POPULAR NOTIONS OF MORALITY

WHAT AM I TO DO?

WHAT IS THE RIGHT CHOICE?
IS IT RIGHT?
IS IT
WRONG?
Contemporary Moral Trends
Might is right
Morals are mores
The individual is the measure
The human Race is the basis of right
Right is moderation
Right is what brings pleasure
Right is the greatest good for the greater number
Right is what is desirable for it's own sake
Right is indefinable
Right is what God wills



A. DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS or ETHICS OF DUTY
What one is compelled to do by reason of duty
the theory of duty or moral obligation
Ethical Systems
The most famous deontological theory was advanced by the German philosopher
Immanuel Kant.
Kant claimed that various actions are morally wrong
if they are inconsistent with the status of a person
as a free and rational being,

and that, conversely, acts that further the status of people
as free and rational beings are morally right.
Deontological Ethics
They are also sometimes
called
nonconsequentialist
since these principles
are obligatory,
irrespective of the
consequences that
might follow from our
actions.
e.g. It is wrong to not care
for our children even if it
results in some great benefit,
such as financial savings.
One of the most important implications of deontology is that
a person's BEHAVIOR can be wrong
even if it results in the best possible outcome.
And an ACT can be righteous
even if it results in a negative outcome.
deontology insists that HOW people accomplish their goals
is usually more important than WHAT people accomplish.
In contrast to CONSEQUENTIALISM, a philosophy
famous for its claim that THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS.
WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG FOR ONE PERSON IS THE SAME
FOR ANY OTHER PERSON ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
CHARACTERISTICS
UNIVERSAL
THE TEST FOR THE RIGHTNESS OF AN ACTION IS
REASON
RATIONAL
CATEGORICAL
ABSOLUTE
UNQUALIFIED
WITHOUT CONDITION
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

IMPERATIVE

any proposition
that declares a certain action or inaction
to be necessary.

HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVE

Compels action in a given circumstance
If I wish to satisfy my thirst, then I must drink something

CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

Denotes an absolute, unconditional requirement
that exerts its authority in all circumstances
It is wrong to commit murder
PRINCIPLES OF THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

Act only according to that maxim by which you can also will that it would
become a universal law.

Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own
person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but
always at the same time as an end.

Act as though you were through your maxims a law-making member of a
kingdom of ends.
ALTRUISM
is a code of ethics
which holds the welfare of others
as the standard of "good"
and self-sacrifice as the only moral action.
This leaves one with the choice between maliciously exploiting the other person or
being "moral" and offering oneself up as the sacrificial victim.
The unstated premise of the doctrine of altruism
is that all relationships among men involve sacrifice
You are taking a walk along the
neighbourhood lake and witness how two
individuals fall out of a little boat. They are
both clearly in distress and are at risk of
drowning, shouting out for your help. You
want to help but you face a hard choice: being
only a moderately good swimmer with little
experience, you guesstimate you can save one
of them but not both. You make a random
choice and swim towards one victim and pull
her out: unfortunately by the time you return
to save the other person, he has drowned.

INTRINSICISM

is the belief that VALUE
is a non-relational characteristic of an object.
This means that an object can be valuable or not, good or bad,
without reference to who it is good or bad for,
and without reference to the reason it is good or bad.
SUBJECTIVISM

The belief that values are subjective.

This means that values are
whatever we choose to pursue and whatever we desire.
It means there is no such thing as good or evil,
except what you think is good or evil.

If you believe something is evil,
that's just your own personal preference.
It is not, and cannot be, a statement about reality.
COLLECTIVISM

The concept of value requires a purpose and a beneficiary.

It requires answers to the questions
"Value to whom?" and "Value for what?"
Collectivism says value to the collective,
whether that is society, tribe, family, nation, race, sex,
or any other group or category one "belongs" to.

The standard of good is that which benefits the group
PACIFISM

the moral principle which advocates that the use of force is wrong for any
reason.

This applies to both the initiation of force, as well as defensive or
retaliatory force.
If your life is being threatened,
pacifism holds that you should not defend yourself.
If someone has stolen from you,
pacifism holds that you should not retrieve your property.
If someone has murdered other people,
pacifism holds that nothing should be done about it.
HUMANISM

Expresses renewed confidence in the power of man
to respond positively to his own problems
and so discover new things for himself
Humanism entails a commitment to the search for truth and morality
through human means in support of human interests.

In focusing on the capacity for self-determination,
humanism rejects dependence on faith,
the supernatural or divinely revealed texts.
ANARCHISM

Expresses mans freedom to express himself without repression of any
kind.

