Ethics and Morality March 14, 2013 Part B

1. Engineering Character “The real cycle you’re working on is a cycle called yourself” ZAMM “A man not at peace with himself will not be at peace with others.” “Assembly of Japanese bicycle takes great peace of mind” ZAMM “Whatever happened to peace on earth?” Willie Nelson “On doing the right thing” “Be a role model and expect role models” “If you tell the truth you will not have to remember what you said” “Character is destiny” “All good teachers of ethics come to remind more than to instruct” Ethics and Morality March 14, 2013 Part B

2. Roadmap to this sequence of classes: • Why, examples of bad ethical behavior • Truth and -Isms • On going astray • Definition of ethics and morals • Moral conscience • Aristotle’s ethics & happiness • Virtue • Human actions • On ignorance • Morality of human actions (object, intention, circumstances) • situation ethics, utilitarianism, consequentialism, proportionalism • Principles for evaluating human actions • Wrap-up & NSPE quiz • Gilbane gold video • Dilbert ethics game • Two Ethics essays

3. Character Check. What behaviors did you use during the past week? • Mutual Respect • Peaceful • Non-threatening • Trustworthy • Show respect • Problem solver • Respect others stuff • Accountable for actions • Respect other’s needs • Abusive Behaviors • Trying to get your own way • Physical towards another • Violating someone’s trust • Emotional abuse • Threats and intimidation • Destruction of property • Denying, justifying, minimizing, • blaming • 8. Making unreasonable demands

4. What is ethics or being ethical? Ethics – comes from the Gk word ethikos or ethos which is the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society; a body of moral principles or values; pertaining or dealing with morals or the principles of morality, that is right and wrong conduct or practice, the standards of a profession, also making sense of the way we make sense of our lives. How should I live? What am I to do? i.e Oughtness Morality – conformity to the rules of right conduct; moral or virtuous conduct, also our character Where does ethics or morality come from? - family, your faith or religion, your community, your education, your culture, your nationality, your history, experiences, your nature as a well-adjusted human being So what we are really talking about in ethics is being moral and doing the right thing as guided by right reason. There is right and wrong.

5. To understand what man is to do with his freedom we have to first understand who and what man is. Social nature of man – man has a natural tendency to live with others in an organized society to develop socially, morally, economically, intellectually, culturally, physically, and spiritually, both as an individual and as a group. Socialization – the natural human tendency to associate with one another for the sake of attaining objectives that exceed our own human capacities, basically we need each other !This creates our character, since character means we depend on each other and have to interact with each other. Our human actions and interactions define our character. What are the guiding principles?

6. 4 Foundational Principles Underlie Man’s Character in Society 1) Principle of Personalism or of Human Rights – means that all right thinking about society – in its cultural, political, and economic aspects – begins with the inalienable dignity and value of the human person. I am somebody! Somebodyness In other words, right thinking about society does not begin with the State, the Party, the Tribe, the ethnic group, or the gender group. It begins with the individual human person. Society and its legal expression, i.e. the State, should always be understood to be in service to the integral development of the human person. The State, in particular, has an obligation to defend basic human rights, which are “built into” us by reason of our very humanity. (from Logos 6:2 Spring 2003) If justice (giving the other their due) has been abolished, what is empire but a fancy name for larceny (taking of the personal goods of another) (Augustine)

7. 4 Foundational Principles of Society 2) Common good – sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups, family, or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily, i.e. we look out for one another, you are your brother’s keeper. Each of us should contribute to the best of our abilities to the general well-being of society and not just be concerned with our own personal gain. preferential option for the poor – sees the duty to give priority to helping those most needful, opposes greed, the heart is happiest when it beats for others

8. 4 Foundational Principles of Society Wings 3) Principle of subsidiarity – I am somebody! A community of a higher order – such as the government - should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order – such as the family (basic cell of society, a school of deeper humanity.), but rather should support it in case of need and help coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view towards the common good. Guards against treating humans as a means to an end or as a tool as in the idea of collectivism or communism for example, protects human dignity and recognizes that humans have certain rights. Basically that decision making in society should be left at the lowest possible level in accordance with the common good. Gives us our wings to be all that we can be.

