Transcript The Ethics of Character Virtues and Vices

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
CDT409
LECTURE 4
Utilitarianism, Rights, Justice
Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic
Department of Computer Science and
Engineering
Mälardalen University
2007
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Repetition on Virtue Ethics
Emphasizes character, rather than rules or
consequences, as the key element of ethical thinking.
In the West prevailing approach in the ancient and
medieval ethics. Today one of the three dominant
approaches to normative ethics (the other two being
deontology and utilitarianism/consequentialism).
Concern for virtue appears in several philosophical
traditions, notably Chinese and Indian.
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Virtue Ethics
In the West found in work of Plato and Aristotle.
Main concepts include:
 arête (excellence or virtue)
 phronesis (practical or moral wisdom), and
 eudaimonia (flourishing).
Eudaimonia (Greek: εὐδαιμονία) is a classical Greek word commonly
translated as 'happiness'. Etymologically, it consists of the word "eu"
("good" or "well being") and "daimōn" ("spirit“, meaning one's fortune).
Although popular usage of the term happiness refers to a state of mind,
related to joy or pleasure, eudaimonia refers to the less subjective "human
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flourishing“.
The Seven Virtues
The Seven Virtues were derived from the
Psychomachia
('Contest of the Soul'), an epic poem
written by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (c. 410 CE)
involving the battle of good virtues and evil vices.
The intense popularity of this work in the Middle Ages
helped to spread the concept of Holy Virtue
throughout Europe.
Practicing these virtues is alleged to protect one against
temptation from the Seven Deadly Sins, with each
one having its counterpart.
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The Seven Virtues
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Chastity (Latin, Castitas) (purity, opposes Lust, Latin Luxuria)
- Moral wholesomeness and purity of thought.
Temperance (Latin, Frenum) (self-control, opposes Gluttony,
Latin Gula) - Mindfulness of others; practicing self-control.
Charity (Latin, Liberalitas) (will, generosity, opposes Greed,
Latin Avaritia) - Generosity. A nobility of thought or actions.
Diligence (Latin, Industria) (opposes Sloth, Latin Acedia) A zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work.
Decisive work ethic. Guard against laziness.
Patience (Latin, Patientia) (peace, opposes Wrath, Latin Ira) Endurance through moderation. Resolving conflicts peacefully.
The ability to forgive, show mercy.
Kindness (Latin, Humanitas) (satisfaction, opposes Envy,
Latin Invidia) - compassion, friendship, and sympathy.
Humility (Latin, Humilitas) (modesty, opposes Pride, Latin
Superbia) - Modest behavior, selflessness, and the giving of
respect. Giving credit where credit is due; not unfairly
glorifying one's own self.
Self-control is the keystone of the seven holy virtues.
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The Seven Capital Virtues as
Opposites to The Seven Capital Sins
The Roman Catholic church recognized the Seven Capital Virtues
as opposites to the Seven Capital Sins or the Seven Deadly
Sins. According to Dante's The Divine Comedy the sins and
their respective virtues have an ordering based upon their
importance. In order of descending importance:.
Sin
Virtue
Pride (vanity)
Humility (modesty)
Envy (jealousy)
Kindness (admiration)
Wrath (anger)
Forgiveness (composure)
Sloth (laziness)
Diligence (zeal/integrity)
Greed (avarice)
Charity (giving)
Gluttony (over-indulgence)
Temperance (self-restraint)
Lust (excessive appetites)
Chastity (purity)
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The Essential Virtues Defining “Moral
IQ”
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Empathy
Conscience
Self-Control
Respect
Tolerance
Fairness
Kindness
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Wisdom*
Courage*
Temperance*
Justice*
Integrity
Responsibility
Honesty
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*Aristotles cardinal virtues
Overview
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Utilitarianism
Rights
Justice
Based on: Lawrence M. Hinman, Ph.D.
Director, The Values Institute
University of San Diego
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Utilitarianism
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Basic Insights of Utilitarianism
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The purpose of morality is to make the world a better
place.
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We should do whatever will bring the most benefit to
all of humanity.
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The Purpose of Morality
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The utilitarian has a 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.
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Consequently, the emphasis in utilitarianism is on
consequences, not intentions.
(At times, the road to hell is pawed with good intentions!)
