What is Ethics Applied Ethics Lecturer Mr Tang

What is Ethics?

Applied Ethics Lecturer: Mr. Tang Chak Kin Email: chakin@gmail. com Website: appliedethics. webnode. com

Applied Ethics Students should attend 12 lectures and 4 tutorials in a semester: One lecture every week One tutorial every 2 weeks

Applied Ethics Textbook: Olen, Jeffrey. & Vincent Barry (2010), Applying Ethics (10 th. ed. ). Wadsworth. You will be provided with lecture notes which can also be found on the course website.

Applied Ethics Assessment: Group presentation and participation 20% Written assignment Examination 30% 50%

Applied Ethics Course outline: What is ethics? Reasoning and arguments Moral theories: utilitarianism, Kantian ethics and rights-based ethics

Applied Ethics Moral issues Abortion Racism, sexism and affirmation action Animal rights Euthanasia Distributive justice

What is ethics? In modern times, knowledge can be classified into 4 broad categories: natural science social science humanities (arts and humanities) technical or professional knowledge

What is ethics? Ethics is a humanities subject. It is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality (questions of right and wrong in human actions and practices). Applied ethics is a discipline of philosophy that attempts to apply ethical theories and concepts to real-life situations.

What is ethics? The scientific method is seldom used in the study of humanities subjects. When we study ethics, we usually do not set up experiments or do field observations.

What is ethics? We do not study ethics by doing scientific research or by memorizing a lot of facts and information. Instead, ethical inquiry usually involves: analysis of concepts and arguments evaluation (developing your views); and critical thinking

Facts and values In ethics, we focus specifically on moral reasoning and moral judgments. Moral judgments, however, are much less certain than the laws of physics. Rightness and wrongness cannot be observed and measured like energy or mass.

Facts and values Unlike science, there are no well-recognized standards or methods in ethics that can be used to test, confirm, or correct ethical judgments when disagreements arise.

Facts and values Some people believe that science deals with facts, whereas ethics deals with values. According to this view, moral judgments are value judgments, and all value judgments are subjective.

Facts and values The fact/value distinction rests upon the assumption that statements which we make about the world can be divided into ‘factual statements’ (statements about facts) and ‘evaluative/prescriptive statements’ (statements about values).

Facts and values It is also assumed that factual statements can be true or false, whereas the concepts of truth and falsity are not applicable to evaluative statements.

Facts and values Facts, according to this view, are objective and out there in the world to be discovered and studied by the sciences. Values, in contrast, are believed to be merely subjective expressions of personal taste, feeling or attitude.

Facts and values Thus, it has been argued that moral judgments, like aesthetic judgments, are subjective; there is no such thing as an objectively true morality. But is it really so?

Facts and values Example: Is it acceptable for two adult siblings (brothers and sisters) to have consensual sex with each other if they use contraception and no one is harmed?

Facts and values A survey found that about 80% of college students answered “No” to the question, but most of them were unable to provide justifications for their opinion. This suggests that our moral judgments are often based on how we feel about an issue rather than good reasoning.

Facts and values If value judgments are a matter of personal preference, there is no point arguing about them. Judgments of taste are subjective. What appeals to me may not appeal to you. If, for example, I like the color blue and you dislike it, it would be meaningless to argue about whose taste is better.

Facts and values In other words, we may disagree on our moral judgments, but your opinion is as good as mine and anyone else’s. There is no point arguing or debating because you are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine.

Facts and values Is it true that all moral judgments are merely subjective expressions of personal feelings or attitudes?

Facts and values Different people may prefer different kinds of wine, for example. However, if everyone’s taste (opinion or judgment) is just as good as everyone else’s, why do we have professional wine-tasters?

Facts and values Even art critics or film critics feel that they should give reasons for their judgments because doing so can help others understand the basis of their opinions.

Facts and values Some people’s opinions are obviously more informed (i. e. better, more knowledgeable) than those of others. Their viewpoints are usually more worthy of attention. The judgments of experts are usually more reliable than those of laypersons (the uninformed).

Facts and values A judgment is ‘subjective’ if it is based on the feeling, attitude or opinion of a person (the subject). A judgment is ‘objective’ if it is based on some characteristics or properties of that which is being judged (the object).