9. 4 Foundational Principles of Society Roots 4) Principle of solidarity – Togetherness, humans have mutual actions and relations, as a society work together for the common good, guards against individualism. Recognizes that for a society to function we have duties and obligations. Our interaction with others cannot simply be on the basis of a contract or legal arrangement. There must be a civic friendship, a mutual participation in a great common enterprise, defend one another’s rights and the pursuit of the common good. Basically the sharing of both material and spiritual goods. Gives us our roots in terms of our common humanity.

10. Individualism – political and social arrangement that places inordinate emphasis on individual rights to the detriment of the common good, works against togetherness or the principle of solidarity. Collectivism – political and social order by which a social organ of a higher order (such as government) usurps and/or violates the freedom and rights of individual persons and/or social organs of a lower order such as the family. Basically the political principle of centralized social and economic control, especially of all means of production. Does not see the dignity inherent in the human being, man is just an object or a tool, and works against the principle of subsidiarity. Socialism is similar but advocates ownership and control by the community as a whole. Fascism favors a dictator and an aggressive form of nationalism and often racism. I am somebody !

11. Human Rights and Duties Human rights are for the purpose of human responsibility and excellence, somebodyness. Human rights are the necessary condition for human socialization, but by themselves do not and cannot constitute the sufficient condition for human socialization. A human society that emphasizes human rights without a call for devotion to the common good, i.e. duties would be a society in danger of excessive individualism which violates the principle of solidarity or of togetherness. A human society that emphasizes human duties without attention to the respect owed to human persons, i.e . human dignity, to the family, and to intermediate levels of organization, or the right to organize as professional groups and unions, would be a society in danger of collectivism and this would violate the principle of subsidiarity or somebodyness.

12. Natural Law Natural law is the law of right and wrong that can be known by all of us. Some say it is written in our hearts or is part of our human nature. Ability to govern ourselves and discern by our reason the good and the evil, the difference between a truth and a lie. Means that we are to do the good and avoid evil. There is right and wrong. That we are all capable of knowing right from wrong. But for some it will take time to develop and form a right conscience. Serves as the foundation of our Civil Law.

13. Our Natural Inclinations are the Basis of Law, Both Natural Law and Civil Law • For us to have a society there needs • to be laws, rules, and regulations and • these laws reflect man’s specific natural • inclinations to 4 specific goods. • self-preservation • To live in society • To live in a family and have kids • To pursue goodness, to seek and • to know the truth, and appreciate • beauty Man therefore because of his intelligence/reason and free will governs society in accordance with laws that are in harmony with his natural inclinations for these specific goods and for the common good of society.

14. Conscience recognizes that this law that derives from our human nature leads us to a habit of mind by which we know this law and we engage in activities knowingly and freely making choices that hopefully are in accordance with that law. Conscience is the witness to your actions. Conscience is compromised when we choose to ignore this inner voice that tells us what is true and good. Ted Mosby’s mom says nothing good occurs after 2 AM.

15. Moral Conscience Because of our nature as human beings we have ingrained into our being a moral conscience, an interior voice or witness to our human actions, of practical reason that allows us to evaluate the moral quality of our human actions. A well-formed moral conscience moves a person to do the good and to avoid what is wrong. Moral conscience also allows one to accept responsibility for one’s own actions, hence the consequences. A well-formed conscience is our responsibility and formulates its judgments according to the rule of reason in conformity with the common good. We have the right to exercise our moral conscience and to make moral decisions and we must not be forced into actions that are contrary to our conscience or be prevented from acting according to our conscience, the idea of a bound conscience must be respected.

16. What have you done? Some Definitions: right conscience – we feel guilty when we are guilty lax conscience – we do not feel guilty when we really are guilty scrupulous conscience – we feel guilty when we are not guilty

17. What to do with your freedom? • Freedom comes in • two basic flavors: • Freedom of indifference: • the ability at any moment • to choose between contraries • 2. Freedom for excellence: a persistent • habit to do the good and to improve oneself, i.e. virtues • Peter Drucker in his book Innovation and Entrepreneurship • (p206) says “It is old wisdom that there is no freedom • except under the law. Freedom without law is license, • which soon degenerates into anarchy, and shortly • thereafter into tyranny.”

