Transcript Pensamento Crítico

Ethics
Why ethics?
Ethics
Why ethics?
 In all decisions we need to compare
different alternatives.
 We want to choose the best one.
 But best for whom? According to whose
criteria? What is good and bad?
– These are ethical problems…
Ethics
Terminology, ethics and morality

“Ethos”, Greek for personal character
– “ta ethika”, inquiry into the nature of good
and evil.

“Mores”, Latin for social customs and
habits
Ethics
Ethics and morality are often used as synonyms,
but here we will use:

Morality for the set of beliefs about good or
bad, right or wrong, justice and injustice.

Ethics for the critical analysis of morality, its
foundations and implications.
Ethics
Examples
 Stealing is wrong
– A moral statement

Why is stealing wrong?
– An ethical question
Ethics
Ethics (and morals) focus on
 Actions
– Right or wrong

Consequences
– Good or Bad

Character
– Virtue, Vice.

Motive
– Ill or Good intent
Ethics
We will consider mostly:
 Actions
– Right or wrong

Consequences
– Good or Bad
These are more relevant for decision.
Ethics
Actions:
 Wrong: not permissible
 Right (permissible)
– Obligatory, Optional (Neutral or
Supererogatory)
Ethics
Morality assumes a shared understanding of
good and bad.
 Do not steal because
– God will punish you.
– you will be arrested.
– it is wrong.
Ethics
Morality assumes a shared understanding of
good and bad.
 Do not steal because
– God will punish you.
– you will be arrested.
– it is wrong.
Only the last one is a moral statement. The
others. The others merely propose
consequences.
Ethics
Morality demands impersonal and universal
statements.


Statements about right and wrong must
apply to all individuals in similar
circumstances, and at all times.
E.g. “It is wrong to own slaves” includes
now, in the past, in the future, and is
equally true for all races and individuals.
Ethics
Relativistic fallacy
 Right and wrong are cultural products.
Morality is a function of culture.
Ethics
Relativistic fallacy
 Right and wrong are cultural products.
Morality is a function of culture.
 Though it is true that morality comes
from culture, it is not generally accepted
that the foundations of morality could be
different from one culture to another.
 E.g. killing another human being.
Ethics
Naturalistic fallacy
 The fallacy of drawing an imperative
(ought) from a description of facts (is).
Ethics
Naturalistic fallacy
 The fallacy of drawing an imperative
(ought) from a description of facts (is).

E.g.: Medically assisted reproduction is
wrong because it is against nature.
– (Toothpaste is also against nature…)
Ethics
Naturalistic fallacy
 Prescriptive and normative statements,
such as moral and ethical statements,
cannot be derived from descriptive
statements. That some thing is X does
not imply that it ought to be X or that it
is better that it is X.
Ethical principles

The foundations of morality.
Ethical principles

Utilitarianism
– The greatest good of the greatest numbers.
– The morally best thing to do is that which
best achieves everyone’s goals, that which is
in everyone’s best interest.

How?...
Ethical principles

Act Utilitarianism
– Act always in such way that furthers
everyone’s best interests.
– How do we know?
Ethical principles

Motive Utilitarianism
– Humans deal better with positive goals than
prohibitions. The moral task is thus to
inculcate the proper motives so that each
individual is motivated to further everyone’s
interests.
– Big brother?...
Ethical principles

Two-level Utilitarianism
– Rule utilitarianism, but with act utilitarianism
whenever necessary.
– Doesn’t solve every problem
Ethical principles

Utilitarianism
– Requires comparing utilities between two
people. Does Julia suffer more by not listening
to loud music or Hannah if Julia does?
Ethical principles

Utilitarianism
– Requires comparing utilities between two
people. Does Julia suffer more by not listening
to loud music or Hannah if Julia does?
– One possibility is to use tradeoffs.
Ethical principles

Utilitarianism
– Tradeoffs may be clear in some cases. E.g.
bottle of wine versus cure for leprosy.
– But in other cases may be different. E.g. An
Indian Brahmin opposes the sanctions against
the caste system because he claims to be “ten
times as capable of happiness as that
untouchable over there”.
Ethical principles

Utilitarianism
– Generally relevant to decisions, but there is
the problem of how will utility be maximized.
Average? Total?
Ethical principles

Utilitarianism
– Average: Parfitt’s paradox:
Ethical principles

Utilitarianism
– Average: Nozick’s Utility Monster
– For every resource the monster enjoys 100
times the pleasure of everyone else
Ethical principles

Rights and justice
– John Rawls. From the veil of ignorance
derives the fundamental right to equal liberty.
– Basic liberties; social and economic
inequalities must have positions open to all
and Economic inequalities are only permitted
insofar as they are to the greatest benefit of
the least well off members of society.
– Assumes people are averse to risk in the
original position…
Ethical principles

Deontological ethics
– Kant. The act is right or wrong in itself. The
consequences are good, by definition, if they
stem from the right action

Virtue Ethics
– Plato, Aristotle. Be good, excelent, virtuous
(instead of acting for the best).
Bias in moral decisions

Acts and omissions.
– Killing a child versus letting one starve in
Africa.
– Vaccination if the risk of the vaccine is lower
than that of the disease.
– Tennis players example:
 Ivan is alergic to the salad dressing. John either
tells nothing or suggests the dressing. Most people
find John acted worse when suggesting.
Bias in moral decisions

Double effect.
– Thomas Aquinas:
 “Nothing hinders one act from having two effects,
only one of which is intended, while the other is
beside the intention. … Accordingly, the act of selfdefense may have two effects: one, the saving of
one's life; the other, the slaying of the aggressor.”
– The effect which is secondary is less morally
relevant
Bias in moral decisions
Bias in moral decisions
Bias in moral decisions
Bias in moral decisions
Scope and implications

Ethics (and morality) can apply to different
scopes:
– Personal
– Professional
– Social
Scope and implications

Ethics (and morality) can apply to different
scopes:
– Personal
 The way each individual acts. His or her principles.
 Rules that individuals may choose differently
– Professional
– Social
Scope and implications

Ethics (and morality) can apply to different
scopes:
– Personal
– Professional
 Codes of conduct for professionals. Somewhat
between personal and social norms.
– Social
Scope and implications

Ethics (and morality) can apply to different
scopes:
– Personal
– Professional
– Social
 Social rules that apply to all individuals. Often, but
not necessarily, coincident with laws.
Scope and implications

Legal issues generally depend on ethical
and moral considerations, but may not
always coincide.
– Parking more than the time one paid for is
illegal but not immoral.
– Lying is immoral but not illegal.
Ethics in Decision

Before
– Character, virtues, intent.

Means
– Duties, rights.

Ends
– Consequences
Summary
Be aware of the different issues regarding
ethics and the foundation of morality.
 Aim for impersonal principles.
 Be wary of contradictions or conflicts
between diferent intuitions, approaches or
scopes.

– E.g. Babies and fetuses, people and animals,
personal, professional and social…
Exame
Principalmente prático, com 2/3 perguntas
de desenvolvimento.
 Matéria

– Argumentação
– Análise de relatos, modelos e explicações
– Causalidade
– Decisão (pode incluir tudo acima mais ética)
Exame

1/3 de perguntas mais teóricas.
– Identificar elementos ou estrutura de um
argumento
– Identificar tipos de experiência
– Valores e factos; questões descriptivas ou
normativas.
– Erros, comissão e omissão
– ….