this desire to react is - embedded in our genes (innate) or - programmed in our psyche after years of listening to moral authorities (learned) - or is evidence of the divine within us What one person interprets as duty, guilt, intolerable contrast, etc. will be different from another persons’ interpretation of the same experience. For example one person may experience an encounter with a beggar on the street and believe that it is their duty to help them. In every experience we are forced to an awareness of our responsibility for another person. There is an obvious change in our thought processes, our perception of the world and our resultant behaviour as a result of the impact of the experience.

Actor Action Consequence Other You and your group of 3 will be assigned one eight moral dilemmas. You are the actor in the assigned dilemma and you must decide what course of action must be taken. In your group read the assigned dilemma and answer the three questions below. Be prepared to share with the class. A. What course of action did you decide to take and WHY. B. When choosing your course of action which of the above four perspectives did you focus on? (You can focus on more than one!) C. Did you approach this dilemma from an ethical relativists’ point of view or a ethical absolutists’ point of view? Explain.

ETHICAL THEORIES Actor Morality is about becoming a good person and cultivating morally desirable character traits (virtues)such as honesty, courage, compassion, and generosity. Ethics should not emphasize doing but being. Action An action is morally right if it is in agreement with moral rules/norms that prescribe what actions are required, permitted or forbidden. We are motivated to act because it is a moral duty/obligation, not because the act is in one’s self-interest. Consequence Our ethical choices, like other types of decisions, should be based on their consequences. The best decisions attempt to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Other This perspective is not interested in proposing laws or moral rules instead it would rather explore the meaning of relationships in light of three themes: transcendence, existence, and the human other. An encounter with another person impacts an individual unlike any worldly object or force. One can see that another human being is “like me,” acts like me, and appears to be the master of her conscious life.

Ethical Theories help us to..... identify and define problems, think systematically (organize thought processes), view issues from many different vantage points, and provide us with decision-making guidelines.

INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY PHILOSOPHY IS: Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline. Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods. A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry.

ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.) Born in Stagira, Greece (near Macedonia) Aristotle’s father introduced him to anatomy, medicine and philosophy – he was the court physician Aristotle became friends with the King’s son Philip. Parents died when he was 17 Plato taught and mentored Aristotle Plato was a leading thinker in Greece

Aristotle and Alexander Due to political unrest, Aristotle fled from Athens to Aegean where he married and had a daughter Fled again to Macedonia and began to tutor King Philip’s son – Alexander (later known as the Great) Aristotle started a school (Lyceum) He wrote about logic, metaphysics, theology, history, politics and ethics and the basic foundations of many science disciplines

Leaving again... After Alexander the great died, there was more political unrest Aristotle was charged with not respecting the gods of the state (he was friends with the King) Fled again, but died in a year Much of his work was lost the destruction of the great library of Alexandria Only 40 of 360 works survived to today

Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas St. Thomas Aquinas rediscovered Aristotle in the 13th century through Arab scholars His teachings became associated with Catholic ethical theory

TELEOLOGICAL ETHICS

Catholic Approach to Ethics There is a philosophical understanding of the human person as ethical. Tradition as the “Book of Nature”. We have an innate (born with) search for the good.

Judeo-Christian Tradition – Search for Good Sacred scripture is the foundation in our understanding of what is good and understanding ourselves at ethical beings (Remember Grade 10 – What does it mean to be human?) How do these goods impact our lives? Revelation and Reason Good of freedom, of love, of justice, of love of community, of forgiveness

The Pursuit of Happiness Aristotle believed that the happiness of a person (citizen) was found in community Happiness is an enduring and long-lasting condition that results when one lives and acts well Happiness is not the same as pleasure, as pleasure is momentary

The Pursuit of Happiness Ethics aims to discover what is good for us as human beings It helps us learn what permits us to reach out potential Ethics gives us rationality and our internal compass (our conscience maybe)

Teleology and Teleological Ethics All things in this world aim for goodness This ethics discovers the finality (telos) or purpose of something – what completes us? We are intended to be rational – our greatest capacity is our intelligence Acting ethically, is to engage our capacity to reason as we develop good character (highest form of happiness) Good person – one whose actions are based on excellent reasoning and spend a great amount of time thinking

Excellent! When we have started to reach our potential and what we intend to be – we develop habits that make us the best In other words, when we do things well, we become better humans (these excellent things we do well are virtues) A good person used reason to control desire We must allow reason to guide our actions, and only then will these moral virtues become habit!

Its all about balance! We need to maintain balance (a mean) in our actions We need to be moderate in all things – not too much and not too little Make sure the moderation suits you

The How-To Slide on Happiness and Balance To be courageous – avoid some, not all dangers To be polite – be courteous, not in all situations though To be generous – somewhere between stinginess and extravagance (but what suits you!)

DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS

IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) Born and raised in Prussia (N.E. Germany) Grew up in poverty-stricken, but very religious Protestant family Family were Pietists – believed in personal devotion and Bible reading Lived near home all his life (never went beyond 100 km of his birthplace) His life was all about routine – everything was nearly scheduled

Mr. Kant: Teacher and Author After university, Kant worked as a private tutor and teacher He became a university professor of logic and metaphysics Kant wrote books – difficult to understand Critique of Pure Reason took 12 years to write and contains the longest sentences ever written (like in your reflections!) He greatly influenced Western thought and philosophy

Theoretical Reason Kant wanted to know how humans came to know things He also wanted to know what role experience played in out knowledge Asked other questions: Can we know things that are beyond our immediate experience? Can we know and predict the cause and effect? Theoretical reasoning asked the big questions and help us understand the laws of nature and cause and effect, govern human behaviour