18. Indifferentism Indifference is the notion that one can at any moment freely choose between contraries. No connection with the past or the future. Morality is just concerned with the present situation. Basically the will rules over reason, reason just presents the rules and the laws as obligations to be met and the will can choose to ignore these if it desires. This leads to more of the idea of an immediate gratification/happiness in the moment. One is free to even choose the bad assuming one will not be caught or if one believes the end justifies the means or just sees any rule limiting one’s freedom. . Anything that limits one’s freedom is considered to be an impediment. The will trumps reason leading to questionable loyalty and even a moral relativism or situational ethics, i.e. case-based (casuistry). You are in control tending even towards individualism with the view that things like virtue and the common good are just limits to one’s freedom to choose. It is even ok to be wrong. Also no objective truths either. In the end it is all about ME ME ME.

19. Freedom for Excellence Path of Life Indifference vs. Excellence Oriented to a teleos, or a final or ultimate end as one’s happiness. For Aristotle in his N. Ethics this is achieved by virtue and the contemplation on the highest good. By focusing on some ultimate good one achieves a true freedom or an excellence of character. Basically one develops their character in a progressive manner over time which is also the idea of virtue. This requires time and effort, i.e. a firm habit or disposition to improve oneself and to do the good. The rest of your life will be a series of challenges and struggles as you sort out which of these paths you will follow (indifference or excellence), or will be about how you deal with those that get lost along the way.

20. Character is a Freedom for Excellence: On Living a Life of Virtue One who refuses to be better is certainly less good; as soon as you refuse to become better, you cease to be good. (Bernard of Clairvaux) Man being an imperfect being struggles within himself to do the right thing. It is part of our nature to have irregular desires. Only by practicing the virtues can we overcome these limitations and develop our character.

21. Choices and Consequences We can fulfill our nature as humans by our free choices and the principles that guide us in these choices is our ethics or morality. However, our choices will have Consequences Once we hit the age of reason, which is about 7 years of age, we can usually make a distinction between what is right and what is wrong.

22. Temptation, Seduction, Deception, Addiction As adults we can usually discern what is right and what is wrong, however we may be unwilling to pay the price for doing the right thing. The language of right and wrong follows along with: temptation – is an attraction usually of pleasure, either from within or from outside of ourselves to act contrary to right reason, from the pressure to conform or go along with, or get away with something seduction – to lead one away from the right thing, entice into having ...?., clouds one’s ability to think clearly and to make the right choices deception – makes one think they are doing the right thing addiction – substituting something to fill our loneliness or emptiness, soma

23. Temptations and Dilemmas An ethical temptation is when we knowingly choose the wrong thing. Examples ???, lie, cheat, steal, take drugs, adultery. Usually no grey area here. An ethical dilemma is more subtle and involves choosing between what seems to be two goods.

24. Well, maybe just this once Let’s keep this under our hats We’d better look the other way No one will ever know Whew, we dodged that bullet Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know Now I have this friend No one’s going to get hurt Everybody does it They had it coming They’ll never miss it What’s in it for me Language of Ethical Problems

25. Aristotle and Ethics The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322BC) provided the foundations for the basis of our understanding the moral life. Aristotle in his book the Nichomachean Ethics says that man is a rational animal since he uses his mind and his five senses. Therefore morality is something that is concrete and not abstract. What matters is acting in a good way and not just knowing what is good. But Aristotle also recognized the weakness in the human will and our propensity to do the wrong thing.

