Introduction to Ethics Theories of right and wrong

Introduction to Ethics Theories of right and wrong Dan Turton Victoria University of Wellington 1

Teaser Questions Do you generally know (morally) right from wrong? n When you disagree with people about a moral issue – what are you really disagreeing about? n Are you ever unsure if an act is morally wrong or not? n 2

Morality vs. Ethics What is the difference? n Some important questions related to ethics n – Why do we think certain acts are right/wrong? – Why be moral? – What makes an action morally right or wrong? 3

The Key Question for Moral Theories Q 1: What makes right acts right and wrong acts wrong? (A theory’s answer = its moral criterion) Terminology ‘Wrong’ = Morally Forbidden ‘Right’ = Narrow: Morally Obligatory = Wide: Morally Permissible (includes should do and can do) 4

Example: Pushing In Is pushing in generally wrong? What makes pushing in wrong? Is pushing in ever morally permissible? What can make it (morally) OK? 5

Moral Theories n Not-so-good moral theories n Better moral theories 6

Divine Command Theory Right acts are right because… They are the actions that God commands we perform Problem: The Euthyphro Dilemma… 7

The Euthyphro Dilemma Either (1) The act is right only because God commanded that we do it Or (2) God commanded that we do it because the act is right for independent reasons (1)= morality and God’s commands are arbitrary (2)= abandon Divine Command Theory 8

The Law Wrong acts are wrong because… They break the law Problem: Do we always feel like we have done something morally wrong when we break the law? 9

Cultural Relativism Right acts are right because… your culture approves of them Four Problems: 1. Can’t criticize other cultures 2. Can’t criticize your own culture 3. No moral progress 4. It’s just not how we decide in the hard cases 10

The Golden Rule Right acts are right because… they are the ones you would want done to you Problems: 1. People like different things (e. g. Masochists) 2. Is it how we decide in the hard cases? 11

Utilitarianism n Type of consequentialism n What makes right acts right? n Utility is: – The right act is the one that, out of all of the alternatives, is most likely to maximize the overall utility – happiness / the absence of suffering, or – preference-satisfaction / not dissatisfaction 12

An Example: Euthanasia n Assess the options: – 1) Leave them in pain – 2) Help them to die 1 results in less net happiness than 2 n Therefore, Utilitarianism asserts that 2 is the right choice n 13

Kantianism n Type of deontological view n What makes right acts right? – An act is right if its maxim treats humanity as an end in itself and not merely as a means n Maxims are: – Like policies – What you intend to do in certain situations 14

An Example: Slavery n Assess the options: – 1) Endorse slavery – 2) Repeal slavery n n 1 results in rational beings being used as a mere means to the slave-owners ends Therefore, kantianism asserts that 2 is the right choice 15

Break n Think about the better theories… n Can you see problems with them? 16

Problems with the Better Theories… What do you think? 17

The Tram Dilemma n n An out of control tram will soon kill 5 people who are stuck on the track. You can flick a switch to divert the tram to another track where only one person is stuck. Should you flip the switch? Should you kill one person to save five? SWITCH 18

The Surgeon’s Dilemma n n You are a surgeon with six patients. Five of them need major organ transplants. The sixth, an ideal donor for all the relevant organs, is in hospital for a minor operation. Should you kill one person to save five? 19

Jungle Dilemma n n You are trekking alone in the Amazon. You discover an evil army officer and his troops rounding up villagers. Unless you kill one, the troops will kill six. Should you kill one person to save five? 20

Jungle Dilemma Cont. What if there are 2 villagers? n What if there are 100 villagers? n n Can you ever kill one innocent person to save many? 21

Summing Up At least two moral theories seem plausible… n But they disagree sometimes n So, they can’t both be right all of the time! n n Is there a right and wrong in such situations? 22

Summing Up Cont. n n Are some acts just right or wrong (without explanation)? What about killing innocent children? – Innuits do it (for a reason) n What about torturing innocents? – The US does this (for a reason) 23

The Meaning of Life and the Good Life Dan Turton Victoria University of Wellington 24

Teaser Questions n Why are we here? n What makes life worth living? n What is the meaning of life? 25

Clarifying the Question n What do we really mean when we ask: – ‘What is the meaning of life? ’ n Probably not: – ‘What does it mean to be alive? ’ n Probably: – ‘What, if anything, is the purpose for life? ’ n And possibly: – ‘What, if anything, could make a life meaningful? ’ 26

Purposes for Life ‘What, if anything, is the purpose for life? ’ n Religious purposes n Non-religious purposes n – Survival and reproduction – Selfish purposes – Moral purposes n There is no purpose 27