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Fundamental Imperative
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The fundamental imperative of utilitarianism is:
Always act in the way that will produce the greatest
overall amount of good in the world.
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The Emphasis on the Overall Good

Utilitarianism is a demanding moral position that often
asks us to put aside self-interest for the sake of the
whole.
– It always asks us to do the most, to maximize
utility, not to do the minimum.
– It asks us to set aside personal interest.
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Bringing Certainty to Ethics
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Utilitarianism offers 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.
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Standards of Utility: Intrinsic Value
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Many things have instrumental value, that is, they
have value as means to an end.
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However, there must be some things which are not
merely instrumental, but have value in themselves.
This is what we call intrinsic value.
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What has intrinsic value? Four principal candidates:
– Pleasure - Jeremy Bentham
– Happiness - John Stuart Mill
– Ideals - George Edward Moore
– Peoples Preferences - Kenneth Arrow
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Jeremy Bentham
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Bentham believed that we
should try to increase the
overall amount of pleasure in
the world.
Jeremy Bentham
1748-1832
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Standards of Utility: Pleasure
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Definition: The enjoyable
feeling we experience when
a state of deprivation is
replaced by fulfillment.
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Advantages
– Easy to quantify
– Short duration
– Bodily
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Criticisms
– Came to be known
as “the pig’s
philosophy”
– Ignores spiritual
values
– Could justify living on
a pleasure machine
or “happy pill”
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John Stuart Mill
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Bentham’s godson
Believed that happiness, not
pleasure, should be the
standard of utility.
John Stuart Mill
1806-1873
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Standards of Utility: Happiness
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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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Standards of Utility: Ideal Values
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George Edward Moore suggested
that we should strive to maximize
ideal values such as freedom,
knowledge, justice, and beauty.
The world may not be a better place
with more pleasure in it, but it
certainly will be a better place with
more freedom, more knowledge,
more justice, and more beauty.
Moore’s candidates for intrinsic good
remain difficult to quantify.
G. E. Moore
1873-1958
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Standards of Utility: Preferences
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Kenneth Arrow, a Nobel Prize
winning Stanford economist,
argued that what has intrinsic
value is preference satisfaction.
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The advantage of Arrow’s
approach is that, in effect, it lets
people choose for themselves
what has intrinsic value.
It simply defines intrinsic value as
whatever satisfies an agent’s
preferences. It is elegant and
pluralistic.
Kenneth J. Arrow
Stanford University
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May This Help? Lets Make Everyone
Happy!
Happy pill as a universal solution?
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The Utilitarian Calculus
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Math and ethics finally merged: all
consequences must be measured
and weighed!
Units of measurement:
– Hedons: positive
– Dolors: negative
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What Do We Calculate?
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Hedons/dolors defined in terms of
– Pleasure
– Happiness
– Ideals
– Preferences
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What Do We Calculate?
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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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How Much Can We Quantify?
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Pleasure and preference satisfaction are easier to
quantify than happiness or ideals
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Two distinct issues:
– Can everything be quantified?
The danger: if it can’t be counted, it doesn’t count.
– Are quantified goods necessarily commensurable?
Are a fine dinner and a good night’s sleep
commensurable?
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“…the problems of three little people don’t
amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.”
Utilitarianism doesn’t always
have a cold and calculating
face.
Besides, in a way we perform
utilitarian calculations in
everyday life too.
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Criticisms of Utilitarianism
1. Responsibility
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Utilitarianism suggests that we are responsible for all
the consequences of our choices.
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The problem is that sometimes we can not foresee
consequences of other people’s actions that are
taken in response to our own acts. Are we
responsible for those actions, even though we don’t
choose them or approve of them?
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Criticisms of Utilitarianism
2. Integrity
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Utilitarianism often demands that we put aside selfinterest. Sometimes this may mean putting aside our
own moral convictions.
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Integrity may involve certain identity-conferring
commitments, such that the violation of those
commitments entails a violation of who we are at our
core.
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Criticisms of Utilitarianism
3. Intentions
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Utilitarianism is concerned almost exclusively with
consequences, not intentions.
– There is a version of utilitarianism called “motive
utilitarianism,” developed by Robert Adams, that
attempts to correct this.