26. Goals – are defined as the ends Means – are defined as the ways of reaching the goals Building a house is a goal, hiring the contractor is the means. Building the house could also be the means to a further goal, such as selling it for a profit. Aristotle says that the process of establishing goals or ends cannot go on forever. But there is an ultimate goal to life which is the underlying motivation to every thing that we do. For example, we build a house to turn a profit, to obtain funds to go to Cancun so we can relax and retire. In short we build the house to make us happy. Happiness no matter how you look at it is the ultimate goal or end of living as a human being. Without an ultimate goal or an end there is nothing to motivate our actions. The end or goal of human life is what fulfills us, makes us happy, and what is good for us. Hence the “good” has the character of an end. The good then is what we desire, and all things aim at some good (NE I.1).

27. We can define 3 types of good according to Aristotle: • realgood (human needs) versus • apparent good (human wants) • Or goods that we can possess: • 2. external goods (wealth or things), • bodily goods (health), and spiritual goods • (intellect, knowledge, and morality, which perfect • us as humans and allow us to live in the truth • and goodness) • 3. metaphysicalgood (seeks to explain the • nature of being and reality; has all that it • needs to act according to its nature, • a car is good when it runs) versus • moral good (helps us to attain our ultimate • goal of happiness, converse is morally • bad if it takes us off that road to happiness)

28. Happiness Happens When we think about our ultimate destiny as humans, what we are thinking about according to Aristotle is happiness. Obtaining our goal of happiness is a practical good, since it is something we want to do and enjoy, not just know about. By studying ethics and morality we come to know in what our happiness consists, what the real goal of life is, and also how to get there, that is without getting yourself into trouble! By being good we are happy !

29. We should seek to want only what we need and not want things to excess, happiness comes from a proper balance between wants and needs. Do not let your possessions and power possess you or go to your head.

30. Character and Happiness Comes from Practicing the Virtues Virtue – is the habit and firm disposition to do the good, perfections of our intellect and our will that govern our actions and that guide our conduct according to right reason, an excellence (arete) or a quality or perfection that makes a thing function well. Applies to both metaphysical and moral levels of goodness, for example an excellent knife cuts well; an excellent person reasons and acts well, can be great or excellent at sports or play the violin, a competent engineer, or just a good person; all of these are acquired by human effort ; remember that to hit the target it takes effort, missing the target is easy to do.

31. There are two types of virtue according • to Aristotle: • intellectual virtues – perfections of • the mind such as from science and • technology, all of what we know, • also from experience, our need to know • 2. moral virtues – help us to reach • excellence or function well as human • beings through guiding our actions and • our emotions towards the good, Note that moral vices take us away from the pursuit of the good even though they may provide us with momentary pleasure of some kind.

32. Emotions are morally neutral and need to be educated and trained by virtue. If not trained and guided our emotions can easily become captives to one or more of what are known as the seven deadly or capital vices or sins. The thing about these vices is that they deceive us into thinking them as virtues that lead us to happiness, instead they lead us into even worst behaviors. PrideAvariceLustEnvyGluttonyAngerSloth (wrath) (avarice, greed) (acedia)

33. Or anger, is a mixture of sadness and hatred for what is true, a distortion of the spirited emotion of anger. Excessive preoccupation with our bodies as in physical fitness or beauty, excessive eating/drinking. Sadness at the sight of another’s goods and successes and the desire to acquire them for oneself, even unjustly. Also seen today as a moral relativism that denies the goodness of others. Respecting oneself or others for the wrong reasons. A high opinion of oneself that is not justified. To much self-esteem. Excessive desire to control persons, places, or things. Against the ideal of generosity. Also known as avarice or covetousness. Hoarding wealth. Also acedia, a laziness or focus on the wrong things (workaholic) , boredom, carelessness, takes one away from what they ought to be doing. To see others as objects for our own pleasure. The objectification of others.

