1. The Potter Box Model of Reasoning

2. Ethics and Values
Ethics - the discipline dealing with what is morally right or wrong, good or bad.
Ethical system describes the critical process of how we work through moral issues
Values - the accepted principles or standards of an individual or a group
All decision-making involves values which reflect our presuppositions about social life and human nature!
Values also what an individual or group estimates or evaluates as worthwhile

3. Types of Values
Professional Proximity Firstness Impact/magnitude Recency Conflict Human Interest Entertainment Novelty Toughness Thoroughness Immediacy Independence No prior restraint Public’s right to know Watchdog
Moral Values Truthtelling Humanness Justice/fairness Freedom Independence Stewardship Honesty Nonviolence Commitment Self-control
Aesthetic Harmonious Pleasing Imaginative
Logical Consistent Competent Knowledge- able
Socio-cultural Thrift Hard work Energy Restraint Heterosexuality

4. The “Potter Box”
Ralph Benajah Potter, Jr., who retired in July 2003, began teaching at HDS in 1965.  He is an ordained Presbyterian minister and the author of the book War and Moral Discourse and assorted scholarly articles. He is a founding fellow of the Hastings Center for Bioethics and is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Society for Christian Ethics, Societe Europeene de Culture, the Society for Values in Higher Education, and, at Harvard, the Senior Common Room of Lowell House. His 1997 HDS Convocation Address was titled "Moralists, Maxims and Formation for Ministry." 
Dr. Ralph Benajah Potter, Jr.
Professor of Social Ethics Emeritus BA,  Occidental College BD,  McCormick Theological Seminary ThD,  Harvard University
Source:

5. Four Dimensions of Moral Analysis
Definition
Loyalties ↓ ↑ →
Values
Principles

6. Potter Box Feedback Particular Judgment or Policy Sociological
Immediate
External
Facts
Empirical Definition
Choosing Loyalties
Philosophical
Reflective
Internal
Appeal to Ethical Principles
Identifying Values
both positive & negative
virtue, duty, utility, rights, love

7. Determining the Ethical Decision
Is there a universal ground for making ethical decisions, an overarching theory from which we can choose among competing alternatives?
Or is ethical decision making simply a process of adjusting to the mores and commitments of a given community?
The Potter Box accounts for both.
Without an appeal to an explicit ethical principle, a conclusion is not considered morally justified.
The Potter Box accounts for both (1) community mores and commitments and (2) a universal ground for making ethical decisions:
Community mores are part of steps two and four (values and loyalties).
The idea of an appeal to an explicit ethical principle is introduced in step three.

8. Why We Study the Process By Which Choices Are Made
Knowing the elements in moral analysis sharpens our vocabulary and enhances our discussion of media ethics
Understanding the logic of social ethics improves the quality of our conceptual work and the validity of the choices we make in media practice.
The four dimensions of the Potter Box allow us to develop normative ethics.

9. Additional Links
Finding a Philosophical Perspective A discussion of different approaches to ethics including the Potter Box
The Effects of Journalism Loyalties on the Invasion of Privacy A discussion of the loyalties of the journalist according to the Potter Box.
Scenarios Test yourself in applying the Potter Box model of ethical reasoning to these public relations scenarios.
Digital Manipulation: Issues and Ethics in Photojournalism An actual case of journalistic ethics analyzed according to the Potter Box.

10. Using Ethical Principles

11. Guidelines 1. Always treat specifics very carefully.
2. Values must be isolated and accounted for.
3. Values must be checked, questioned, or corrected using steps three and four of the Potter Box.
Disagreements in ethical decision making often occur over facts, details, viewing actual events differently.
Isolating and accounting for values prevents basing decisions on personal biases or unexamined prejudices.
Steps three and four (naming principles and loyalties) allow us to critically evaluate conflicting signals received from quadrant two (naming values).

