Transcript ethics2016-B

Engineering Character
“The real cycle you’re working on is
a cycle called yourself” ZAMM
“A man not at peace with himself will
not be at peace with others.”
“Assembly of Japanese bicycle takes
great peace of mind” ZAMM
“On doing the right thing”
“Be a role model and expect
role models”
“If you tell the truth you will not have to
remember what you said”
“Character is destiny”
“All good teachers of ethics come
to remind more than to instruct”
So What are We to do with Our
Freedom?
Freedom comes in
two basic flavors:
1.Freedom of indifference:
the ability at any moment
to choose between contraries
2. Freedom for excellence: a persistent
habit to do the good and to improve oneself, i.e. virtues
Peter Drucker in his book Innovation and Entrepreneurship
(p206) says “It is old wisdom that there is no freedom
except under the law. Freedom without law is license,
which soon degenerates into anarchy, and shortly
thereafter into tyranny.”
Indifferentism
Indifference is the notion that one
can at any moment freely choose
between contraries. Morality is just
concerned with the present situation.
Basically the will rules over reason, reason
just presents the rules and the laws as
obligations to be met and the will can
choose to ignore these if it desires. This
leads to more of the idea of an immediate
gratification/happiness in the moment. One
is free to even choose the bad assuming
one will not be caught or if one believes
the end justifies the means or just sees
any rule as limiting one’s freedom.
.
Anything that limits one’s freedom is considered to be an impediment. The will
trumps reason leading to questionable loyalty and even a moral relativism or
situational ethics, i.e. case-based (casuistry). You are in control, tending even
towards individualism, with the view that things like virtue and the common good
are just limits to one’s freedom to choose. It is even ok to be wrong. Also no
objective truths either. In the end it is all about ME ME ME.
Freedom
The Path of Life
Indifference vs. Excellence
for Excellence
Oriented to a teleos, or a final or
ultimate end as one’s happiness.
For Aristotle in his N. Ethics this is
achieved by virtue and the
contemplation on the highest good.
By focusing on some ultimate good
one achieves a true freedom or an
excellence of character.
Basically one develops their character
in a progressive manner over time
which is also the idea of virtue. This
requires time and effort, i.e. a firm
habit or disposition to improve
oneself and to do the good.
The rest of your life will be a series of challenges and struggles as you
sort out which of these paths you will follow (indifference or excellence),
or will be about how you deal with those that get lost along the way.
Character is a Freedom for Excellence: On Living
a Life of Virtue
Bad Medicine: The Glaxo Case
One who refuses to
be better is certainly
less good; as soon
as you refuse
to become better,
you cease to be
good. (St Bernard of
Clairvaux)
We are imperfect beings and we struggle within ourselves to do the right thing.
It is part of our nature to have irregular desires (concupiscence). Only by
practicing the virtues can we overcome these limitations and develop our character.
To understand what we are to do with our freedom we
have to first understand who and what we are.
Our Social Nature – we
have a natural tendency to
live with others in an
organized society, to
develop socially, morally,
economically, intellectually,
culturally, physically, and
spiritually, both as an
individual and as a group.
Socialization – the natural human tendency to associate
with one another for the sake of attaining objectives that
exceed our own human capacities and resources, basically we need
each other! This creates our character, since character means how we
depend on each other and have to interact with each other. Our
human actions and interactions define our character. What are
the guiding principles?
4 Foundational Principles Underlie
Our Character in Society
1) Principle of Personalism or of Human Rights –
means that all right thinking about society – in its
cultural, political, and economic aspects – begins
with the inalienable dignity and value of the human
person. I am somebody! Somebodyness
In other words, right thinking about society
does not begin with the State, the Party, the Tribe,
the ethnic group, or the gender group. It begins with
the individual human person.
Society and its legal expression, i.e. the State, should
always be understood to be in service to the integral
development of the human person. The State, in
particular, has an obligation to defend basic human
rights, which are “built into” us by reason of our
very humanity. (from Logos 6:2 Spring 2003)
If justice (giving the other their due) has been abolished, what is empire
but a fancy name for larceny (taking of the personal goods of another)
(St Augustine)
4 Foundational Principles of Society
2) Common good – sum total of social conditions which allow
people, either as groups, family, or as individuals, to reach their
fulfillment more fully and more easily, i.e. we look out for one
another, you are your brother’s keeper. Each of us should contribute
to the best of our abilities to the general well-being of society and not
just be concerned with our own personal gain, that there is the duty
to give priority to helping those most needful, opposes the vice of
greed, or the heart is happiest when it beats for others
4 Foundational Principles of Society
Your Wings
3) Principle of subsidiarity – I am somebody!
