Issues in Ethics-1 Descriptive morality Normative ethics which moral principles are defensible which actions are genuinely good or bad

Issues in Ethics-2 Relationship to religion Divine command theory Plato's Euthyphro Evaluating ethical issues actions motives consequences character

Why Be Moral?-1 Glaucon's question again Why does society need morality? Why should I be moral? Hobbes Morality and law protect society Motivation for individual?

Why Be Moral?-2 Religious answers Because God commands it Out of love for God Plato: self-interest in keeping spiritual health “Because it's right”

Theories of Ethics-1 Ethical relativism Subjective ethical relativism Conventional ethical relativism Ethical objectivism Ethical egoism

Theories of Ethics-2 Utilitarianism Kantian ethics Virtue ethics Feminist ethics

Ethical Relativism Action relativism Moral principles relativism Subjectivism: right or wrong is only individual opinion Sophists Jean-Paul Sartre

Conventionalism Defined: Morality is relative to each society Herodotus Ruth Benedict: Anthropology and the Abnormal John Ladd Diversity thesis Dependency thesis

Ethical Objectivism Defined: Certain moral principles are universal and objective Absolutism: principles can never be overridden Problems with relativism Is there a core morality?

Ethical Egoism Defined: people should always do what is in their self-interest Psychological egoism Altruism Types of ethical egoism personal individual universal

Arguments for Universal Ethical Egoism-1 Selfishness versus self-interest Argument 1: Psychological egoism Bishop Butler Argument 2: Egoism leads to the best society Adam Smith

Arguments for Universal Ethical Egoism-2 Argument 3: Egoism Is the ultimate ethical principle Ayn Rand's Objectivism The Virtue of Selfishness Egoism and the conflict of interests

Utilitarianism Defined: the right action is that which produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number Consequentialism, or teleological ethics morality of an act depends on the desirability of its consequences utilitarianism is most common form

Bentham’s Utilitarianism Psychological hedonism Ethical hedonism An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation A calculus of pleasures and pain

Mill’s Utilitarianism Qualitative and quantitative hedonism Pleasures can differ in quality and amount Utilitarianism is a form of objectivism, not relativism

The Consequences of Consequentialism Norcross: Comparing Harms: Headaches and Human Lives “Lives for convenience” Act-utilitarianism An action is right if its result is more happiness than any other alternative Rule-utilitarianism An action is right if it is required by a rule that would result in more happiness

Themes of Kantian Ethics Irrelevance of consequences in determining moral rightness Importance of consistency Irreducible dignity and worth of every person Necessity of having moral absolutes

Kantian Ethics Deontological ethics nonconsequentalist judgment of moral rightness based on the intrinsic moral value of the act itself Good will motivating force in all morality

Two Imperatives Hypothetical imperative what means to use to achieve an end Categorical imperative not dependent on prior conditions or subjective desires has no qualifications universalizable reversible

Absolute Duties Prima facie duty morally binding unless in conflict with more important duty fidelity, reparation, gratitude, justice, beneficence, self-improvement, nonmaleficence Actual duty duty obligated to perform after circumstances are considered

Virtue Ethics Arete Virtue The problems with the utilitarian view The problems with the Kantian view

The Positive Case for Virtue Ethics-1 1. Virtues are necessary conditions for human flourishing and well-being 2. Moral rules are inadequate unless they are grounded in a virtue-based ethics 3. Judgments about character are more fundamental than judgments about the rightness or wrongness of conduct

The Positive Case for Virtue Ethics-2 4. Virtue ethics is more comprehensive, because it deals with the whole person and not simply the person in so far as he or she performs an action 5. The key to morality is found in the character of moral role models

Aristotle Eudaimonia Nicomachean Ethics Intellectual and moral virtues Doctrine of the mean

The Virtues in Confucian Thought Doctrine of the mean Analects Characteristics of the superior person

Feminist Ethics-1 Care-focused Gilligan’s In a Different Voice Ethics of justice Ethics of care Maternal, care-focused ethics (Held, Ruddick)

Feminist Ethics-2 Power-focused Friedman’s Liberating Care