12. Use of Ethical Principles
No conclusion can be morally justified without a clear demonstration that an ethical principle shaped the final decision.
What Actually Happens
What Ought to Happen
Definition
Loyalties
Values
Principles
Descriptive
Normative

13. Ethics vs. Values
Ethics involves an understanding of theology and philosophy as well as debates in the history of ideas over justice, virtue, the good, etc.
Values pervade all dimensions of human experience, even scientific experimentation.

14. Challenging Moral Norms
Our society challenges the practice of searching for moral norms.
BUT norms rightly understood are foundational for moral commitment.
“A framework is that in which we make sense of our lives spiritually. Not to have a framework is to fall into a life which is spirtually senseless.”
Charles Taylor, Sources of the Self (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989), p. 18.

15. Purpose of Sound Ethical Reasoning
Allows us to draw responsible conclusions that yield justifiable actions
Helps us to determine which ethical theory is most powerful under which conditions

16. Five Categories of Ethical Theories
1. Ethical Theories based on Virtue
Aristotle’s Mean/Confucius’ Golden Mean
2. Ethical Theories based on Duty
Kant’s Categorical Imperative
3. Ethical Theories based on Utility
Mill’s Principle of Utility
4. Ethical Theories based on Rights
Rawls’s Veil of Ignorance
5. Ethical Theories based on Love
Judeo-Christian Persons as Ends

17. Ethical Guidelines Based on Virtue
Aristotle’s Mean
Confucius’ Golden Mean

18. middle state determined by practical wisdom”
Aristotle’s Mean
“Moral virtue is a
middle state determined by practical wisdom”

19. Four Cardinal Virtues
TEMPERANCE
JUSTICE
COURAGE
WISDOM

20. Extremes JUSTICE COURAGE WISDOM Indifference Indulgence Cowardice
Temerity
Caution
Spontaneity

21. Main Ideas Propriety before duty or love Character over conduct
Outer behavior as a reflection of inner disposition
Equilibrium and harmony

22. Practical Wisdom Phronesis Moral discernment
Knowledge of the proper ends (telos) of conduct and the means of attaining them
Distinct from both theoretical knowledge and technical skill
“Moral virtue is a fixed quality of the will, consisting essentially in a middle state, as determined by the standard that a person of practical wisdom would apply”
Nichomachean Ethics, Book II, chapter 6

23. Exceptions
Not all actions or emotions can be justified by a middle state
What actions and emotions are intrinsically wicked whether or not they are practiced with temperance?
Spite
Shamelessness
Envy
Adultery
Theft
Murder

24. Summary of Aristotle’s Mean
NOT a weak-minded consensus
NOT a compromise
NOT a mathematically equal distance between two extremes
Aristotle’s mean involves the correct quantity, the correct timing, the correct people, the correct motives, and the correct manner

25. Confucius’ Golden Mean
“Moral virtue is the appropriate location between two extremes”

26. Main Ideas Rooted in virtue
Virtue as benevolence, kindness, generosity, and balance (a mean between two extremes)
Excellence dependent on character not social position

27. Equilibrium and Harmony
“Equilibrium (chung) is the great root from
which grow all human actings in the world.
And harmony (yung) is the universal path all
should pursue. Let the states of equilibrium
and harmony exist in perfection, and happy
order will prevail throughout heaven and
earth, and all things will be nourished and
flourish”
From Four Books, vol. I, I.4, I.5

28. Applying Confucius’ Golden Mean
Identify all extremes
Resolve competing obligations using the Golden Mean
Reject any extremes
Choose the middle path

29. Additional Links
Nicomachean Ethics An online version of Aristotle’s text. Book II, chapter 6 is a good place to start.
Aristotle Overview This article describes the life, writings, ethics, and politics of Aristotle.
Aristotle’s “Doctrine of the Mean” A chart illustrating Aristotle’s concepts of virtue and vice.
Confucius An overview of Confucian beliefs
The Doctrine of the Mean An online version of the article by Confucius cited by the text

30. Ethical Guidelines Based on Duty
Kant’s Categorical Imperative

31. Kant’s Categorical Imperative
“Act only on that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”

32. Main Ideas Ethics are objective
Any genuine moral obligation can be universalized
Categorical = unconditional
What is right must be done regardless of circumstances
Existence of higher truths
Deontological ethics
What is right for one is right for all.
Even if a life could be saved by telling a lie, lying would still be wrong!

