Ethics: A Brief Overview

By
Alyse Andalman
Christine Smith
Lindsay Wuller
Having Read the Trolley
Problem
Were going to take a vote!
 History
Pre-Historic
Hunter-Gatherer Behavior

Mythology
Hesiods Theogony

Pre-Socratic Texts
Heraclitus and Parmenides
Not much about Ethics
 Socrates & Plato
Euthyphro Dilemma:
Is it pious because the Gods love it?
OR
Do the Gods love it because its pious?

The Theory of the Forms

The Form of the Good
That by virtue of which all other Forms
are true qua form
ex. Beautiful (the form) v. beautiful
 Socrates & Plato

The Form Virtue

Virtue = Knowledge = Happiness
Being virtuous requires one to tend to the health of
his soul which results in happiness
Those who know the right thing to do will always
act accordingly

From the Apology:

No one knowingly harms himself or does evil
things to others because that would harm his
soul.
 Real World Application

Is it ethical to give medications to people

who do not have a disease?
Enhancement?
 Socrates & Plato

Assumptions and Premises:

The soul is immortal.
The body is not immortal.
THEREFORE, the soul does not permanently
reside in one particular body.
Parallel to The Matrix : The soul is placed in the
body at the moment of birth and leaves the body at
the moment of death, only to be inserted into
another body
 Aristotle
Terms:
Ergon: function
Arete: skill (that allows it to function well)
Telos: purpose or ultimate end/goal

Example: A knife
Ergon- to cut
Arete- its sharp edge
Telos- to cut steak with clean edges
 Aristotle
Per his knowledge of biology, Aristotle
believed in the following, as regards living
things:
3 Degrees of Souls
Nutritive plants
Sensitive animals
Rational humans
The purpose of life is the pursuit of
eudaimonia.
Overall happiness, fulfillment, flourishing, doing
well, living to your highest potention
PLEASURE IS NOT AN END IN ITSELF!
 Aristotle
Human Soul:
Ergon: To live
Arete: Justice
Telos: Eudaimonia

According to Aristotle, the just live well and

are happy, but happiness is not the
purpose of life, as later theories might
conclude.
 Aristotle
In summary, his ethical framework consists
of two main principles:

1. Humans must live a life consisting of acting

well according to our natural human
capacities.

2. Doctrine of the Mean:

Individuals must act appropriately rational AND
emotional in a given situation.
AVOID THE EXTREMES!
 Real World Application
Teaser for next class

If animals have a different purpose from

humans, does this change the rules for
research?
 Real World Application

What does Aristotle consider a full human?

How does this impact the way we view
those with mental illness?
Major Ethical Frameworks

Consequentialism

Kantianism

Virtue Ethics
 Comparing Ethical
Frameworks
Consistency
Clarity
Completeness
Simplicity
 Consequentialism
Main Proponents:
Jeremy Bentham
John Stuart Mill

The ends justify the means.

Alls well that ends well.
 Consequentialism
Basic Tenets:
-The moral worth of an action is to be
judged by its consequences or utility;
intentions do not matter.

-Utilitarianism: The act which is right is the

one that provides for the greatest good for
the greatest numberthe maximization of
pleasure and the minimization of pain.
 Consequentialism
Greatest Happiness Principle: Act so as to
achieve the greatest happiness for the
greatest number

Problems: How do we calculate happiness?

Is utilitarian calculus inherently flawed?
Can we know the exact consequences of an
action beforehand?
 Consequentialism
Act Consequentialism:
-Act by act evaluation of what would
provide for the greatest good for the
greatest number (Situational)

Rule Consequentialism:
-There is a given set of rules governing
behavior which maximizes the greatest
good for the greatest number.

Problems with these?

 Consequentialism
Ethical Egoism:
-The well-being of an individual has more
weight than the happiness of society as a
whole.

Ethical Altruism:
-When performing the utilitarian calculus,
you must consider all individuals well-
being equally and always give to others
whenever possible as long as that
provides for the greatest amount of
pleasure.
 Kantian Deontology
Main idea:
The only thing which is good without
conditions is good will or rationality.

*If a person with good will cannot

bring about good consequences, the
individual is still acting morally.
(non-consequentialist)
 Kantian Deontology
According to Kant, we have basic duties
that he describes in ethical rules he calls
formulations.

The First Formulation:

-An individual ought never to act except in
such a way that he could also will that his
maxim become a universal law.
Will means to rationally desire
Sustainability & Universalizability
Real World Application
Suicide
-You cannot rationally will suicide
upon yourself because rationality/the
will desires to preserve itself.
 Kantian Deontology
The Second Formulation:
-We ought to treat human beings
always as ends in themselves, never
merely as means to another end.
-e.g. Trolley Problem and the Fat
Man
 Real World Application
Savior Siblings
-My Sisters Keeper
 W.D. Ross
Prima facie duties
- Other things being equal
- On its first appearance
- e.g. lying
- not absolute
 Virtue Ethics
We ought to act in accordance with
virtue.
Based on rules which govern how we
should act in any given situation
Ex. Aristotles ethical framework

The question remains

Who decides what is virtuous?
Who decides the rules?
 Modern Divide
Cognitivism: Ethical statements express
propositions that are truth-apt (meaning
they can either be true or false)

versus

Non-cognitivism: Ethical statements are

not truth-apt, suggesting that moral
propositions reduce to Boo! or Hooray!
or the expression of an emotion but NOT
something objective in the world.
 Moral Relativism
Different Levels
Between societies
Between members of the same society
or group
Within the same person (intrapersonal)
 Real World Example
Eskimo/Inuit babies
 Trolley Problem
Judith Jarvis Thomson
Do you still believe that you
make decisions based off of
the same ethical framework
as when we started this
presentation?

Why or why not?