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Criticisms of Utilitarianism
4. Moral Luck
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By concentrating exclusively on consequences,
utilitarianism makes the moral worth of our
actions a matter of luck. We must await the final
consequences before we find out if our action
was good or bad.
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This seems to make the moral life a matter of
chance, which runs counter to our basic moral
intuitions.
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Criticisms Of Utilitarianism
5. Who Does The Calculating?
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Historically, this was an issue for the British in India.
The British felt they wanted to do what was best for
India, but that they were the ones to judge what that
was.
– See Ragavan Iyer, Utilitarianism and All That
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Typically, the count differs depending on who does
the counting.
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Criticisms Of Utilitarianism
6. Who Is Included?
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When we consider the issue of consequences, we
must ask who is included within that circle.
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Classical utilitarianism has often claimed that we
should acknowledge the pain and suffering of
animals and not restrict the calculus just to human
beings.
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Concluding Assessment
Utilitarianism is most appropriate for policy decisions, as
long as a strong notion of fundamental human rights
guarantees that it will not violate rights of minorities,
otherwise it is possible to use to justify outvoting
minorities.
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Rights
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Changing Western History
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Many of the great documents of the last two centuries
have centered around the notion of rights.
– The Bill of Rights
– The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
– The United Nation Declaration of Human Rights
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Human Rights
After the King John of England violated a number
of ancient laws and customs by which England
had been governed, his subjects forced him to
sign the Magna Carta, or Great Charter, which
enumerates what later came to be thought of
as human rights.
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Human Rights
Among rights of Magna Carta were the right of the
church to be free from governmental interference, the
rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property
and be free from excessive taxes. It established the
right of widows who owned property to choose not to
remarry, and established principles of due process
and equality before the law. It also contained
provisions forbidding bribery and official misconduct.
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Rights, A Base for Moral Change
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Many of the great movements of
this century have centered
around the notion of rights.
– The Civil Rights Movement
– Equal rights for women
– Movements for the rights of
indigenous peoples
– Children’s rights
– Gay rights
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Justifications for Rights
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Self-evidence
Divine Foundation
Natural Law
Human Nature
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Self-evidence
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“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776
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Divine Foundation
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“We have granted to God, and by
this our present Charter have
confirmed, for us and our Heirs for
ever, That the Church of England
shall be free, and shall have her
whole rights and liberties inviolable.
We have granted also, and given to
all the freemen of our realm, for us
and our Heirs for ever, these liberties
underwritten, to have and to hold to
them and their Heirs, of us and our
Heirs for ever.”
The Magna Carta, 1297
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Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
Article 1.
 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights. They are endowed with reason and
conscience and should act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood.
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http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
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Rights-related Questions
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Freedom of Speech
Death Penalty
The Disappeared
Economic & Social Rights
Terrorism & Anti-Terrorism
Corruption
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Natural Law
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According to natural law ethical theory, the moral
standards that govern human behavior are, in
some sense, objectively derived from the nature
of human beings.
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Natural Law
Human Nature
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Arguments for natural rights that appeal to
human nature establish the following:
– Some characteristic of human nature, such as the
ability to make free choices, is essential to human life.
– Certain conditions, such as freedom from physical
constraints, are necessary for the existence or the
exercise of that human ability;
– Conclude that people have right to live in conditions
which allow for essential characteristics of human.
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Two Concepts of Rights
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The distinction depends on the obligation that is
placed on those who must respect your rights.
Negative Rights
– Obliges others not to interfere with your exercise
of the right.
Positive Rights
– Obligates others to provide you with positive
assistance in the exercise of that right.
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Negative Rights
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Negative rights simply impose on others the duty not
to interfere with your rights.
– The right to life, construed as a negative right,
obliges others not to kill you.
– The right to free speech, construed as a negative
right, obliges others not to interfere with your free
speech
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Positive Rights
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Positive rights impose on others a specific obligation
to do something to assist you in the exercise of your
right
– The right to life, construed as a positive right,
obliges others to provide you with the basics
necessary to sustain life if you are unable to
provide these for yourself
– The right to free speech, construed as a positive
right, obligates others to provide you with the
necessary conditions for your free speech--e.g.,
air time, newspaper space, etc.
– Welfare rights are typically construed as positive
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rights.
Positive Rights:
Critique
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Who is obligated to provide positive assistance?
