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Ethics

Ethics. Ethics: The two BIG questions. What is right? How do we decide? This is the bit that ToK will focus on. Does ‘good’ exist?. What arguments can you think of to support the idea that good exists? Possible arguments include:

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Ethics

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  1. Ethics

  2. Ethics: The two BIG questions • What is right? • How do we decide? • This is the bit that ToK will focus on

  3. Does ‘good’ exist? • What arguments can you think of to support the idea that good exists? • Possible arguments include: • The subjective experience of goodness • May work for you as an individual • Some individuals have no sense of good! • The recognition that personal suffering is bad, therefore to cause it in others is wrong • This is like an axiom in maths….it can’t be proved but intuitively feels right and serves as a building block on which moral frameworks can be built. • A fundamental property of the universe, established by God(s)

  4. Does Goodness Require Godness? • Review the thought experiment: ‘Good God’ • What this experiment seems to suggest is that it is possible for good to exist independently of God • Certainly the texts of the Abrahamic religions all contain some acts of brutality comitted by God or His/Her actors that are difficult to see as good or ethical

  5. It’s just us being selfish • Self-interest theory: All actions are motivated by selfish desires; we are only capable of acting out of self interest • What about giving to charity? • Pain of money loss out-weighed by warm fuzzies…and similar arguments can apply to many seemingly good things • TASK: Write a list of three things that you think can’t be explained by self interest. Pair up with someone and take turns to challenge the things on each other’s lists. (5 mins)

  6. Arguments for self-interest • TO DISCUSS: • Imagine you have a ring that makes you completely invisible (my Precioussssss), are there any things you would do when invisible that you wouldn’t do when visible? What does this say about self-interest theory? • Are you persuaded by self-interest theory? Does good exist or is it all just selfishness?

  7. Relativism • Do absolute moral standards exist? • TASK: Complete the thought experiment: ‘The Thugs’. Discuss. • This experiment suggests that relativism is flawed. • It is not difficult to imagine that there are some moral absolutes • All known societies condemn murder, rape, parent-child incest and so on • What about homosexuality, gambling, prostitution, hitting children, animal abuse?

  8. How do we decide right and wrong? • By now it seems we can probably agree: • Right and wrong exist • God is (probably) not a necessary part of the equation • There is (at least some) absolutism – it can’t all be relative • So then, who decides? We need to look at a number of different moral approaches: • Utilitarianism – the greatest food for the greatest number • Libertarianism – whatever maximises individual freedom • Immanuel Kant – Duty Ethics • John Rawls – the Veil of Ignorance

  9. Utilitarianism • ‘Good’ behaviour is about maximising utility • Utility is just a technical word for happiness • ‘The greatest happiness for the greatest number’ • Espoused by philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill • TASK: Work through the thought experiment ‘Happyville’. Discuss and then write if you have time.

  10. Libertarianism • Good is that which maximises individual freedom • Places a particular emphasis on property rights • E.g. Murder is wrong because it removes a person’s freedom to live…. • What about: • Rape • Theft • Taxation • TASK: Read and discuss the questions in the ‘Wilt Chamberlain’ thought experiment • Although Libertarianism sounds good in theory, in practice it can lead to inequality and domination of the poor and weak by the rich and powerful

  11. John Rawls (1921-2002) • The Veil of Ignorance: • Ethical decisions should be taken from the standpoint of one who does not know how they will be affected by the decision • Not so much a theory of ethics as a tool to help us evaluate ethical ideas, particularly regarding politics • TASK: Read and discuss the questions in the thought experiment ‘The Veil’

  12. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) • A reason-based approach to ethics • Duty Ethics • Ethics about fulfilling duty and obligations • For every right there is a corresponding duty • If you have the right to own property, you have a duty not to steal • TASK: • What are the corresponding duties for the following rights: • Right to life • Right to freedom • Right to free speech • Can you think of any other right/duty pairs?

  13. Deciding our duties • How do you decide upon a duty? • Can it be consistently generalised? • Is it OK to skip a traffic light if you are in a hurry? The consequences if everyone did this would be chaos! • Accordingly do we have duties to: • Tell the truth • Not to kill ourselves • Keep our promises • Special pleading • When we say ‘of course but….’ • Can you think of any times you have engaged in special pleading?

  14. The Categorical Imperative • Humans have an intrinsic dignity, to compromise that dignity is wrong thus: • Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law. • Humans are not a means to an end but an end in their own right • E.g. Prostitution is wrong – because it uses a human (the prostitute) as a means to another human’s (the punter) happiness • Can you think of any other examples of human activity that fail this ‘dignity’ test?

  15. Motives Matter • Actions should be judged on their motivation not their outcome: • A well intended action with a bad outcome is morally better than a mal-intended action with a good outcome • If a cat jumps into a pram, who deserves more praise for removing it? Someone who likes cats or someone who is afraid of them? • Who deserves more praise, a person who helps someone because they like them or someone who helps someone despite disliking them?

  16. Criticisms • Rule Worship – blindly following rules without considering context • Conflicts of Duty – who do you save from a burning building? Your grandmother or a doctor who is about to publish the cure for HIV? • Moral Coldness – takes no account of feelings

  17. Essay Title • ‘Through different methods of justification, we can reach conclusions in ethics that are as well-supported as those provided in mathematics.’ To what extent would you agree? • 800-1200 words

  18. Ethics

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