MORALITY AND ETHICS

Where does morality come from?

Is it wrong to kill an innocent person for no good reason?

If so, why?

Morality comes from God?

Plato’s Euthyphro

Is something wrong because God says it’s wrong or does God say its wrong because it is wrong.

We have to use our own judgment to decide right and wrong.

Metaethics

How do we determine what is right and wrong?

System of ethics Justification for ethics

Three popular ethical schemes:

1) Virtue ethics2) Deontological ethics3) Utilitarianism

Virtue Ethics

Aristotle (384 B.C. – 322 B.C.)

Ancient Greek philosopher and student of Plato

Virtue consists of realizing our natural human potential as rational animals (our telos)

Eudemonia (happiness, the good life) is achieved through the cultivation of human virtues, such as wisdom, justice, courage, generosity, kindness and moderation.

The good life

People are virtuous in order to cultivate their own soul and achieve a higher happiness

Focus on motivations for actions, rather than consequences

The goal is self-realization: to be noble, honorable, decent

Cf. Confucious’s junzi 君子

What kind of people do we want to be?Do we want to be the kind of people who would

do that?

Problems with virtue ethics

Do people really have a telos? If not, how can the virtues be justified?

Is cultivating the virtues really the best way for an individual to maximize his human potential?

People can do the wrong thing for the right reasons

Surely the action is wrong even if the motivation is right

Deontological EthicsKant (1724-1804), German philosopher

Rightness of actions is independent of consequences.

The Categorical Imperative defines our moral duties.

Moral duties, e.g.not to kill or harm innocent peoplenot to lieto keep promisesto respect the rights of others

The Categorical Imperative can be understood through reason.

Deontological Ethics (cont.)The Categorical Imperative can be worked out through the

principle of universalizability:

"Always act according to that maxim whose universality as a law you can at the same time will", and is the "only condition under which a will can never come into conflict with itself…"

(Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals)

Rational beings have an intrinsic worth and dignity.

The end (purpose) of morality is in preserving the well-being and dignity of all rational agents:

“Act with reference to every rational being (whether yourself or another) so that it is an end in itself in your maxim…“

(Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals)

You must never treat a person as a means, but always as an end.

Problems with deontological ethicsProblem of justification for Categorical Imperative

– where does it come from

Not all good actions can be universalized

Rigid

e.g. if we have a categorical imperative not to lie,

it is wrong to lie even if by lying to a mad gunman,

we can save an innocent person’s life

It is not always possible never to treat a rational agent as an end, e.g. war

Suggested readings

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, at: http://plato.stanford.edu/

Entries on: Consequentialism and Deontological Ethics and Virtue Ethics

Mill, John Stuart, Utilitarianism (1863), available at: www.utilitarianism.com/mill1.htm

Stephen Law, The Philosophy Gym, Chapter 17, “Killing Mary to Save Jodie”. available on Moodle

Required reading

Traditional Ethical Theories (excerpt from Online Guide to Ethics and Moral Philosophy at: caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/80130/part2/sect9.html), available on Moodle