ETHICAL DECISION MAKING MODEL I INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS

ETHICAL DECISION MAKING MODEL I

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS • That’s cheating! No it’s not! • That’s wrong! No, it’s fine! • It’s just part of the game!

• “Frequently there is no critical examination nor probing of the set of beliefs, the actual basis for rendering moral judgment, used by the person making such comments. In part this is due to the paucity of attention paid to the study of ethics, generally, and to sport ethics, particularly, at all levels of schooling:

COURSE OBJECTIVES • ENCOURAGE, INSPIRE, MOTIVATE YOU TO THINK ABOUT ETHICAL DECISIONS YOU MAKE. • PROVIDE A SYSTEMATIC WAY OF MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS. • “THE MODEL” (MODEL 1)

DEFINITIONS • ETHICS – a sub-discipline of philosophy concerned with issues of right and wrong in human conduct. It is concerned with good and bad; what is authentic and not authentic; and with the notions of duty, obligation, and moral responsibility. • VALUES – Individual beliefs which motivate and guide behavior.

• NORMS – Group or societal standards or generally held criteria for acceptable conduct. • ETHICS – Objective basis upon which judgments are rendered regarding right or wrong behavior.

• MORALS – Actions, behavior, and the principles that guide them. • OFTEN USED AS SYNONYM FOR ETHICS.

ETHICAL BASES/THEORIES • DEONTOLOGY • TELEOLOGY • EXISTENSIALISM

DEONTOLOGICAL • Rule-based approach, focusing on obligation and duty, similar to the orientation found in the Bible. Since attention is directed to the act itself, this approach is non-consequentialist. • FOCUS: WHAT IS RIGHT

DEONTOLOGICAL • RULE-BASED • OBLIGATION OR DUTY • ATTENTION DIRECTED TO ACT ITSELF • FOCUS: WHAT IS RIGHT.

TELEOLOGICAL • An approach that focuses on the consequences of the action, one that conceives of ethics as concerned with measuring the amount of goodness, or badness, arising from behavior. Attention is directed towards assessing the consequences of a particular action rather than examining the act itself. • FOCUS: WHAT IS GOOD

TELEOLOGICAL • CONSEQUENCES • MEASURES AMOUNT OF GOOD OR BAD ARRISING FROM BEHAVIOR • FOCUS: WHAT IS GOOD

DISCUSSION • THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEONTOLOGICAL AND TELEOLOGICAL • SPOCK VS. KIRK

• DISCUSS EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH. • “We cannot allow theology of a few to prevent the progress of the many”

EXISTENTIAL • Attention is directed squarely on the individual. Concepts such as authenticity, which refers to how true the person is to himself or herself, integrity, and genuine-ness are factors that must be considered in judging each individual act at that particular time within the context of the unique circumstances prevailing. • FOCUS: WHAT IS AUTHENTIC

EXISTENTIALISM • • • ATTENTION ON INDIVIDUAL INTEGRITY TRUE TO SELF CONSISTENT AUTHENTIC FOCUS: WHAT IS AUTHENTIC

• EXAMPLES OF EXISTENTIALISM • DISCUSS USA OLYMPIC HOCKEY PLAYERS TRASHING DORM ROOMS. • DISCUSS VITO CORLEONE • “PIRATES CODE” • CONSISTENT UMPIRES

THE 5 STEP MODEL • PROCESS IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT • CONCLUSIONS MAY BE DIFFERENT

MODEL I • 1. OBTAIN AND CLARIFY ALL THE PERTINENT FACTS OF THE CASE OR INCIDENT. • 2. IDENTIFY AND ENUNCIATE THE ETHICAL MAXIM(S) TO BE USED. • 3. TIME • 4. IDENTIFY AND DISCUSS EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES • 5. RENDER JUDGMENT.

STEP 1: GATHERING INFORMATION • PERTINENT FACTS • EVERYONE ON SAME PAGE – OFTEN SOURCE OF CONFUSION

STEP 2: ETHICAL MAXIM • CAN USE: • DEONTOLOGY – ARE THERE ANY RULES? UNDERSTOOD RULES? • TELEOLOGY – WHAT ARE BENEFITS? WHAT ARE NEGATIVES? • EXISTENSIALISM – WAS BEHAVIOR CONSISTENT, AUTHENTIC? • More than one ethical maxim can be found to serve as the moral yardstick against which we can measure behavior. Invoking more than one ethical maxim promotes a widerranging moral discourse.

STEP 3: TIME • • • HELPS COMPLETE STEP ONE PRIOR MOTIVATION INTENTION (MURDER V. MANSLAUGHTER) DURING ESTABLISHED RULES UNWRITTEN RULES (THROWING AT THE BATTER) AFTER CONSEQUENCES (NO HARM NO FOUL)

STEP 4: SPECIAL EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES COMPLETES STEP ONE • Les Miserables • Everest Climbers • New Orleans nurses post Katrina – euthanize severe cases

STEP 5: RENDER JUDGMENT • CAN BE DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON ETHICAL BASE • NOT ALWAYS BLACK AND WHITE, OFTEN GRAY • REASONS HELP SUPPORT JUDGMENT • AT LEAST PROCESS IS USED

PRACTICE • THE CASE OF LISA LESLIE • (CASE 8. 7)