Freedom is the highest attainment of a humanity
Anarchism is centered on rejection of any form
of compulsory government and supporting its elimination

The term "anarchism" is derived from the Greek word "without
archons" or "without rulers
EXISTENTIALISM

Emphasizing action, freedom, and decision as fundamental
existentialism is opposed to rationalism and positivism. i.e.,
argues against definitions of human beings as primarily rational.
Essentialism: Life is essentially meaningful.
Existentialism: Life is not essentially meaningful; but, it
is, or can be, existentially meaningful.



Existentialists look at where people find meaning.
Existentialism asserts that people actually make decisions based on
what has meaning to them rather than what is rational.
The highest attainment of man is to find his own unique
vocation
Soren Kierkegaard
EUDAIMONISM

Comes from the Greek word eudaimonia which means happiness
Refers to any conception of ethics that puts human happiness and the
complete life of the individual at the center of ethical concern.
UTILITARIANISM

the ethical doctrine which believes that the moral worth of an action is
solely determined by its contribution to overall utility.
Utility, the good to be maximized,
whatever brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people

has been defined by various thinkers as
happiness or pleasure versus suffering or pain.
PRAGMATISM
the meaning of concepts is to be sought in their practical bearings
the function of thought is to guide action
truth is preeminently to be tested by the practical consequences of
belief
Pragmatism was
a philosophical
tradition that
originated in the
United States
around 1870. The
most important of
the classical
pragmatists were
Charles Sanders
Peirce (1839
1914), William
James (1842
1910) and John
Dewey (1859-
1952).
Ethical System
Relativism
theory, especially in
ethics or aesthetics,
that conceptions of
truth and moral values
are not absolute but
are relative to the
persons or groups
holding them.
Cultural Relativism

The concept of cultural
relativism contains the
following claims:
There is no objective truth in
morality. Right and wrong are
only matters of opinion, and
opinions vary from culture to
culture
There is no objective
standard that can be used
to judge one societal code
better than another.


ETHICAL SYSTEMS
Virtue Ethics
Happiness is achieved through the development of good
habits: intellectual (for example knowledge) and practical
action and emotion (for example courage).
Golden Mean neither excess nor deficiency.
Seeks to develop individual character. A good person will
make a good decision.
Ethical Egoism
Focuses on the pursuit of self-interest in human
conduct.
Example escape a duty to save a drowning person,
when I can easily do so, just because the drowning
person (or anyone watching) happens never to be able
to offer fruitful cooperation or retaliation.
Hedonism
What brings pleasure to an individual is good.
is the claim that all and only pleasure has worth
or value, and all and only pain has disvalue.

Ethical Systems
Determinism
Everything is caused and
determined (even human
actions and choices) by
previously existing causes that
preclude free will and the
possibility that humans could
have acted otherwise.
Fatalism
Stoicism
Theonomous Ethics: Morality
and religion go together
Divine Command
Being good is doing whatever a
sacred text tells you.
Christian Ethics
Looking at the person of Christ
as the norm of all thought and
action.
Demand not that events should happen
as you wish, but wish them to happen
as they do happen, and you will go on
well. (Epictetus)

Contemporary Moral Trends
Might is right
Relativism
Hedonism / Egoism
Collectivism
Morals are mores
Cultural Relativism
The individual is the measure
Relativism / Subjectivism
Egoism
The human Race is the basis of right
Humanism
Right is moderation
Aristotles Golden Mean or the Virtue of Ethics
Contemporary Moral Trends
Right is what brings pleasure
Hedonism / Egoism
Right is the greatest good for the greater number
Utilitarianism
Right is what is desirable for it's own sake
Deontological Ethics
Altruism
Right is indefinable
Ethical Relativism
Subjectivism
Determinism
Right is what God wills
Theonomous Ethics
References
Ismael Ireneo Maningas. Filipino Christian Morality. St. Pauls, 1998.
Karl Peschke. Christian Ethics.
Professor Dean R. Bork. Fundamentals of Ethical Systems. Lecture
Notes. http://www.lar.arch.vt.edu/Resources/courses/LAR-
3034/Notes/Ethics.html
Louis D. Whitworth. Measuring Morality: A Comparison of Ethical
Systems. Probe Ministries, 1995.
http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/measmor.html
Ethics Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2004.
What is Secular Humanism? Council for Secular Humanism. Last
updated 8/11/2004.
http://www.secularhumanism.org/intro/what.html