A community of a higher order – such as the
government - should not interfere in the internal
life of a community of a lower order – such as
the family (basic cell of society, a school of
deeper humanity), but rather should support it in
case of need and help coordinate its activity with
the activities of the rest of society, always with a
view towards the common good.
Guards against treating humans as a means to
an end or as a tool as in the idea of collectivism
or communism for example, protects human
dignity and recognizes that humans have certain
rights. Basically that decision making in society
should be left at the lowest possible level in
accordance with the common good. Gives us
our wings to be all that we can be.
4 Foundational Principles of Society
Your Roots
4) Principle of solidarity –
Togetherness, humans have mutual
actions and relations, as a society work
together for the common good, guards
against individualism.
Recognizes that for a society to function
we have duties and obligations. Our
interaction with others cannot simply be
on the basis of a contract or legal
arrangement. There must be a civic
friendship, a mutual participation in a
great common enterprise, defend one
another’s rights and the pursuit of the
common good.
Basically the sharing of both material
and spiritual goods. Gives us our roots in
terms of our common humanity.
Individualism – political and social
arrangement that places inordinate
emphasis on individual rights to the
detriment of the common good, works
against togetherness or the principle of
solidarity, leads to indifference.
I am somebody !
Collectivism – political and social order by
which a social organ of a higher order
(such as government) usurps and/or
violates the freedom and rights of
individual persons and/or social organs of
a lower order such as the family.
Basically the political principle of
centralized social and economic control,
especially of all means of production. Does
not see the dignity inherent in the human
being, man is just an object or a tool, and
works against the principle of subsidiarity.
Socialism is similar but advocates
ownership and control by the
community as a whole. Fascism favors a
dictator and an aggressive form of
nationalism and often racism.
Human Rights and Duties
Human rights are for the purpose of human
responsibility and excellence, somebodyness.
Human rights are the necessary condition for
human socialization, but by themselves do not and
cannot constitute the sufficient condition for human
socialization.
A human society that emphasizes human rights
without a call for devotion to the common good, i.e.
duties would be a society in danger of excessive
individualism which violates the principle of
solidarity or of togetherness.
A human society that emphasizes human duties
without attention to the respect owed to human
persons, i.e . human dignity, to the family, and to
intermediate levels of organization, or the right to
organize as professional groups and unions, would be
a society in danger of collectivism and this would
violate the principle of subsidiarity or somebodyness.
Natural Law
Natural law is the law of right and wrong
that can be known by all of us. Some
say it is written in our hearts or is part of
our human nature or our conscience.
Even a thief doesn’t want
something stolen from himself
Ability to govern ourselves and discern by
our reason the good and the absence of
a good which ought to be there, or what
is also called evil, for example the
difference between a truth and a lie.
Means that we are to do the good and
avoid evil. There is right and wrong.
That we are all capable of knowing
right from wrong. But for some it will take
time to develop and form a right
conscience.
Serves as the foundation of our Civil Law.
Our Natural Inclinations are the Basis of Law,
Both Natural Law and Civil Law
For us to have a society there needs
to be laws, rules, and regulations and
these laws reflect man’s specific natural
inclinations to 4 specific goods.
1.self-preservation
2.To live in society
3.To live in a family and have kids
4.To pursue goodness, to seek and
to know the truth, and appreciate
beauty
We therefore, because of our intelligence/reason and free will, govern
society in accordance with laws that are in harmony with our
natural inclinations for these specific goods and for the
common good of society.
Conscience recognizes that this law that
derives from our human nature leads us
to a habit of mind by which we know this
law and we engage in activities knowingly
and freely making choices that hopefully
are in accordance with that law.
Conscience is the witness to your actions.
Conscience is compromised when we
choose to ignore this inner voice that
tells us what is true and good.
Ted Mosby’s mom says nothing good
occurs after 2 AM.
Moral Conscience
Because of our nature as human beings
we have ingrained into our being a
moral conscience, an interior
voice or witness to our human actions, of
practical reason that allows us to evaluate the
moral quality of our human actions.
A well-formed moral conscience is the basis
of personal ethics/morality and moves a
person to do the good and to avoid what is
wrong. Moral conscience also allows one to
accept responsibility for one’s own actions,
hence the consequences. A well-formed
conscience is our responsibility and
formulates its judgments according to the
rule of reason in conformity with the
common good.