Facts and values In ethics, when we judge that an action is right or wrong, there must be certain characteristics of the action and the situation (as well as other reasons or considerations) that make it right or wrong.

Facts and values Are facts and values completely separated from each other? Are there right and wrong answers to moral questions? Can science answer moral questions? We are going to watch a TED talk which sheds light on these questions.

Facts and values Sam Harris: “Can science answer moral questions? ”

Facts and values When we make moral judgments, we cannot rely on our feelings alone. Why? Because our feelings may be irrational – they may be nothing but the products of prejudice, selfishness, or cultural (social) conditioning.

Facts and values What is the right thing to do, in any circumstance, should be determined by sound ethical reasoning. As all of us have the capacity of moral reasoning, it is often possible to settle debates by appealing to moral common ground.

Facts and values John Stuart Mill (1806 -1837) thought the truth lay somewhere in opposing arguments. As he wrote in On Liberty: ‘Conflicting doctrines, instead of the one being true and the other false, share the truth between them. ’ Truth, according to Mill, is arrived at through open debate.

Facts and values Different people may have different ideas of human flourishing. In fact, your idea of a good life may be very different from mine. However, as long as we live in the same world, it should be possible for us to find common ground on which to base our moral judgments.

Reasoning and arguments We need to be able to think clearly and to reason well about ethical issues. To do so, we must: analyze ideas, concepts and arguments compare and evaluate different viewpoints develop arguments of our own through critical thinking

Reasoning and arguments Philosophers often disagree among themselves over different ethical issues. You should try to understand why different philosophers hold different views on these issues.

Reasoning and arguments While you may or may not agree with a philosopher’s point of view, you should try to make arguments to explain why you agree or disagree with him/her.

Reasoning and arguments The main purpose of studying ethics is to learn how to think critically and develop skills of reasoning and argumentation. It is usually not possible to approach ethical issues based on common sense alone. It is necessary to develop critical thinking skills.

Reasoning and arguments Neither the education system nor the mass media (popular culture) emphasizes the importance of thinking. As a result, few students have developed the skill of critical thinking, i. e. the ability to make good judgments based on fact and reason.

Reasoning and arguments To develop the skills of critical thinking, you should: consider issues from various perspectives examine relevant facts and arguments be ready to support your views with reasoned arguments and/or examples

Reasoning and arguments To sum up, you should: learn to see things from different angles or standpoints; learn to think in terms of arguments and counterarguments try to use examples and counterexamples to support your views

Reasoning and arguments Philosophy in general and ethics in particular often deals with issues that do not have ultimate or model answers. Although there are usually no model answers, some arguments are clearly better than others.

Reasoning and arguments It is useful to keep in mind that assessment of your performance will largely be based on the quality of the arguments you make in your presentation, written assignment and the examination.

Reasoning and arguments Good arguments (i. e. reasoned arguments or sound arguments) are relevant, valid, and well supported by evidence (facts, observations, statistics and examples).

Reasoning and arguments A relevant argument addresses exactly the question that has been asked. A valid argument is a logical argument. Constructing a valid argument requires good reasoning.

Reasoning and arguments An argument consists of one or more ‘premises’ (reasons, facts or evidence) and a ‘conclusion’ (a claim, a judgment or an assertion). Premises are statements that support a conclusion. They are supposed to provide the reason, evidence or justification for a conclusion.

Reasoning and arguments Reasoning is the act of drawing (or deriving) a conclusion from a premise or a set of premises. An argument is unsound or fallacious if the premise or premises do not support the conclusion. A ‘fallacy’ is an error in reasoning.

Reasoning and arguments There are good arguments as well as bad ones; and much of the skill of moral reasoning consists in discerning the difference.

Reasoning and arguments When we evaluate arguments, we should consider the following questions: Is the evidence relevant? Are the facts correct? Is the reasoning logical and valid? Are there other possibilities? Are there any counterarguments or counterexamples?

Reasoning and arguments Compare and evaluate the following arguments: [1] Passive smoking causes cancer. Therefore smoking in public places should be banned. [2] Road accidents cause death. Therefore driving should be banned.