– People in general
– Each of us individually
– The state (government)
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The Limitations of Rights Concept
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Rights, Community, and Individualism
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Rights and Close Relationships
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The Limitations of Rights Concept
Contradicting Rights:
Athos and Women
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Greek public community is indignant at the decision
recently taken by the Dutch court and at the
resolution of European parliament.
In January, a Greek law that allows monks from the
Athos Monastery not to let women to the Holy Mount
was officially declared in court as contradicting
human rights.
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The Limitations of Rights Concept
Contradicting Rights:
Athos and Women
An official response to the declaration was immediate:
governmental spokesman told European human
rights activists that the right of the Athos monastery
republic not to let women to the Holy Mount was
confirmed in the treaty of Greece-s incorporation into
the European Union.
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Concluding Evaluation
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Rights do not tell the whole story of ethics, especially
in the area of personal relationships.
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Rights are always defined for groups of people
(humanity, women, indigenous people, workers etc).
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Personal Integrity vs Public Safety
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Justice
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Introduction
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All of us have been the recipients of demands of
justice.
– My students expect just grading policy.
All of us have also been in the position of demanding
justice.
– I told the builder of my house that, since he
replaced defective windows for a neighbor, he
should replace my defective windows.
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Conceptions of Justice
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Distributive Justice
– Benefits and burdens
Compensatory/Recompensatory Justice
– Criminal justice
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Distributive Justice
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The central question of distributive justice is the
question of how the benefits and burdens of our lives
are to be distributed.
– Justice involves giving each person his or her due.
– Equals are to be treated equally.
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Distribution: What?
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What is to be distributed?
– Income
– Wealth
– Opportunities
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Distribution: to Whom?
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To whom are good to be distributed?
– Individual persons
– Groups of persons
– Classes
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Distribution: How?
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On what basis should goods be distributed?
– Equality
– Individual needs or desires
– Free market transactions
– Ability to make best use of the goods
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Strict Egalitarianism
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Basic principle: every person should have the same
level of material goods and services
Criticisms
– Unduly restricts individual freedom
– May conflict with what people deserve
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The Difference Principle
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More wealth may be produced in a system where
those who are more productive earn greater incomes.
Strict egalitarianism may discourage maximal
production of wealth.
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The Difference Principle
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Each person is to have an equal right to the most
extensive total system of equal basic liberties
compatible with a similar system of liberty for all.
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If a system of strict equality maximizes the absolute
position of the least advantaged in society, then the
Difference Principle advocates strict equality.
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The Difference Principle
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If it is possible to raise the position of the least
advantaged further by inequality of income and
wealth, then the Difference Principle prescribes
inequality up to that point where the absolute
position of the least advantaged can no longer be
raised.
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Critics of the Difference Principle (DP)
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Strict egalitarians: DP don’t treat anyone differently
Utilitarians: DP doesn’t maximize utility
Libertarian: DP infringes on liberty through taxation,
etc.
Desert-based theorists: argue DP to reward hard
work even when it doesn’t help the disadvantaged.
Does not provide sufficient rewards for ambition
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Welfare-Based Approaches
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Seek to maximize well-being of society as a whole
Utilitarianism
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Desert*-Based Approaches
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Distributive systems are just insofar as they distribute
incomes according to the different levels earned or
deserved by the individuals in the society for their
productive labors, efforts or contributions. (Feinberg)
Distribution is based on:
– Actual contribution to the social product
– Effort one expend in work activity
– Compensation to the costs
Seeks to raise the overall standard of living by
rewarding effort and achievement
May be applied only to working adults
*desert - förtjänst; förtjänt lön, vedergällning
according to one's deserts efter förtjänst
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Libertarian Principles
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1. People own themselves.
2. The world is initially un-owned.
3. You can acquire absolute rights over a
disproportionate share of the world, if you do not
worsen the condition of others.
4. It is relatively easy to acquire absolute rights over
a disproportionate share of the world.
5. Therefore: Once private property has been
appropriated, a free market in capital and labor is
morally required.
Will Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy
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John Stuart Mill
Early Feminist Critique of Liberal
Distributive Structures
Mill in The Subjection of Women (1869):
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Principles associated with liberalism require equal
political status of women
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Try to run “Wealth Distribution”, a model that simulates the distribution of
wealth.
http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/WealthDistribution
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