Transcript The Moral Dimensions of Decision Making

The Moral Dimensions
of Decision Making
• RCT presents a quantitative
account of the logical aspects of
rational decision making.
• Prospect Theory described some
of the ways we actually make
assessments of the probabilities
and values which influence the
choices we make.
• But our choices are also
constrained and influenced by
moral considerations and social
norms.
Examples of Moral
Constraints
• Sometimes we choose an option, not
because it has the highest expected
utility, but simply because it is “the
right thing to do” or because the
other option is “just out of the
question”.
• Thus my mother would never run a
red light, even on a deserted street at
4 am, not because she was worried
about a cop seeing her, but simply
because it was against the law.
• She did not seem to be maximizing
her expected utility because she
would sit there quite impatiently
while waiting for the light to change.
The Case of Voting
• We will look in detail later at
studies of voters’ decisions to
go to the polls.
• On the face of it, if the election
is not close and if the weather is
quite bad and the polling station
difficult to reach, it’s hard to
come up with an expected
utility explanation of why
anyone should bother to vote.
• They seem instead to be acting
out of duty.
Whose Utilities?
Valuable to Whom?
• Neither expected utility
calculations not Prospect
Theory give us a graceful way
of including altruistic elements
into our evaluations of options.
• Suppose I choose the menu
when I cook dinner partly on
the basis of what I think the rest
of the family will enjoy. Our
models so far can only include
this factor by assuming that it
makes me happy to see them
happy. There is no direct way to
include the value to them in an
analysis of my decision.
Adding in Moral
Considerations
• We will begin with a developmental
psychologist’s attempt to describe
how people reason about moral
dilemmas.
• Larry Kohlberg thought that the
ways we reason about moral issues
developed systematically over time
in definite stages.
• Just as we crawl before we walk and
learn regular verb forms before
irregular ones, so children progress
from self-centered schemes of
instrumental morality to moral
systems that take into account the
needs and rights of other people.
How We Will Use
Kohlberg’s Theory
• As an empirical account of the
development of people’s moral
reasoning, Kohlberg’s theory is
certainly flawed and
incomplete. It is even less
adequate as an account of the
moral actions of either children
or adults.
• However, it will serve us well
as a typology of some of the
typical ways in which people
actually do introduce moral
considerations into their
thinking about decisions.
Crude Overview of
Kohlberg’s Six Stages
• Level A: Preconventional
Morality (Other people are
viewed either as sources of
authority/punishment or as
means to one’s own ends.)
• Stage 1. Do what you want right
now unless someone is going to
clobber you.
• Stage 2. Get what you want, but
sometimes it pays to make deals
with other people.
Stage 1 Responses
• Heinz should
• Heinz should
steal the drug
not steal the
because his
drug because
wife is probably
the policeman
going to hit him
will probably
if he doesn’t do
come and take
it right away
him to jail if he
because she
goes out and
told him to go
breaks into the
steal it.
drugstore.
Stage 2 Responses
• It depends on
how much he
likes his wife
and how nice
she is to him.
He should tell
her to be nicer
to him and then
he’ll go steal it
for her.
• Heinz would
probably miss
his wife a lot
but that’s not as
bad as going to
jail! Besides he
can find
someone else to
be his best
friend and to go
canoeing with
him.
Level B: Conventional
Morality
• In upper elementary school
children gradually become very
concerned about what other
people think about them and
they also start genuinely caring
about the feelings and welfare
of other people.
• Stage 3: Do what a “nice boy”
or “good girl” would do.
• Stage 4: Respect the rules of our
society. If you’re inclined to
break a rule, think about the
consequences if everyone did it!
Stage 3 Responses
• All of Heinz’s
buddies would
think he was
really a bad
husband if he
wasn’t even
brave enough to
steal the drug.
They probably
would stand
watch for him.
• Nobody likes a
thief! If Heinz
stole the drug
and anyone
found out, his
reputation
would be
ruined. Stealing
is just wrong period.
Stage 4 Responses
• Although Heinz
properly wants to
save his wife in
the worst way, he
can’t so easily
ignore the fact that
our system of law
and order would
collapse if
everyone stole
whenever they
wanted to or even
whenever they
needed to! And in
the end he
wouldn’t get away
with it. Remember
Les Miserables!
• There’s a law
against stealing
but our society
also recognizes
the sanctity of
marriage vows
which obligate
one to take
responsibility for
the well-being of a
spouse. Here the
duty to save the
life of a spouse
overrides the
prohibition against
stealing.
Level C:
Postconventional,
Principled Morality
• Stage 5: The laws and
conventions of a society
sometimes have to be
overridden by considerations of
justice and fairness that form
the basis of civilization.
• Stage 6: There are universal
ethical principles of human
rights and the dignity of human
beings that are binding on all
people at all times and in all
places.
Stage 5 Response
There is no existing social norm
which dictates the correct action for
Heinz in this case. Just as we
sometimes have to resort to civil
disobedience when the laws of the
land are unjust, so we sometimes
have to secretly break the law when
higher values are at stake. Certainly
the druggist has a legitimate claim to
be reimbursed, but human life is
more important than protecting
private property.
Stage 6 Response
A respect for human life and the
right to live in a state of
freedom and dignity is one of
those ultimate ethical principles
by which we all must live. As
Kant put it: Two things never
fail to fill me with awe - the
laws of the starry heavens
without and the moral law
within. (Paraphrased from
memory.)