Reasoning and arguments An argument, as mentioned earlier, is made up of premises (facts and reasons) and a conclusion. Here is an example: All children love pets. [premise 1] Julie is a child. [premise 2] Julie loves pets. [conclusion]

Reasoning and arguments A ‘deductive argument’ is valid if the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises: All men are mortal. [premise 1] Socrates is a man. [premise 2] Therefore, Socrates is mortal. [conclusion]

Reasoning and arguments A deductive argument is ‘sound’ if and only if [1] it is valid, and [2] all of its premises are true. Otherwise, a deductive argument is unsound or fallacious. Thus, in deductive reasoning, we can say that the truth of the conclusion is contained within the truth of the premises.

Reasoning and arguments Consider the following: All children are afraid of the dark. [premise 1] Dorothy is afraid of the dark. [premise 2] Dorothy is a child. [conclusion] Is this a valid deductive argument? Why or why not?

Reasoning and arguments Inductive reasoning is an act of drawing a general conclusion from particular facts or observations. The following is an inductive argument: My cat is lazy. [premise 1] My friends’ cats are lazy too. [premise 2] Therefore, all cats are lazy. [conclusion]

Reasoning and arguments Consider the following: “I have read 100 comic books. They are all very interesting. Joe just gave me a new comics. I haven’t read it, but I know it must be very interesting. ” Is this a valid argument? Why or why not?

Reasoning and arguments Here, the argument can be broken down into 2 parts: [1] The 100 comic books I have read are interesting; therefore, all comic books are interesting (inductive reasoning); and [2] If all comic books are interesting, the one that Joe gave me must be interesting (deductive reasoning).

Reasoning and arguments Part [1] of the argument (inductive) is invalid because the premise about particulars (“I have read 100 interesting comic books. ”) does not necessarily support the general conclusion (“All comic books are interesting. ”) Part [2] is a valid deductive argument.

Reasoning and arguments An inference from a number of particular facts or observations to general conclusion is called ‘generalization’. Generalizing from a limited set of facts or observations, however, is not always reliable. This is called ‘the problem of induction’ or ‘the problem of the black swan’.

Reasoning and arguments In the past, people of the West thought that all swans were white (a general conclusion that was believed to be true). The 17 th century discovery of black swans in Australia showed that the statement “All swans are white” was mistaken.

Reasoning and arguments Why do we make mistakes in reasoning and making judgments? To answer this question, we need to consider some of the main functions of our brains: [1] understanding the world, [2] thinking about the connection among ideas, and [3] remembering information.

Reasoning and arguments Corresponding to these 3 functions of the brain are 3 different kinds of errors: cognitive biases (mistakes in perceiving and understanding) logical fallacies (mistakes in reasoning) memory biases (mistakes in remembering)

Reasoning and arguments An error in reasoning can give rise to an invalid argument. This is called a ‘fallacy’. Because there are too many different kinds of fallacies, we will focus on just two of them; namely, ‘false analogy’ and ‘the slippery slope’.

Reasoning and arguments Two things may have similarities, but they are not exactly the same. ‘False analogy’ is the mistake of overlooking the dissimilarities between things. For example, although both apples and oranges are sweet juicy fruit, they are different in many other aspects. Hence the saying ‘comparing apples to oranges’.

Reasoning and arguments You may think that a person is lazy simply because you have seen that the person’s brother is lazy. This is likely to be a case of ‘false analogy’ because having the same parents may have little or nothing to do with being lazy.

Reasoning and arguments A slippery slope argument states that a relatively small first step leads to a chain of related events and eventually will result in a disaster of some sort. It usually involves making a claim that A leads to B, B leads to C, and C leads to D, and so on. And it only gets worse and worse.

Reasoning and arguments Consider the following: “Legalizing soccer gambling will cause more people to get addicted to gambling. As the number of pathological gamblers increases, there will be more crime and other social problems, and society will eventually break down. ”

Reasoning and arguments Whether a ‘slippery slope argument’ is sound or not depends to a large extent on the availability of evidence. If there is insufficient evidence or justification, then it can be regarded as a ‘fallacy’. Is the claim that legalizing soccer gambling leads to social breakdown a sound argument? Why or why not?