Practical Reason The moral dimension that guides human behaviour Humans act out of impulse (our nature) and conscious choice (on principle) Theoretical reasoning tells us what people actually do, while practical reasoning tell us what we should do Kant introduced us to the idea of MORAL DUTY

Kant’s Ethics Shared with Aristotle that good is the aim in life, but in a different way We need practical principles to pursue the supreme good: God – the existence of God allows us to attain supreme good, as we are limited in our power as humans Freedom – to have the duty to achieve the supreme good, we must have the freedom to do something. Humans are free beings Immortality – the supreme good is too large a task for this life – it goes beyond to the next life, and so on

The Good Will Kant (unlike Aristotle) sees goodness in the individual (in their private life and inner conscience) Good Will – doing our duty, because it is our duty Kant’s theory is deontological, as ‘deon’ refers to duty A human action is morally good if it is done for the sake of duty Real worth is measured by the motive behind them According to Kant, you are the king of your castle – your decision (and according to your will)

Kant’s Use of Moral Maxims Duty is determined by maxims (principles) For something to be ethical, there must be an objective principle (must also apply to all) Ethical maxim – how every rational person would act if reason was used to decide actions Act in a way you would want others to act also (Sound like anything familiar?)

The Person as an Ends, not a Means We must always keep the dignity of the person in mind – don’t use people! (especially those marginalized in society) ``Kingdom of Ends`` - Everyone would respect each other in the kingdom

EMMANUEL LEVINAS: ETHICS OF THE FACE (Relational Ethics)

EMMANUEL LEVINAS (1905-1995) Born in Kaunas, Lithuania Lived during the Holocaust with his Jewish family Began studies at University of Strassbourg in philosophy Levinas saw a contrast between Western philosophy and his strong Jewish faith

The Sameness of Things He understood that Western philosophy attempted to overcome difference/diversity by grouping everything in unity – called ‘Being’ Everything carries sameness Difference is reduced to being accidental (not essential)

The Singularity of Things This tradition focused on the singular (having its own identity) The singularity of things gives them identity

Levinas and World War II WWII – Levinas was caught by the Germans and was a prisoner of war for 5 years. His whole family died in the Holocaust. His wife and daughter escaped but lost communication with him His war experience made Levinas more aware of his Jewish roots

Connecting with his Jewish Roots Mordachi Chouchani (Jewish teacher) was Levinas’ teacher at age of 40 He instructed Levinas in the Jewish Talmud Soon, Levinas also instructed the Talmud to young Jewish intellectuals in France

Teaching and Last Years Became chair in philosophy at Univ. of Poitiers 1973 – Became professor of philosophy at Sorbonne (most prestigious school in Paris) Became a popular writer and soon retired Even in lecturing, took his Jewish values very seriously (No lecturing on the Sabbath) He wrote and lectured until illness and death in 1995

Levinas - The Good is Infinite The Good – the central question of all philosophy The Good goes beyond Being The Being names what things have in common (when you remove all the differences) The Being can be dangerous, because it takes away from reality, the uniqueness of each individual or thing The unique things and persons are called traces of the Good (a.k.a. God) Everything we encounter is finite (that is why we only see traces of God) God has gone ahead (the infinite)

The Face as Witness of the Good The face is the most naked part of the body We can see the traces of God in the face (Levinas was against make-up) In someone’s eyes, we make immediate and direct contact When you have an experience looking into someone’s face, you see their uniqueness “You shall not murder” – taking away another person’s uniqueness

The Face as Ethical Recognizing the Other’s hardships in the face allows good to prevail by making us act to help that person – makes you responsible The face is a trace of God who has already passed by (the infinite good). The divine speaks to us through the face (Ex. Think of the face-to-face ethical experience)

Made Responsible by the Face Our responsibility to the face is our calling or duty – here the search for the Good ends (by making a good moral decision) We should be looking out for our neighbour - God’s touch Goodness (with God as the end) is about responsibility for the other We will see more of this in the social justice unit…

Summary of Theories Aristotle Kant Levinas Main Idea What is good? What motivates humans? Moral guidelines Life orientation Requirements Strengths Weakness

Ethical Theorists: A Comparison of Main Ideas Aristotle Kant Levinas Main idea Vision or purpose or ends Duties and structures Encounter with the other What is good? Human activity aims at achieving the good A human act is morally good when it is done for the sake of duty The central question is: where is the good? What motivates humans Humans find happiness within community I must act in such a way that the principles according to which I act should become universal law The face of the other calls me to respond Moral guidelines Values Rules Needs Life orientation Goals Duties Others Requirements Imagination Responsibility Involvement Strengths Vision, direction Structure, organization Heart, grounding Weaknesses Irrelevancy; ends justify the means Bureaucracy; blindly following orders Sentimentality; people wear masks

ETHICAL THEORISTS: A COMPARISON OF MAIN IDEAS Aristotle Kant Levinas Humans find happiness within community To be happy is to live well and do well Human activity aims at achieving the good—happiness The highest form of happiness is based on rational behaviour—live an ethical life Ethics is a matter of one’s inner conviction and autonomy A human act is morally good when it is done for the sake of duty The use of reason is central to moral life—duty is determined by principles The central question in philosophy is: where is the Good? Each thing or person is a unique expression of the Good The face of another calls me to respond

Aristotle Kant Levinas HOW??? Be moderate in all things Absolute good can be found only in God Good is inscribed by God into the nature of all things (innate) To find the good in anything is to discover its purpose A person develops good character by acting virtuously—virtues control passions I must act in such a way that the principles according to which I act should become a universal law The only good is good will Good is only good if it is done out of good will and provides no personal gain Moral acts are performed out of duty and obligation Reason dictates what is good Goodness translates into responsibility for the Other (turn away from own desires and interests) The infinite Good (God) is at the heart of ethics The good comes as a vocation (not from myself)