We have the right to exercise our moral conscience and to make
moral decisions and we must not be forced into actions that are contrary
to our conscience or be prevented from acting according to our conscience, the
idea of a bound conscience must be respected.
What have you done?
Some Definitions:
right conscience – we feel guilty
when we are guilty
lax conscience – we do not feel
guilty when we really are guilty
scrupulous conscience – we feel
guilty when we are not guilty
Choices and Consequences
We can fulfill our nature as humans
by our free choices and the
principles that guide us in these
choices is our ethics or morality.
However, our choices will have
consequences
Once we hit the age of reason,
which is about 7 years of age,
we can usually make a distinction
between what is right and what
is wrong.
Deception at Duke
Temptation, Seduction, Deception, Addiction
As adults we can usually discern what
is right and what is wrong, however we
may be unwilling to pay the price for
doing the right thing. The language of
right and wrong follows along with:
temptation – is an attraction usually of
pleasure, either from within or from outside
of ourselves to act contrary to right reason,
from the pressure to conform or go along
with, or get away with something
seduction – is to lead someone away from
the right thing, entice into having ...?., clouds
one’s ability to think clearly and to make the
right choices
deception – makes one think they are
doing the right thing
addiction – substituting something to fill
our loneliness or emptiness, drugs/alcohol
Temptations and Dilemmas
An ethical temptation is
when we knowingly choose
the wrong thing. Examples
???, lie, cheat, steal, take
drugs, adultery. Usually no
grey area here.
An ethical dilemma is more
subtle and involves choosing
between what seems to be
two goods.
Language of Ethical Problems
• Well, maybe just this
once
• Let’s keep this under
our hats
• We’d better look the
other way
• No one will ever know
• Whew, we dodged
that bullet
• Don’t tell me, I don’t
want to know
• Now I have this friend
• No one’s going to get
hurt
• Everybody does it
• They had it coming
• They’ll never miss it
• What’s in it for me
Aristotle and Ethics
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle
(384-322BC) provided the foundations for the
basis of our understanding the moral life.
Aristotle in his book the Nichomachean Ethics
says that man is a rational animal since he
uses his mind and his five senses.
Therefore morality is something that is concrete
and not abstract. What matters is acting in a
good way and not just knowing what is good.
But Aristotle also recognized the weakness
in the human will and our propensity
to do the wrong thing.
Happiness Happens
When we think about our ultimate destiny
as humans, what we are thinking about
according to Aristotle is happiness.
Obtaining our goal of happiness is a practical
good, since it is something we want to do
and enjoy, not just know about.
By studying ethics and morality we come
to know in what our happiness consists,
what the real goal of life is, and also how
to get there, that is without getting
yourself into trouble!
By being good we are happy !
We should seek to want only what we need and not want things to excess,
happiness comes from a proper balance between wants and needs. Stuff
itself is not bad, stuff has done a lot of good, it is our attachment to stuff that
changes us. It is a delusion to believe that your stuff will make you happy.
So seek abundance without attachment. Do not let your possessions and
power possess you or go to your head. Remember, that you are not what
you do. Ask someone what they like to do, not what they do.
So collect experiences not things, do something for the joy it brings, seek the
Center
So this Character and Happiness
Comes from Practicing the Virtues
Virtue – is the habit and firm disposition to
do the good, perfections of our intellect and
our will that govern our actions and that guide
our conduct according to right reason, an
excellence (arete) or a quality or perfection
that makes a thing function well.
Applies to both metaphysical and moral levels
of goodness, for example an excellent knife
cuts well; an excellent person reasons and
acts well, can be great or excellent at sports
or play the violin, a competent engineer,
or just a good person; all of these are
acquired by human effort ; remember that
to hit the target it takes effort, missing the
target is easy to do.
There are two types of virtue according
to Aristotle:
1.intellectual virtues – perfections of
the mind such as from science and
technology, all of what we know,
also from experience, our need to know
2. moral virtues – help us to reach
excellence or function well as human
beings through guiding our actions and
our emotions towards the good,
Note that moral vices take us away from the pursuit of the good
even though they may provide us with momentary pleasure of some kind.
Emotions are morally neutral and need to be educated and trained by virtue.
If not trained and guided our emotions can easily become captives to one or
more of what are known as the seven deadly or capital vices or sins. The
thing about these vices is that they deceive us into thinking them as virtues
that lead us to happiness, instead they lead us into even worst behaviors.
PrideAvariceLustEnvyGluttonyAngerSloth
(wrath)
(avarice, greed)
(acedia)
Excessive preoccupation
with our bodies as in
physical fitness or beauty,
excessive
eating/drinking.