33. Higher Truths Noumena Superior to reason Transcend physical universe
Innate in human beings
Apprehended by conscience NOT reason

34. Deontological Ethics From deon (Greek for duty)
Rule determines the result
Rule is the basis of the act
Rule is good regardless of the act
Result always calculated within the rules

35. Application of Kant’s Categorical Imperative
Moral law is unconditionally binding on all rational beings.
Certain actions are always wrong.
Certain actions are always right.
Examples
Always wrong: cheating, stealing, dishonesty
Always right: benevolence, truthtelling
Examples
Deception by advertisers to sell products NOT justifiable under any circumstance
Violent pornography universally unacceptable.

36. Questions to Consider
What happens when there is a conflict of duties? (2 rules that are universalized)
Is every rule we would universalize a moral duty?
Can we truly ignore results in decision-making?
Do we really want to make reason the final, sole authority in determining right and wrong?

37. Additional Links
Critique of Practical Reason The online version of Kant’s writings on epistemology and ethics.
Kant’s Argument for the Categorical Imperative An outline of Kant’s reasoning for the categorical imperative
Immanuel Kant and the Categorical Imperative A critical evaluation of Kant’s categorical imperative
Kant’s Four Examples of How to Apply the Categorical Imperative Kant’s own application from his work, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals

38. Ethical Guidelines Based on Utility
Mill’s Principle of Utility

39. Mill’s Principle of Utility
“Seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number”

40. Main Ideas
Consider what course will yield the best consequences for the welfare of human beings
Ethical choice produces the greatest balance of good over evil
Good end must be promoted, bad end must be restrained

41. The Good End Happiness or pleasure
To Mill, preventing pain and promoting pleasure are the only desirable ends.
Pluralistic utilitarians argue that other values besides happiness possess intrinsic worth (friendship, knowledge, health).
Rightness or wrongness assessed according to total value ultimately produced

42. Application of the Principle of Utility
Calculate the consequences of various options. How much benefit and how much harm would result in the lives of everyone affected, including ourselves?
Choose the alternative that both
Produces the greatest possible balance of good over evil
Distributes this balance as widely as possible

43. Two Types of Utilitarianism
Act Utilitarianism: Greatest good in a specific case
Will a particular action in a particular situation result in a balance of good over evil?
2. Rule Utilitarianism: Greatest good for general welfare
Will a general rule result in a balance of good over evil?

44. Questions to Consider
How do we account for the long term consequences of a decision that are not always able to be forseen?
What if the majority rejects basic standards of decency?
What problems are generated by defining the public good as the sum total of all private goods?

45. Additional Links
John Stuart Mill A description of Mill’s life and writings.
What Utilitarianism Is John Stuart Mill’s explanation of the principle of utility from his book, Utilitarianism.
A Millian Critique of Library Censorship A discussion of utilitarian arguments in favor of and against censorship.
Intellectual Property, Innovation, and Social Progress Intellectual property is evaluated from the perspective of utilitarianism.

46. Ethical Guidelines Based on Rights
Rawls’s Veil of Ignorance

47. Rawls’s Veil of Ignorance
“Justice emerges when
negotiating without social differentiations”

48. Rawls’s Veil of Ignorance
This is the veil....we step behind it to make decisions - the other side is “real life”
Helps us iron out a “social contract’ that by definition is just
Gives the “little guy” a leg up
Justice
No arbitrary distinctions can determine who receives what; or what is “right” in any situation (although inherent ones may)
SO, we set up the “veil” to help eliminate these distinctions
This means
Fairness = Justice (sometimes means quantity)
Same reward given to everyone for same work
Helps determine what is “right” in any given situation
Who you are, what you have shouldn’t determine what you now should get
It functions like a Barrier: keeps out race, class, gender, group interests, sexual orientation, age, occupations, etc. -- puts players on equal playing field -- decisions based on “fairness”