Meaning in Life ‘What, if anything, could make a life meaningful? ’ n Supernaturalism n Naturalism n – Subjective Naturalism – Objective Naturalism n Nihilism 28

Meaning vs. Goodness n ‘What, if anything, could make a life meaningful? ’ n But is that the most interesting question? n Does a life have to be meaningful to be good? n Would you rather your life be good or meaningful? 29

The Good Life n ‘What, if anything, makes a life good? ’ n What kind of ‘good life’? – A good example of a life – Aesthetically good – Causally good – Morally good – Subjectively good 30

What Theories of Well. Being Do Describes the ultimate cause(s) of a life being good for the one living it n Describes what intrinsically makes someone’s life go well n Reduces all instrumentally lifeimproving things down to one or more type of ultimately valuable thing n 31

Break n Think about well-being (the subjectively good life)… n What do you think makes a life good for the one living it? 32

Theories of Well-Being n Mental state accounts – E. g. hedonism n Desire-satisfaction accounts – E. g. informed preference-satisfaction n Objective list accounts – E. g. perfectionism 33

Making an Objective List What things intrinsically make a life go well for the one living it? n Now check that those things are intrinsically valuable n – By asking why they make someone’s life go better for them n What are we left with? 34

Is Pleasure the Only Thing of Value? n n Compare the lives of two men Similarities: – Both lived long lives, in which they have experienced equal pleasures from the same sources – Sources: being loved by their family and friends, achieving at work and in hobbies etc. n Differences: – One of them is mistaken about all of the things he takes pleasure in – The other is not n Whose life is better? 35

Is Informed Preference. Satisfaction the Only Thing of Value? n Compare the lives of two very intelligent women Similarities: n Differences: n Whose life is better? n – Up to the age of 25, both women led practically identical lives – Throughout their whole lives they always made fully informed decisions – Both learned everything to know about Heroin – At age 25, one of them tried Heroin, became addicted and went on to live a short life of much suffering – The other did not try Heroin and went on to live a normal life 36

Is Ideal Preference-Satisfaction the Only Thing of Value? n What makes a preference ideal? n Unless we remain very abstract about what is ideal, then we appear to be making another objective list n Is it important (for our well-being) to get what we want? 37

Summing Up n The ‘meaning of life’ is easy to work out for religious people n But non-religious people can still find meaning for their life by: – Making their own meaning in their life, or – Having a good life 38

Summing Up Cont. n Understanding what is fundamentally important in our lives is important for ethics n These intrinsically valuable things should be at least considered when doing ethics n An moral theory that ignores what gives our lives meaning and/or makes them good will be a poor moral theory 39

The Morality of Meddling with Human Life n What should we want most for our children? n What, if anything, is morally bad about unnatural processes? n Is it more loving to accept a child exactly as they are or to encourage them to alter their lives for their own benefit? 40

Meddling with Human Life n Meddling = interfering where we shouldn’t – Making human life – Modifying human life 41

Technologies for Making Life IVF – In Vitro Fertilisation n PGD – Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis n SCNT – Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer n Artificial wombs n 42

Technologies for Modifying Life Beware the fallacy of Genetic Determinism! n PGD n – Choosing (genetic dispositions for) specific characteristics n IVF with GE (Genetic Engineering) – Creating (genetic dispositions for) specific characteristics 43

Should We be Using These Technologies to Enhance Our Children? n Isolating the important moral issue – Imagine the technology is: n Safe, n Effective, n Widely accessible, and n Cheap 44

Should We be Using These Technologies to Enhance Our Children? Cont. n Types of enhancements or ‘goods’ – Relative goods n Height – Absolute goods n Happiness, intelligence n Note continuum – Irrelevant goods n Hair colour, eye colour n (Maybe) Deafness, sexuality 45

2 Reasons for Allowing Enhancement n Procreative Liberty – ‘The freedom to decide whether or not to have offspring and to control the use of one’s reproductive capacity. ’ n Moral analogy with educating our children – Would you send your children to a school that guaranteed the best physical, intellectual and emotional education? 46

Break n Think about how you might object to all or certain types of enhancement n To object to the moral analogy with education, you need to show that there is a morally relevant difference between enhancement by technology and enhancement by education 47

Objections Against All Enhancement n n n n Wisdom of repugnance (Yuck!) Rights of the child (which one? ) Rights of the child to object (not a difference e. g. with nutrition) Slippery slope to babies with wings Brave New World (who will clean the toilets? ) All goods are relative (so enhancements don’t improve things overall) Too much ‘transforming love’ and not enough ‘accepting love’ 48

Objections Against Some Enhancements n Ban enhancements of some types of ‘goods’ – Relative, Absolute, or Irrelevant goods n Ban enhancements that decrease the autonomy of the child – Deafness, GE for mathematics 49

