SESSION 1: MORALS & ETHICS
1. What is morality, ethics and an ethical theory?
Morality: human’s ability to decide what’s right and wrong
Ethics: systematic study of morality
Ethical theory: guiding principles that guide right actions and desirable outcomes in different
situations
2. What is the difference between ethics and the law?
Ethics is the foundation of law, however
- Law doesn’t cover every ethical issue (cheating)
- Not every law is ethical (driving on one side)
- Law and ethics and contradict (apartheid)
3. Which dimensions of the Moral Machine experience more agreement?
sparing humans instead of pets, sparing more characters instead of fewer,
and sparing the young instead of the old tend to receive more agreement.
4. Which cultural differences come through in the Moral Machine when comparing
Western, Eastern and Southern cultures?
Western: inaction, sparing as many people as possible
Eastern: action, sparing the lawful
Southern: sparing young, higher status, women, fit, weak in humans over pet
5. What are core normative theories in Modernist Western thinking? What are the key
ideas of each?
1) Ethical Egoism
- an action is moral is the decision maker freely decides in order to pursue short term desires or
long term interests
- Adam Smith’s Inivisble hand: “it is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the
baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest” → individual
interests serve common good
- Enlightened egoism/self-interest: individual interests will benefit you eventually
Problems:
- ignore blatant moral wrongs, can violate rights as long as the egoist’s needs are
served, “anything goes”
, 2) Utilitarianism
- an action is moral if it creates the max amount of good for the max amount of people
- many policies are passed if it maximizes social welfare
- egoism in economics function within an utilitarian societal moral theory
- act utilitarianism: act for max amount of good (lying to save a life)
- rule utilitarianism: create rule for max amount of good (always tell the truth for honesty)
Problems:
- subjective, good for A but not for B, one group always sacrificied for the common good
→ no reciprocal moral obligation
- only looks at sum of good, not just distribution of wealth
- does not address all values (environmental, dignity, fairness)
3) Ethics of Duties
Immanuel Kant: moral is not about consequences but duty and principles guiding actions
Central principles:
- Duty: act out of moral obligations, not self-interest or outcome
- Consistency: logically consistent, no exception for yourself
- Dignity: treat everyone as ends not means
- Universal: applies to everyone
Categorical Imperatives:
- Universal applicability: follow rules that you would vote to be universal rules
- Respect for persons: humans have values and worth → treat as ends and never as
means
Problems:
- too vague and abstract, hard to apply in everyday situations
- too rigid, leave no room for human emotions → horrible consequences
4) Rights and Justice
- everyone has a basic, important, inalienable entitlements that should be protected and
respected
- Rights-based: western political and ethical thoughts → foundation for universal human rights
- Justice: fair treatment of everyone in a situation that everyone gets what they want
Key ideas:
- Procedural fairness: fair trial, transparent decision-making
- Distributive fairness: equal resource and opportunity
1. What is morality, ethics and an ethical theory?
Morality: human’s ability to decide what’s right and wrong
Ethics: systematic study of morality
Ethical theory: guiding principles that guide right actions and desirable outcomes in different
situations
2. What is the difference between ethics and the law?
Ethics is the foundation of law, however
- Law doesn’t cover every ethical issue (cheating)
- Not every law is ethical (driving on one side)
- Law and ethics and contradict (apartheid)
3. Which dimensions of the Moral Machine experience more agreement?
sparing humans instead of pets, sparing more characters instead of fewer,
and sparing the young instead of the old tend to receive more agreement.
4. Which cultural differences come through in the Moral Machine when comparing
Western, Eastern and Southern cultures?
Western: inaction, sparing as many people as possible
Eastern: action, sparing the lawful
Southern: sparing young, higher status, women, fit, weak in humans over pet
5. What are core normative theories in Modernist Western thinking? What are the key
ideas of each?
1) Ethical Egoism
- an action is moral is the decision maker freely decides in order to pursue short term desires or
long term interests
- Adam Smith’s Inivisble hand: “it is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the
baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest” → individual
interests serve common good
- Enlightened egoism/self-interest: individual interests will benefit you eventually
Problems:
- ignore blatant moral wrongs, can violate rights as long as the egoist’s needs are
served, “anything goes”
, 2) Utilitarianism
- an action is moral if it creates the max amount of good for the max amount of people
- many policies are passed if it maximizes social welfare
- egoism in economics function within an utilitarian societal moral theory
- act utilitarianism: act for max amount of good (lying to save a life)
- rule utilitarianism: create rule for max amount of good (always tell the truth for honesty)
Problems:
- subjective, good for A but not for B, one group always sacrificied for the common good
→ no reciprocal moral obligation
- only looks at sum of good, not just distribution of wealth
- does not address all values (environmental, dignity, fairness)
3) Ethics of Duties
Immanuel Kant: moral is not about consequences but duty and principles guiding actions
Central principles:
- Duty: act out of moral obligations, not self-interest or outcome
- Consistency: logically consistent, no exception for yourself
- Dignity: treat everyone as ends not means
- Universal: applies to everyone
Categorical Imperatives:
- Universal applicability: follow rules that you would vote to be universal rules
- Respect for persons: humans have values and worth → treat as ends and never as
means
Problems:
- too vague and abstract, hard to apply in everyday situations
- too rigid, leave no room for human emotions → horrible consequences
4) Rights and Justice
- everyone has a basic, important, inalienable entitlements that should be protected and
respected
- Rights-based: western political and ethical thoughts → foundation for universal human rights
- Justice: fair treatment of everyone in a situation that everyone gets what they want
Key ideas:
- Procedural fairness: fair trial, transparent decision-making
- Distributive fairness: equal resource and opportunity
