Transcript Ethics 481 2008 3

Standards of Conduct
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DoD’s Standards of Conduct
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http://www.dod.mil/dodgc/defense_ethics/
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http://www.aitp.org/organization/about/conduct/conduct.jsp
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https://www.asce.org/pdf/ethics_manual.pdf
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http://www.iei.ie/ethics/conduct.pasp
AITP’s Standards of Conduct
ASCE’s Standards of Conduct
Engineers Ireland
Engineers teaching ethics (interesting article)
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
http://www.onlineethics.org/CMS/edu/instructessays/davis.asp
x
Washington’s code of civility
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http://www.foundationsmag.com/civility.html
Social Responsibility

Maintains that businesses should not
function amorally, but should contribute to
the welfare of their communities.
 Recognizes
 economic,
multiple objectives:
social, and environmental
dimensions from each and all activities
 Related
to:
 sustainability,
 Citizenship

If not “amoral,” then has ethical
dimensions

What does it mean?
 In
what context?
 Why it is so important?
Determinants of Moral Behavior
Characteristics
(Moral Intensity) of the Issue
Social
Characteristics
Relationships
with “others”
Type of
Relationships
Steps towards moral behavior
Recognize
the moral
Issue
Structure of
Relationships
Make a
Moral
Judgment
(establish
Intent)
Engage in
Moral
Behavior
Individual
Characteristics
Cognitive
Dissonance
Situational
Characteristics
Level of Cognitive Moral
Development
Recognition
Situational
Framing
Analysis
&
Evaluation
Action
Personal Characteristics
Utility
Individual
Rights
Justice
Care
Culture
Social Networks
Economic Environment
Foreseeable Consequences
Perceptions
&
Behavioral
Intentions
Ethical Philosophies vs. Reasoning
Philosophy
Perspective
Teleology
vs
Deontology
vs
Virtues
Utility
vs
Justice
vs
Rights
vs
Care
Ethical Philosophies

Utilitarianism (Bentham & Mills)

Deontology
 Ethics
 Ethics
of consequences
(Kant)
of Duty (Ethical laws)
 Principles
willed into Universal laws
 Treat people as ends (not means)

Virtues (Aristotle)
 Ethics
of Character
Utilitarianism
Question 1: I do not care what motivates other people; I
judge them solely on the basis of what they do.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral/undecided
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Question 2: When I am trying to decide what the right thing
to do is, I look at the consequences of the various
alternatives open to me.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral/undecided
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Utilitarianism
Question 3: The right thing to do is whatever is best for
everyone.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral/undecided
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Question 4: We should look at the overall consequences of
our actions in each and every case.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral/undecided
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Utilitarianism
Question 5: If someone tries to do the right thing but it
works out badly, they still deserve moral credit for trying.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral/undecided
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Question 6: What is the most important thing in life?
Pleasure
Happiness
Ideals such as truth and beauty
Having your preferences satisfied
Philosophical Ethics

Teleological

Deontological
 Results
oriented
 Actions have no intrinsic ethical character
(acquire moral status from their
consequences) or
 Act
oriented
 Actions are inherently right or wrong (e.g.,
lying, cheating, stealing)
Philosophically Based Ethics
(another perspective)

Utilitarianism (Bentham & Mills)

Deontology
 Ethics
 Ethics
of consequences
(Kant)
of Duty (Ethical laws)
 Principles
willed into Universal laws
 Treat people as ends (not means)

Virtues (Aristotle)
 Ethics
of Character
Bentham’s Hedonistic Calculus

Bentham (not originally called Utilitarianism)

Moral science (vs. ascetic religious)

Quantifying pleasure

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Pleasure good, pain bad
Hedonistic calculus (7 aspects)
1. Intensity (Intrinsic strength of the pleasurable or
painful feelings produced.)
2. Duration (how long they last)
3. Certainty / Uncertainty (likelihood of sensations
being produced by given action.
4. Propinquity / Remoteness (how soon they will be
felt)
5. Fecundity (whether actions lead to pleasure)
6. Purity (whether actions lead to pain)
7. Extent (number of people affected)
 Open, public, objective, fair

Mill’s types of pleasure (quality vs. quantity)
Basic Insights of Utilitarianism
The purpose of morality is to make the world
a better place.
 Morality is about producing good
consequences, not having good intentions
 We should do whatever will bring the most
benefit (i.e., intrinsic value) to all of
humanity.

The Purpose of Morality

The utilitarian has a very simple answer to
the question of why morality exists at all:
 The
purpose of morality is to guide people’s
actions in such a way as to produce a better
world.

Consequently, the emphasis in utilitarianism
is on consequences, not intentions.
Fundamental Imperative

The fundamental imperative of
utilitarianism is:
Always act in the way that will produce the
greatest overall amount of good in the world.
 The emphasis is clearly on consequences,
not intentions.
The Emphasis on the Overall Good
We often speak of “utilitarian” solutions in a
disparaging tone, but in fact utilitarianism is
a demanding moral position that often asks
us to put aside self-interest for the sake of
the whole.
 Utilitarianism is a morally demanding
position for two reasons:

 It
always asks us to do the most, to maximize
utility, not to do the minimum.
 It asks us to set aside personal interest.
The Dream of Utilitarianism:
Bringing Scientific Certainty to Ethics

Utilitarianism offers us a powerful vision of
the moral life, one that promises to reduce
or eliminate moral disagreement.
 If
we can agree that the purpose of morality
is to make the world a better place; and
 If we can scientifically assess various
possible courses of action to determine
which will have the greatest positive effect
on the world; then
 We can provide a scientific answer to the
question of what we ought to do.
Intrinsic Value

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
Many things have instrumental value, that is, they
have value as means to an end.
However, there must be some things which are not
merely instrumental, but have value in themselves.
This is what we call intrinsic value.
What has intrinsic value? Four principal candidates:

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Pleasure

Jeremy Bentham

John Stuart Mill

G. E. Moore

Kenneth Arrow
Happiness
Ideals
Preferences
Pleasure


Definition: The
enjoyable feeling we
experience when a
state of deprivation is
replaced by fulfillment.
Advantages



Easy to quantify
Short duration
Bodily

Criticisms
Came to be known
as “the pig’s
philosophy”
 Ignores higher
values
 Could justify living on
a pleasure machine

Happiness

Advantages
A higher standard,
more specific to
humans
 About realization of
goals

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Disadvantages
More difficult to
measure
 Competing
conceptions of
happiness
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The Utilitarian Calculus


Math and ethics finally
merge: all consequences
must be measured and
weighed.
Units of measurement:
Hedons: positive
 Dolors: negative

What do we calculate?

Hedons/dolors may be defined in terms of

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Pleasure
Happiness
Ideals
Preferences
For any given action, we must calculate:
How many people will be affected, negatively
(dolors) as well as positively (hedons)
 How intensely they will be affected
 Similar calculations for all available alternatives
 Choose the action that produces the greatest overall
amount of utility (hedons minus dolors)
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