Some Practical Reasons Against Enhancement n Can the technology ever really be: – Safe? , – Effective? , – Widely accessible? , and – Cheap? 50

Summing Up n As technology progresses, we need to know if we should be doing some of the things that we can do, or soon will be able to do n Can be hard to draw the line n Moral analogies can be hard to argue with 51

A Practical Guide to Ethical Living Dan Turton Victoria University of Wellington 52

Plan for Today Morality really up for grabs! n 1) Why be moral? n 2) Combine what we have learnt so far n 3) Construct a prudential/moral grid n 4) Fill it in 53

Teaser Scenario n Based on Plato’s Ring of Gygees n You have a ring that means you: – Can do pretty much anything you please – Never feel guilt – Always get away with it n Would you act morally or immorally? 54

What Ought We Do? n Two main types of ought or should n Moral oughts – You should be nice to your grandpa because that is the right/nice thing to do n Prudential oughts: – You should not drink from that bottle – it has petrol in it! 55

Definitions (for today) n Immoral actions: – Decrease the well-being of others unnecessarily (without some compensating benefit) n Moral actions: – Increase the well-being of others n Amoral actions: – Do not affect the well-being of others 56

Reasons for Acting Immorally n Prudential reasons: – $$$$ – Feeling good/pleasure – Fulfilling your desires 57

Reasons for Acting Morally n Altruistic reasons: – Because it is good for others n Prudential reasons: – – – n Respect and/or friendship of others $$$$ Feeling good/pleasure Fulfilling your desires Fear of going to hell Duty 58

Prudential Acts Prudential acts increase the well-being of the actor n Anti-prudential acts decrease the wellbeing of the actor n Some acts are prudentially neutral n – E. g. spending $5 for an average icecream when you are already full 59

Prudential vs. Moral Acts All actions can be prudentially and morally classified or rated if we have a good enough definition of n Well-being (for prudential acts) and n Morality (for moral acts) n – Some think objective well-being is enough here 60

Prudential vs. Moral Acts n We can also make a grid n Useful for a practical guide to ethical living n Being moral can be over-demanding 61

More Definitions (for today) n Rationality, or acting rationally n Acting in such a way as to bring about your goal in a logical manner, considering the information available to you 62

Discuss Grid n How Well-being/morality fits in n Why the subjective/objective distinction is important n Why some actions might be irrational 63

Discuss Grid (Cont. ) n n n Public goods problem Why should we be the ones to sacrifice, while others benefit? E. g. Public transport 64

Break n Think about how you interpret the grid – What well-being means to you – Where you might be on the grid n Think about actions that are both prudential and moral (ideal) that some other people might not be aware of 65

Filling in the grid Come up with an idea n Evaluate costs and benefits to yourself and others n Is it the most rational option? n 66

Example Light Bulbs n Kit out your home with Eco-bulbs Costs/benefits to you: n Costs/benefits to others: n Other options: n – Cost $30 -$50 – Saving approx $200 per year (big home) – May be cheaper to replace old-style bulbs before they expire – Environmental benefits – Candles – Carrots 67

Your Turn Come up with an idea n Evaluate costs and benefits to yourself and others n Is it the most rational option? n 68

Some ‘Ideal’ Examples n Environmental: – Kettle water rationing – Water garden in evening – Use biodegradable soaps etc – Recycling (1 can = 3 hours of TV) – Buying secondhand – Brew your own beer – Compost (50% of household waste) 69

More ‘Ideal’ Examples n Charity street collectors – $2 to make yourself and others happy n Spending quality time – With loved ones n The power of honest compliments – Start your own compliment chains n Offering to help others – Go about it in the right way – Don’t be embarrassed 70

Some ‘Moral’ Examples n Donating money and/or getting involved with one charity – Helps you see the difference you are making – You don’t have to feel bad when you don’t give n Car pooling – www. carpoolnz. org – The risk makes it hard to know the cost benefit to you n n n Reporting things to council Vaccines Conscious consumption – Depends on the cost but its worth trying! 71

How to Make the Most of Moral Acts n n n Acknowledge that you have done a good thing to yourself Consciously consider the benefits to others and yourself at every opportunity Don’t let others take advantage of your charity Find like-minded people who appreciate the effort you are doing for others Experiment – find the moral acts that make you feel best! Be careful not to sacrifice too much of yourself for others and burnout – you will help more in the end if you never give more than you can 72

Summing Up n To live prudentially and/or morally we need to have some idea of: – What a good life is – What makes acts morally right or wrong n To live ideally we need our beliefs about these two things to be true 73

Summing Up (Cont. ) n Once we have settled these problems we can easily work on deciding what we should do (prudentially and/or morally) 74