Ethics 5 PDF

Ethics in Leadership
Kants Duty
Questions Biography Writings Reading For Next Time
Is Dynamite good or bad?

Is it OK to make a false
promise to save someones
life?
Can you think of a general

ethics formulae for such
cases?
Immanuel Kant 1724 -1804

"The history of the life of Immanuel Kant is hard to write,
inasmuch as he had neither life nor history, for he lived a
mechanically ordered and abstract old bachelor life in a quiet
retired street in Koenigsberg I do not believe that the great
clock of the cathedral there did its daily work more
dispassionately and regularly than its compatriot Immanuel
Kant. Rising, coffee drinking, writing, reading college lectures,
eating, walking, all had their fixed time, and the neighbors
knew that it was exactly half past three when Immanuel Kant in
his grey coat, with his bamboo cane in his hand, left his house
door and went to the Lime tree avenue, which is still called, in
memory of him, the Philosopher's Walk...Strange contrast
between the external life of the man and his destroying, world-
crushing thought! In very truth, if the citizens of Koenigsberg
had dreamed of the real meaning of his thought, they would
have experienced at his sight a greater horror than they would
on beholding an executioner who only kills men.
Heinrich Heine
Koningsberg, Prussia
Prussia
Studied at the university of

Konigsberg
Took courses in: theology,

philosophy, mathematics, physics,
and medicine.
Lecturer at the University of Konigsberg in

mathematics, geography, mineralogy, and
philosophy.
worked as a private tutor

The Metaphysics of Morals (1785)
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics

of Morals (1797)
On what scale would you measure the aim
of ethics?
Some would measure it to be on the

happiness scale, while Kant defines it on
the good-will scale
3As vs Kant
(Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas)
Happiness
Scale of Good
Note: Happiness is
the GOAL
3As vs Kant
(Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas)
Happiness Goodwill
Scale of Good Scale of Good

Happiness Virtue
Intelligence Wealth Honor
Happiness / desires Moral
Goodwill
Selfishness
Duty
Kants perspective on earlier philosophies vs. his

own:
Actions that Actions

AGREE WITH DONE FROM
duty duty
Eg: Merchant treating clients fairly

Propositions of Morality
Actions should be done from duty
(or else selfish)
Action done from duty derives its moral

worth from the personal policy which it
determines
Duty is the necessity of activity from

respect for the moral law
Propositions of Morality
duty
Actions should be done from duty
(or else selfish)
intension
Action done from duty derives its moral
worth from the personal policy which it
determines
universality
Duty is the necessity of activity from
respect for the moral law
IMPERATIVES
formation of a command (motivation)
Hypothetical Categorical
Do X if you Do X! Period
want Y
Direct inclination Duty

Applications:
Direct
inclination
Duty
Moral Law
Morality for its own sake

IMPERATIVES
formation of a command (motivation)
Hypothetical Categorical
Do X if you Do X! Period
want Y
Direct inclination Duty

MORAL LAW
Moral Law
Formulae of the law of nature
Formulae of the end in itself
Formulae of autonomy
Formulae of the kingdom of ends
Moral Law
Law of Nature
The law is that the maxim
[personal policy] is capable
of becoming a universal law
Moral Law
Law of Nature simplified:
Universalize your action
Deliberating about taking the bus vs your car
Application:
Cheating in an exam to get an A

Cheating on a spouse
Making a false promise
Moral Law
Law of the end in itself
Treat humans as ends and not as

means to something else
Application:
Sleeping with a prostitute

Abortion
History:
Earliest records of abortion:
16th c BC in Egypt
6th c BC in China
Abortion
Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice
case
A young lady in a very conservative village
was raped by a stranger and got pregnant.
No one knew about the incident except her
mother.
Once this young lady delivers her child, she
will almost certainly not get married
anymore. This means she will have to
work hard all her life to bring up the child
alone, and she will be lowly regarded.
Should she have an abortion?
What if she was not in a conservative
society, but in a big city like New York.
Would you recommend an abortion?
What if she got pregnant not out of rape but
from an affair out of wedlock?
Would you recommend an abortion?
Danger of the slippery slope
Limit in Abortion?
Limit in Abortion?
What if a pregnant woman is invited to a
party, and she does not feel cool about
going out in public with a big belly.
Should she have an abortion?
Quotes on Abortion
Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching
its people to love, but to use any violence to get
what it wants
it is a poverty to decide that a child must die so

that you may live as you wish
if we accept that the mother can kill her own child,

how can we tell other people not to kill one
another.
Euthanasia
Case
In case you deliver (or your wife delivers) a
baby with Down Syndrome, what would
you do about it?
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.
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth
in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such
as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the
basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status
of the country or territory to which a person belongs,
whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or
under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Remember:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
is inspired by Natural Law and claims to
be higher than the changing local laws
Case
What if you knew that the child has Down
Syndrome before delivering it, would you
make an abortion?
What is the purpose of begetting children?
Euthanasia
Euthanasia
Another term for Euthanasia?
Mercy killing
Euthanasia
Etymology: good death
eu + qanatos = well/good + death
Types of Euthanasia
Voluntary Non- Involuntary
Voluntary
Types of Euthanasia
Voluntary Non- Involuntary
Voluntary
Assisted Suicide Unavailable consent Against the will of the
of patient patient
Passive versus Active euthanasia
Passive versus Active euthanasia
(nuances in Christian Science)

Case
A mentally handicapped person in his
eighties got into coma. No one was able to
pay the hospital fees for him.
Should you make non-voluntary passive
euthanasia?
Case
What if the patient had rich parents who
were willing to pay the hospital fees?
Case
What if the patient was simply an unfriendly
person/ unfriendly character?
Case
Where is the slippery slope?
If A Horse Breaks a Bone Should It Be Euthanized?
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is a belief, popular in the late
Victorian era in England, America, and
elsewhere, which states that the strongest or
fittest should survive and flourish in society,
while the weak and unfit should be allowed to
die. The theory was chiefly expounded by
Herbert Spencer, whose ethical philosophies
always held an elitist view and received a boost
from the application of Darwinian ideas such as
adaptation and natural selection.
Social Darwinism
In its most extreme forms, Social Darwinism has
been used to justify eugenics programs aimed
at weeding "undesirable" genes from the
population; such programs were sometimes
accompanied by sterilization laws directed
against "unfit" individuals. The American
eugenics movement was relatively popular
between about 1910-1930, during which 24
states passed sterilization laws and Congress
passed a law restricting immigration from
certain areas deemed to be unfit. Social
Darwinist ideas, though in different forms, were
also applied by the Nazi party in Germany to
justify their eugenics programs.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C004367/eh4.shtml
Confusion of Darwinism as a scientific
theory with Social Darwinism as an ethical
theory.

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Ethics in Leadership

Is Dynamite good or bad?

Can you think of a general

Immanuel Kant 1724 -1804

Studied at the university of

Took courses in: theology,

Lecturer at the University of Konigsberg in

worked as a private tutor

The Metaphysics of Morals (1785)

Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics

Some would measure it to be on the

Scale of Good Scale of Good

Kants perspective on earlier philosophies vs. his

Actions that Actions

Eg: Merchant treating clients fairly

Action done from duty derives its moral

Duty is the necessity of activity from

Direct inclination Duty

Morality for its own sake

Direct inclination Duty

Cheating in an exam to get an A

Law of the end in itself

Treat humans as ends and not as

Sleeping with a prostitute

it is a poverty to decide that a child must die so

if we accept that the mother can kill her own child,

(nuances in Christian Science)

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