Transcript Moral Problems

Moral Problems
Chapter 1
Moral Problems
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What is Ethics?
Moral Problems
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Ethics is the study of morality.
Ethics is a reasoned discourse about
morality.
See the sample ethical argument starting
on page 2: Is it Right to Kill?
Choice
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Morality is concerned only with those areas of life that are
open to our choice.
Ought implies can.
Freedom of Choice
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Negative freedom (freedom from)
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Freedom from coercion
Positive freedom (freedom to)
Freedom to do what you choose to do
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I.e., freedom of choice
Freedom to what you choose upon rational insight
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I.e., rational freedom of choice
Morality
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Right and Wrong
If I say that it is wrong to steal, then I am
condemning the act. Most of us mean that
not only do we condemn the act but that
others ought to condemn it as well.
If I think something is right and you think
something is wrong than we disagree. It is
different if I like red wine and you like white
wine. We just have different tastes. It is not
a disagreement.
Duty
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If I say: “You have a duty to visit your
mother,” then I mean that you ought to
visit your mother.
Non-moral uses
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We often use the words “right” and
“wrong” in non-moral ways. For
example, “Did I put the wrong ingredient
in this recipe?” or “Did I grab the right
textbook to take to class?”
Words such as “good” and “bad” are
often used in a non-moral sense. “That
was a good race.” “The weather is
getting bad out there.”
The words “Good” and “Bad”
used in a moral sense
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1. We speak of good or bad ideals.
2. We speak of good and bad
consequences of action.
3. We speak of a person’s character as
good or bad.
4. We speak of good or bad intentions
and motives.
Morality
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We condemn someone’s actions or character
by saying things such as, “What the Enron
executives did was immoral,” or “ What the
volunteer Red Cross worker did was the
moral thing to do.”
We use the term “moral” to mean that some
issue belongs in the area of morality. Both
moral and immoral actions belong in the area
of morality.
Morality Continued
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What is a moral question? Many people
disagree about this. Some believe that
homosexuality is wrong, while others
believe that it is a matter of preference.
Is something a matter of morality only
when it involves other people beside
yourself?
Conscience
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“Follow your conscience.” Where does
the inner voice come from?
Why does one person’s conscience tell
her to do “x,” and another person’s
conscience tells her to do ”y?”
Conscience Continued
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How do we know whether some inner voice
we hear is the voice of conscience and not
the voice of the devil?
If conscience is the ultimate standard, it is
arbitrary, it acts for no good reason. But if
there is a good reason for what it says, it is
not ultimate after all. That reason
(happiness?, respect for rights?) is ultimate.
Kidding Oneself
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Can people allow themselves to think
that their conscience tells them
something, when it actually doesn’t?
Regarding individual consciences, can
both be right?
Problems with the vagueness of
conscience.
Revelation
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Individual conscience is fallible – the sacred
word is not.
Problems with revelation:
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1. Paradox of Religious Ethics: Either the will of God is
based on no good reason and is arbitrary, or it is based
on a good reason and is not the ultimate standard of
right and wrong.
2. What is contained in the sacred books can be
vague. For example, war or peace?
EXO 15:3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his
name. ROM 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you
all. Amen.
Revelation continued
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3. Religious ethics makes it difficult for
non-religious people, or people of a
different religion, to be ethical.
• Religious ethics requires some further non-
religious ethics to govern relations with people who
do not accept one’s religion.
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4. No revelation is complete. For
example, should there be censorship of
the arts?
Reason
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Rely on reason.
How do we reach ethical conclusions
using reason? Is it reason that tells us to
save our children?
Reason or inclination?
How are we supposed to know what the
best reasons are in specific cases?
Why be Moral?
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Why be moral?
Divine Command:
• Because God will punish me if I do wrong or
reward me if I do right.
• Appeal to authority.
Follow because God is powerful
not necessarily because God is good.
• Obey God out of love, not out of hope for
reward. You must believe that God is good.
(Euthyphro)
Morality Pays
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Honesty is the best policy.
Plato’s believes that goodness is it’s own
reward.
Is being moral sufficient for being
happy?
Is being moral necessary for being
happy?
The “Fair Play” Argument
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We have rules that will operate to our
mutual advantage.
How will we all agree on what the rules
should be?
“Because It’s Right”
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Someone might say that they gave
money anonymously so that an unknown
child could have a new pair of glasses.
If she was asked why she did it, she
might respond that she simply wanted to
make sure that the child could see. Is
this self interested behavior? Is it
possible that she did it because it is the
right thing to do?
Relativism
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Is morality relative?
“Relativism” = “Subjectivism”
Thinking something to be so makes it so for the person
who believes it.
Individual relativism (pp.34-35) = collective relativism
Thinking an action to be right makes it right for the
individual or society that thinks it to be right.
Objectivism: beliefs are made true not merely by believing
them but by their correspondence to the facts.
Relativism Continued
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Differences in Environment
• Some rules may depend on our standard of
living.
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Differences in Belief
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Differences in Temperament
• Spanish Inquisition
• Attitudes about sex
Homosexuality
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Is homosexuality right for some people and
wrong for others?
Is there a human right to express one’s
sexual orientation?
Relativism Continued
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If relativism is true, it is not objectively true: it is
relatively true only for relativists, and its truth is
in no way superior to objectivism, which is true
for objectivists.
Relativists think their belief can make
statements objectively true: faith moves
mountains. Thus they do not escape objective
truth.
If relativism is true everyone is already right, so
that inquiry or the correction of error is
impossible.