Transcript HU 300: Unit 3 MORALITY

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HU 300
MORALITY
Dennis Ford
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Unit 6 - Overview
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Unit Outcomes
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Demonstrate ways morality may be conceived and defined
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Analyze moral decisions and their relevance to various definitions
of morality.
Learning Activities:
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· Reading: Read the chapter "Morality"
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Watch the Romero Britto video, found on the left hand links
under Unit 6.
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· Discussion:
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Moral choices in film and TV
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Whistle blowing
· Seminar: We will discuss two moral ideas from the chapter:
Plato’s “Ring of Gyges” and Kantian ethics.
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Self-interest: Good or Bad?
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We are told as children: Don’t be selfish!
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What about the entrepreneurial spirit? Work hard to get
ahead.
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“self-reliant people, realizing their full potential, would
enrich, not damage, society”(Janaro & Altshuler,2009, p. 177).
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Doing Good for its own sake
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Should we do good in order to receive a reward or to avoid
punishment?
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What if we could do whatever we wanted and not get caught?
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Would this be an irresistible temptation?
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Why should we be moral?
+ RING OF GYGES: If you had a
ring that would make you
INVISIBLE, what would you do?
Plato’s Republic
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RING OF GYGES
 Glaucon
says that many people do
whatever they can get away with while
maintaining their reputation.
 What
do you think about his conclusion?
 Virtue
is its own reward
 Compare
this to the story of Job
+ Kohlberg’s 6 Stages of Moral Development:
Reflections on “why be moral?”
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Reward and punishment
2.
Reciprocity
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Earning approval for being a “good person”
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Showing respect for law and authority, preserving social order
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Avoid harming others—acting for the good of society
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Decisions are based on universal moral principles
(Janaro & Altshuler, 2009, pp. 206)
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Utilitarianism
The greatest good for the greatest number
 Does
our assessment of what is
“right” or “wrong” depend on the
consequences of an action?
 Is
it OK to tell a lie if you have a
good reason?
 Do
the ends justify the means?
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Immanuel Kant
Strong sense of duty
 Morality
is not properly the doctrine of how we make
ourselves happy, but how we make ourselves worthy
of happiness.
 Everyone
has an inborn sense of “ought”—we know
that some things are just wrong.
 Categorical
imperative
 When considering an action, ask yourself what if
everyone did it. Would the action still be rational?
 Never treat someone merely as a means to an end.
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The Source?
 Do
you agree that
we are born with a
sense of morality,
or do you believe
morality is
something that is
taught?
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Moral Relativism
Not all cultures have the same values
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Story about a Japanese girl playing musical chairs
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The Japanese value politeness; Americans value winning.
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Morality Pill
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http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/are-weready-for-a-morality-pill/
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Peter Singer speculates that brain chemistry may influence a
person’s ability to make good moral decisions.
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If this is true and there were a pill that could fix it, what
should we do?
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Unit 7 – Happiness
Preview
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Reading: Read the chapter "Happiness" in The Art of Being
Human.
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· Discussion: In our one discussion thread for this unit, we will
discuss the American Dream and how it relates to happiness.
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· Seminar: We will discuss definitions of happiness, how they
evolve, what they reveal about culture, and how media and
myth influence them.
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· Project: You will prepare and conduct interviews with two
people about their definition of happiness, how they gained this
view, and whether they feel happiness is achievable.