49. Main Ideas Fairness fundamental to justice Egalitarian perspective
Fairness as quantitative in basic cases
Elimination of arbitrary distinction
Emphasizes the morally appropriate action, not the action that benefits the most people

50. Veil of Ignorance Roles and social differentiations eliminated
Race, class, gender, and other personality features suspended behind the veil
Equality behind the veil intended to protect the weaker party and minimize risks

51. Two Principles 1. Maximal system of equal basic liberty
2. All social goods other than liberty may be distributed unequally only if distribution favors the least advantaged side

52. Additional Links
John Rawls A biographical sketch of Rawls along with a discussion of his major works.
John Rawls and the Social Contract An evaluation of Rawls’s theory of justice as fairness.
The Antipolitical Philosophy of John Rawls This article considers whether Rawls’s idea of justice is applicable in the modern world.
A Just Man Michael Sandel’s article, referred to in the above link, discussed Rawls’s contributions.

53. Ethical Guidelines Based on Love
Judeo-Christian Persons as Ends
Noddings’ Relational Ethics

54. Judeo Christian Persons as Ends
“Love your neighbor as yourself”
“What is the Will of Heaven like? The answer is – To love all men everywhere alike”

55. Main Ideas
All moral obligations derived from the command to love God and humankind
Love for neighbor as normative
Regard for others as personal, not legalistic (as with Rawls’s contract)
Humans made in the image of God and with unconditional value apart regardless of circumstances

56. Agape Love Unselfishness, other-regarding care
Much more than friendship, charity, or benevolence
To love is to accept a person as he or she is with unalterable commitment and permanent loyalty
People are never given instrumental value

57. Concerns Failure of adherents to practice agape love Love vs. justice
Reason as distinct from discernment
Whether agape is universal or had continuity with other alternatives

58. Advantages Practical, gives help to those who need it
Avoids discrimination without denying distinctions
Does not presume to assign value to an individual

59. Noddings’ Relational Ethics
“The ‘one-caring’ attends to the ‘cared-for’ in thought and deeds”

60. Main Ideas Ethics rooted in relationships
Emphasizes nurturing and caring for people, not avoiding harm to others
Roles of the one-caring and the cared-for
Three dimensions: engrossment, motivational displacement, and reciprocity

61. Additional Links
Agape in Feminist Ethics This article describes several different approaches to other-regard, contrasting Protestant and feminist appraisals of agape.
Can Agape Be Universalized? The test of universalizability is applied to agape.
Care Ethics and Virtue Ethics A critical evaluation of Noddings’ care ethics.
Longing for the Sacred in Schools: A Conversation with Nel Noddings Nel Noddings defends the place of spirituality in public education.

62. To Whom Is Moral Duty Owed? Who Ought to Decide?

63. Five Categories of Obligation
Duty to ourselves
Duty to clients / subscribers / supporters
Duty to our organization or firm
Duty to professional colleagues
Duty to society

64. Loyalties Duty to society is critical
Ethical decision-making must be marked by a sincere sense of social responsibility and a genuine concern for the citizenry
In the Potter Box the loyalty component necessitates the acknowledgment of the implications of a decision for institutions and social groups before an ethical decision is made.

65. Accountability
Are parents alone accountable for the programs their children watch, or do advertisers and networks carry responsibility also?
Can producers of entertainment dismiss their responsibility for quality programming by arguing that they merely give the public what it wants
Requiring accountability across the board preferable to giving absolute authority to one person or group.

66. Individuals The individual is the authentic moral agent.
Though corporations are real, they are not concrete enough to be assigned praise or blame in any real sense.
Ultimately it is the individual who will be held responsible.

67. Corporate Obligation Corporate obligation still meaningful
Ultimate responsibility rests with individuals but must be distributed among the individuals constituting a corporation.
Broad attacks on entire media systems are not helpful. Ethics is fundamentally concerned with individual choices.