Respecting oneself
or others for the
wrong reasons. A
high opinion of oneself
that is not justified. To
much self-esteem.
Also acedia, a laziness
or focus on the wrong things
(workaholic) , boredom,
carelessness, takes one away
from what they ought to
be doing.
Or anger, is a mixture of sadness
and hatred for what is true, a distortion
of the spirited emotion of anger.
Sadness at the sight
of another’s goods
and successes and
the desire to acquire
them for oneself,
even unjustly. Also
seen today as a
moral relativism that
denies the goodness
of others.
Excessive desire to
control persons, places,
or things. Against the
ideal of generosity. Also
To see others as objects
for our own pleasure. The known as avarice or
covetousness. Hoarding
objectification of others.
wealth.
Inactive link high cost of cancer drugs
Aristotle in NE says that “virtue is a mean
in the sense that it aims at the median… We
may thus conclude that virtue or excellence
is a characteristic involving choice, and that
it consists in observing the mean relative
to us… the mean by reference to two vices:
the one of excess and the other of
deficiency… virtue finds and chooses the
median… not every action… admits of a
mean… eg. spite, shamelessness, envy,
adultery, theft, murder… are bad…
impossible ever to do right in performing
them: to perform them is always to do
wrong… in general there is no such thing
as the mean of an excess or of a deficiency.”
Deficiency/vice
Mean
Virtue
Excess/vice
Mean of virtue is like a beautiful
painting, nothing more is added,
nothing more is removed.
deficiency
Timid
excess
Courage
Reckless
Courage does not stand at the precise
center of these two extremes nor is it
the same for all people or circumstances.
Virtue is learned through habit and not
by reason alone. Right conduct consists of
some sort of mean between the extremes of
excess and deficiency.
Character
For Aristotle the virtuous person is naturally
inclined to choose the correct behavior in
any situation without appealing to rules or
maxims.
petty
The Cardinal Virtues are what all other virtues “hinge” on
Prudence – disposes practical reason to discern our true good
in every situation and to choose the right means of
achieving it, right reason in action, with the help of
this virtue we apply moral principles or moral virtues without error and
with confidence that we are doing the right thing
Justice – disposes one to respect the rights of others and to promote
harmonious relationships giving equity with regard to
others and working for the common good, give others their due
Fortitude – ensures firmness in difficulties and perseverance in the
pursuit of the good, strengthens one to resist
temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral
life
Temperance – moderates the attraction to the seeking of pleasure
and balances the wants and needs in terms of created
goods, maintains a healthy discretion, controls the
impulses (i.e. don’t complain don’t explain, keep your private
thoughts private, especially at work)
So at this point it should be apparent that happiness and virtue are related.
But many people identify happiness with the life of pleasure, the life of honor,
or the life of wealth. Or the pursuit of Power, Possessions, and Pride. The
blind pursuit of these is what knowingly or unknowingly causes problems (vices).
But this cannot be the ultimate happiness since they can be taken away
or they actually make someone else feel better, so prosperity or power or
success in and of itself will not lead to happiness. The wanton pursuit of these
can lead one into trouble since the end does not justify the means.
Aristotle saw happiness in the life of moral and intellectual perfection,
happiness is therefore something inside of us, in our hearts or our soul, an
interior activity, not the life of just being busy or distracted by the pleasures and
constant wants of the material world. Not a life where the end justifies the means.
Aristotle lists two criteria that help us then define what happiness is
(NE I.7):
1. It must be final, not a means to something else like buying a house
2. self-sufficient, taken on its own it makes life worthwhile – no single good
or thing like wealth or power or pleasure or pride or stuff could fit this bill,
Success may be getting what YOU want but more
importantly WANTING what you get.
Aristotle then defines happiness as follows …
Happiness is an activity of the soul in conformity with virtue, and if there
are several virtues, then in conformity with the best and most complete.
Aristotle’s term for this type of happiness is eudaimonia; a “good or true
spirit” translated as being in a state of “happiness”, or “flourishing”, or
even a “soulful success.” Eudaimonia is not passive or a fleeting emotional state
like being happy after a good movie nor is it an innate quality like the color
of your eyes or hair, nor a matter of luck like winning the lottery.
It is just not having virtues but actually exercising them, an activity of the
soul at the highest levels of excellence and perfection. A happiness that
is attained by our own efforts. Eudaimonia is an activity
practiced in a complete life of being involving both reason and the moral
and intellectual virtues; having a good character.
This state of eudaimonia will direct your life and keep you out of trouble.