34. Aristotle in NE says that “virtue is a mean in the sense that it aims at the median… We may thus conclude that virtue or excellence is a characteristic involving choice, and that it consists in observing the mean relative to us… the mean by reference to two vices: the one of excess and the other of deficiency… virtue finds and chooses the median… not every action… admits of a mean… eg. spite, shamelessness, envy, adultery, theft, murder… are bad… impossible ever to do right in performing them: to perform them is always to do wrong… in general there is no such thing as the mean of an excess or of a deficiency.” Deficiency/vice Mean Excess/vice Virtue

35. Mean of virtue is like a beautiful painting, nothing more is added, nothing more is removed. deficiency excess Timid Courage Reckless Courage does not stand at the precise center of these two extremes nor is it the same for all people or circumstances. Virtue is learned through habit and not by reason alone. Right conduct consists of some sort of mean between the extremes of excess and deficiency. For Aristotle the virtuous person is naturally inclined to choose the correct behavior in any situation without appealing to rules or maxims. Character

36. petty

37. The Cardinal Virtues are what all other virtues “hinge” on Prudence – disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every situation and to choose the right means of achieving it, right reason in action, with the help of this virtue we apply moral principles or moral virtues without error and with confidence that we are doing the right thing Justice – disposes one to respect the rights of others and to promote harmonious relationships giving equity with regard to others and working for the common good, give others their due Fortitude – ensures firmness in difficulties and perseverance in the pursuit of the good, strengthens one to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life Temperance – moderates the attraction to the seeking of pleasure and balances the wants and needs in terms of created goods, maintains a healthy discretion, controls the impulses (i.e. don’t complain don’t explain, keep your private thoughts private, especially at work)

38. So at this point it should be apparent that happiness and virtue are related. • But many people identify happiness with the life of pleasure, the life of honor, • or the life of wealth. Or the pursuit of Power, Possessions, and Pride. The • blind pursuit of these is what knowingly or unknowingly causes problems (vices). • But this cannot be the ultimate happiness since they can be taken away • or they actually make someone else feel better, so prosperity or power or • success in and of itself will not lead to happiness. The wanton pursuit of these • can lead one into trouble since the end does not justify the means. • Aristotle saw happiness in the life of moral and intellectual perfection, • happiness is therefore something inside of us, in our hearts or our soul, an • interior activity, not the life of just being busy or distracted by the pleasures and • constant wants of the material world. Not a life where the end justifies the means. • Aristotle lists two criteria that help us then define what happiness is • (NE I.7): • It must be final, not a means to something else like buying a house • 2. self-sufficient, taken on its own it makes life worthwhile – no single good • or thing like wealth or power or pleasure or pride or stuff could fit this bill, • Success may be getting what YOU want but more • importantly WANTING what you get.

39. Aristotle then defines happiness as follows … Happiness is an activity of the soul in conformity with virtue, and if there are several virtues, then in conformity with the best and most complete. Aristotle’s term for this type of happiness is eudaimonia; a “good or true spirit” translated as being in a state of “happiness”, or “flourishing”, or even a “soulful success.” Eudaimonia is not passive or a fleeting emotional state like being happy after a good movie nor is it an innate quality like the color of your eyes or hair, nor a matter of luck like winning the lottery. It is just not having virtues but actually exercising them, an activity of the soul at the highest levels of excellence and perfection. A happiness that is attained by our own efforts. Eudaimonia is an activity practiced in a complete life of being involving both reason and the moral and intellectual virtues; having a good character. This state of eudaimonia will direct your life and keep you out of trouble. So what is the ultimate goal or happiness that Aristotle is talking about?

40. Aristotle says that the ultimate goal is contemplation of the highest good, something performed by our “highest power” exercised on the “highest object.” Interestingly Aristotle never says what the highest good is: fill in the blank No need for external goods for this activity, final and self-sufficient, by nature man desires to know and this is achieved by contemplation on the highest good. Kant said there are three questions: What can I know? What can I do? What can I hope for? Conforms with the highest virtue, the virtue of the best part of man which is our intelligence, that the activity of our intelligence (the knowing) for the highest good constitutes the complete happiness of man (the eudaimonia) and orders man’s activities (the doing) and gives him happiness (the hope). By using our intelligence and the focus of an intellectual life based on reason and contemplation we can exercise our moral virtues as well and stay out of trouble. Sort of like an inner peace or the moral conscience that we talked about earlier. The good is then our excellence and happiness beyond all consideration of just utility or pleasure, that is virtue.