Lecture 1: Moral and ethics
Definitions
● Morality is humans’ ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
● Ethics is the systematic study of morality.
● Ethical theories are principles and rules that determine right and wrong in
different situations.
Ethics
● Ethics typically examines right and wrong from the perspective of a
human being (anthropocentric), instead of, for instance, nature.
● Ethics is not just theorization of morals, but the aim is also to affect
practice.
● Ethical theories can give contradictory solutions to the same problem.
● In society, morality is the foundation of the law.
Normative ethical theories (how we should)
● Ethical egoism: An action is morally right if the decision-maker freely
decides in order to pursue either their (short-term) desires or their
(long-term) interests.
○ Problem: Inconsistent because it approves of everything as long as
the needs of the egoists are served. So also murder and theft.
○ Thus, a moral view based on short term satisfaction of needs is
contradictory with our moral principles.
○ Enlightened egoism focuses on the meeting of long-term human
interests.
● Utilitarianism: An action is morally right if it results in the greatest amount
of good to the greatest amount of people affected by the action.
○ Act utilitarianism: Whether a single act is right or wrong depends
on the amount of common good it produces.
○ Rule utilitarianism: Focuses on creating rules that produce the most
common good.
○ Problem: A utilitarian good is subjective, context-dependent, and
difficult to compare between people.
○ Utilitarianism runs into difficulties in questions related to the just
distribution of wealth. And it can be contradictory with the idea of
respecting basic rights.
● Ethics of duties: Duties do not mean mechanistically following rules, but
they involve human’s ability to develop moral law and moral rules. Kant’s
deontological theory develops categorical imperatives to guide our
actions:
○ Universal applicability: Check that the principle is acceptable to
every human being → If one day it would be convenient to tell a lie,
I should ask myself ‘would it be OK if everyone lied?’
, ○ Respect for persons: A human being is a valuable autonomic being,
and not a means to an end or a tool → You need money, but you
know you cannot repay it. You consider to lie to your friend in order
to get the money. You would be manipulating her and using her
“merely as a means” and that's not good.
○ Problems: rather difficult and abstract theory, and ethics of duties
undervalues outcomes of actions.
● Rights & justice: this holds that every individual has an equal right to
basic liberties, and that they should have the right to opportunities and an
equal chance as other individuals of similar ability.
○ Problems: most lists of basic rights can be seen to be relatively
arbitrary. Rights are criticized as being too Western and/or
neocolonial. The theory does not offer practical guidance in extreme
situations.
Alternative perspectives on ethics
● Virtue ethics: the central aim is not to
fulfill duties or aim for the greatest good,
but to lead a good life. Virtue ethics
focuses on the character of the individual
decision-maker → a good nurse who
provides excellent care to patients
● Feminist ethics: Instead of abstract moral
principles, feminist ethics emphasizes
caring, empathy, and harmonious and
healthy social relationships.
● Discourse ethics: solves dilemmas by
asking those involved to discuss the matter
reasonably until they can find a consensual
and peaceful solution.
● Postmodern ethics: Moving away from
rationality, postmodern ethics focuses on
emotional moral impulses towards others,
and focuses on individual questioning of
universal rules.
Bazerman (2020) guidelines for creating more value:
● Compare alternatives: Allows us to implement utilitarianism.
● Look for tradeoffs: Allows us to consider on what each of values in
negotiations.
● See time as a scarce resource: Allows us to prioritize and focus our
efforts.
● Integrate your ethical self: Allows us to identify opportunities for
improvement.
, ● Design the choice architecture: Allows us to make positive value creation
easier.
Conclusion on using ethical theories
● Crane & Matten defend a pluralistic view of ethical theories.
○ Pluralism does not view any single theory as the only correct
approach to ethical problems. Each ethical theory is seen to provide
resources for decision making.
○ The aim is to find a contextually appropriate balance and consensus
that takes into consideration different perspectives.
Definitions
● Morality is humans’ ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
● Ethics is the systematic study of morality.
● Ethical theories are principles and rules that determine right and wrong in
different situations.
Ethics
● Ethics typically examines right and wrong from the perspective of a
human being (anthropocentric), instead of, for instance, nature.
● Ethics is not just theorization of morals, but the aim is also to affect
practice.
● Ethical theories can give contradictory solutions to the same problem.
● In society, morality is the foundation of the law.
Normative ethical theories (how we should)
● Ethical egoism: An action is morally right if the decision-maker freely
decides in order to pursue either their (short-term) desires or their
(long-term) interests.
○ Problem: Inconsistent because it approves of everything as long as
the needs of the egoists are served. So also murder and theft.
○ Thus, a moral view based on short term satisfaction of needs is
contradictory with our moral principles.
○ Enlightened egoism focuses on the meeting of long-term human
interests.
● Utilitarianism: An action is morally right if it results in the greatest amount
of good to the greatest amount of people affected by the action.
○ Act utilitarianism: Whether a single act is right or wrong depends
on the amount of common good it produces.
○ Rule utilitarianism: Focuses on creating rules that produce the most
common good.
○ Problem: A utilitarian good is subjective, context-dependent, and
difficult to compare between people.
○ Utilitarianism runs into difficulties in questions related to the just
distribution of wealth. And it can be contradictory with the idea of
respecting basic rights.
● Ethics of duties: Duties do not mean mechanistically following rules, but
they involve human’s ability to develop moral law and moral rules. Kant’s
deontological theory develops categorical imperatives to guide our
actions:
○ Universal applicability: Check that the principle is acceptable to
every human being → If one day it would be convenient to tell a lie,
I should ask myself ‘would it be OK if everyone lied?’
, ○ Respect for persons: A human being is a valuable autonomic being,
and not a means to an end or a tool → You need money, but you
know you cannot repay it. You consider to lie to your friend in order
to get the money. You would be manipulating her and using her
“merely as a means” and that's not good.
○ Problems: rather difficult and abstract theory, and ethics of duties
undervalues outcomes of actions.
● Rights & justice: this holds that every individual has an equal right to
basic liberties, and that they should have the right to opportunities and an
equal chance as other individuals of similar ability.
○ Problems: most lists of basic rights can be seen to be relatively
arbitrary. Rights are criticized as being too Western and/or
neocolonial. The theory does not offer practical guidance in extreme
situations.
Alternative perspectives on ethics
● Virtue ethics: the central aim is not to
fulfill duties or aim for the greatest good,
but to lead a good life. Virtue ethics
focuses on the character of the individual
decision-maker → a good nurse who
provides excellent care to patients
● Feminist ethics: Instead of abstract moral
principles, feminist ethics emphasizes
caring, empathy, and harmonious and
healthy social relationships.
● Discourse ethics: solves dilemmas by
asking those involved to discuss the matter
reasonably until they can find a consensual
and peaceful solution.
● Postmodern ethics: Moving away from
rationality, postmodern ethics focuses on
emotional moral impulses towards others,
and focuses on individual questioning of
universal rules.
Bazerman (2020) guidelines for creating more value:
● Compare alternatives: Allows us to implement utilitarianism.
● Look for tradeoffs: Allows us to consider on what each of values in
negotiations.
● See time as a scarce resource: Allows us to prioritize and focus our
efforts.
● Integrate your ethical self: Allows us to identify opportunities for
improvement.
, ● Design the choice architecture: Allows us to make positive value creation
easier.
Conclusion on using ethical theories
● Crane & Matten defend a pluralistic view of ethical theories.
○ Pluralism does not view any single theory as the only correct
approach to ethical problems. Each ethical theory is seen to provide
resources for decision making.
○ The aim is to find a contextually appropriate balance and consensus
that takes into consideration different perspectives.
