BIO ETHICS : CHAPTER II : MORAL
THEORIES
AIMS
DEFINITIONS
THEORY OF JUSTICE
- Theory of justice: seeks to define what constitutes a just and fair society, as well as the
principles that should govern individual & societal behavior to achieve this ideal.
- Theory of justice = a moral theory that relates to what is a ‘just society’. It is based on the
notion of the social contract (Hobbes). The term ‘justice’ has many interpretations:
o Can be seen as something that one deserves
o Can be seen as what one has a right to
- It no longer focuses on individual acts
- John Rawls: described a theory of justice with the original position behind the veil of
ignorance resulting in a society with equal opportunities and liberties for all = example of an
ideal theory based on idealized assumptions of people’s behavior and the organization &
functioning of a society in order to describe an ideal societal structure.
o Veil of ignorance people will be unaware of their own characteristics (social
status, wealth, gender,…) ensures that individuals deliberate impartially and
without bias, as they do not know how they will personally benefit or suffer from
the principles they choose!
Rawls: prioritizes fairness & equality while recognizing that some inequalities may be needed to
promote the well-being of society’s least advantaged members.
EXPERIENCE MACHINE
- The ‘experience machine’ = a thought experiment created by Nozick as critique to the
hedonistic calculus of Bentham in utilitarianism. (he critiques hedonism)
- Imagine that there is a machine that gives you pleasurable experiences
o Hedonistic approach: the experience of pleasure = equivalent to the proper acts that
give you pleasure (so doing is better than only experiencing)
o Intuitively, however, Nozick states that people would prefer to actually do the things
that give pleasure, rather than experience pleasurable illusions that is why
hedonism is based on a wrong assumption
, HEDONISM
- Hedonism takes only pleasure into account
o It places pleasure and happiness as the highest good or the ultimate goal of life
- It states that what is morally good, is what brings people pleasure & what causes pain is
immoral.
o Pleasure (or happiness) is the only intrinsic good
o Pain (or unhappiness) is the only intrinsic evil
- Hedonism is the first idea of utilitarianism according to Jeremy Bentham
- Pleasure (or pain) can be measured in terms of intensity, length, certainly, and whether they
are followed by opposite emotions
Hedonism is concerned w/ maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain/suffering
PREFERENCE UTILITARIANISM
- Preference utilitarianism = a 20th century approach to tackle problems related to hedonism.
o So it tried to solve problems with the hedonistic interpretation of the utility principle
by stating that the good has to be defined based on the satisfaction of preferences,
rather than providing pleasure
- It states that something is good if it satisfies the personal preferences rather than providing
pleasure
ACT UTILITARIANISM
- Act utilitarianism demands that each act should be treated separately, since there is no
universal rule on moral goods.
SUPEREROGATORY
- Supererogatory = means that something is beyond doubt good, but at the same time, we feel
that it asks too much of us.
- It is described in a thought experiment of Singer, who states that we should spent less
money on shoes, to be able to donate (more) for a good cause. However, for some people
this may seem supererogatory. Singer states that if we can prevent something bad, without
sacrificing anything or comparable significance, we ought to do it
- Supererogatory conclusions say something is beyond doubt good, but at the same time we
feel it asks to much of us: it seems to be more than what morality requires of us
SPECIESISM
- Speciesism ~ racism & sexism
- Speciesism means that people attribute different values to creatures, based on being more
or less alike to them
- It makes a moral distinction between humans and non-humans (animals)
THEORIES
AIMS
DEFINITIONS
THEORY OF JUSTICE
- Theory of justice: seeks to define what constitutes a just and fair society, as well as the
principles that should govern individual & societal behavior to achieve this ideal.
- Theory of justice = a moral theory that relates to what is a ‘just society’. It is based on the
notion of the social contract (Hobbes). The term ‘justice’ has many interpretations:
o Can be seen as something that one deserves
o Can be seen as what one has a right to
- It no longer focuses on individual acts
- John Rawls: described a theory of justice with the original position behind the veil of
ignorance resulting in a society with equal opportunities and liberties for all = example of an
ideal theory based on idealized assumptions of people’s behavior and the organization &
functioning of a society in order to describe an ideal societal structure.
o Veil of ignorance people will be unaware of their own characteristics (social
status, wealth, gender,…) ensures that individuals deliberate impartially and
without bias, as they do not know how they will personally benefit or suffer from
the principles they choose!
Rawls: prioritizes fairness & equality while recognizing that some inequalities may be needed to
promote the well-being of society’s least advantaged members.
EXPERIENCE MACHINE
- The ‘experience machine’ = a thought experiment created by Nozick as critique to the
hedonistic calculus of Bentham in utilitarianism. (he critiques hedonism)
- Imagine that there is a machine that gives you pleasurable experiences
o Hedonistic approach: the experience of pleasure = equivalent to the proper acts that
give you pleasure (so doing is better than only experiencing)
o Intuitively, however, Nozick states that people would prefer to actually do the things
that give pleasure, rather than experience pleasurable illusions that is why
hedonism is based on a wrong assumption
, HEDONISM
- Hedonism takes only pleasure into account
o It places pleasure and happiness as the highest good or the ultimate goal of life
- It states that what is morally good, is what brings people pleasure & what causes pain is
immoral.
o Pleasure (or happiness) is the only intrinsic good
o Pain (or unhappiness) is the only intrinsic evil
- Hedonism is the first idea of utilitarianism according to Jeremy Bentham
- Pleasure (or pain) can be measured in terms of intensity, length, certainly, and whether they
are followed by opposite emotions
Hedonism is concerned w/ maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain/suffering
PREFERENCE UTILITARIANISM
- Preference utilitarianism = a 20th century approach to tackle problems related to hedonism.
o So it tried to solve problems with the hedonistic interpretation of the utility principle
by stating that the good has to be defined based on the satisfaction of preferences,
rather than providing pleasure
- It states that something is good if it satisfies the personal preferences rather than providing
pleasure
ACT UTILITARIANISM
- Act utilitarianism demands that each act should be treated separately, since there is no
universal rule on moral goods.
SUPEREROGATORY
- Supererogatory = means that something is beyond doubt good, but at the same time, we feel
that it asks too much of us.
- It is described in a thought experiment of Singer, who states that we should spent less
money on shoes, to be able to donate (more) for a good cause. However, for some people
this may seem supererogatory. Singer states that if we can prevent something bad, without
sacrificing anything or comparable significance, we ought to do it
- Supererogatory conclusions say something is beyond doubt good, but at the same time we
feel it asks to much of us: it seems to be more than what morality requires of us
SPECIESISM
- Speciesism ~ racism & sexism
- Speciesism means that people attribute different values to creatures, based on being more
or less alike to them
- It makes a moral distinction between humans and non-humans (animals)
