METAETHICS, ETHICAL THEORIES, AND APPLIED ETHICS

Reporter: Annabel C. Oscuro

METAETHICS

Metaethics is the underlying foundation of normative and applied ethics. It focuses on

what morality is and is concerned with the theoretical meaning of morality, ethical principles,
nature of ethics, its truth or falsity, validity or invalidity, and how we know; not with what is actually
good, evil, or just.

NORMATIVE ETHICS

The word normative is an adjective which comes from "norm." In a philosophical context,
the word norm usually means standard, or rule, or principle. Normative ethics is concerned with
moral norms. A moral norm is a norm in the sense of being a standard with which moral agents
ought to comply.
Normative ethics seeks to give a framework for ethics and tell people how they ought to
live. It is also referred to as Ethical Theories and concerned with criteria of what is morally right
and wrong.

Four Types of Normative Ethics

1. TELEOLOGICAL ETHICAL THEORY

Teleological Ethical Theories are concerned with the consequences of actions which
means the basic standards for our actions being morally right or wrong depends on the good or
evil generated.

Types of Teleological Ethical Theories

a. Ethical Egoism: An action is good if it produces or is likely to produce results that maximize
the person’s self-interest as defined by him, even at the expense of others. It is based on
the notion that it is always moral to promote one’s own good.
Ethical Egoists do not believe you should pursue the interests of others as well as
your own interests, rather they believe you should only pursue your interests. An egoist
believes that what makes an action good is that it is good for him/her. Most egoists believe
you should sometimes help others, but only because it is in your interest. For example, an
ethical egoist may think it good to scratch another’s back, but only because this act is
somehow in his rational self-interest (e.g. the other will scratch his back in return).
It is also important to see that ethical egoists can live disciplined lives. For example,
most ethical egoists will attempt to stop smoking because they recognize smoking is not in
their long term self-interest and is therefore bad. Ethical Egoism does not support doing
whatever you feel, rather it encourages you to follow your objective and rational self-
interest.
According to ethical egoism, one should not be morally praised for jumping on a
grenade to save five people. His act is bad because he was not acting in his objective
self-interest. He sacrificed his self-interest. According to ethical egoism, we should not think
 such an act is morally praiseworthy because we believe everyone should act according
to their self-interest.

b. Utilitarianism: An action is good if it results in maximum satisfaction for a large number of

people who are likely to get affected by the action. Suppose a manager creates an
annual employee vacation schedule after soliciting the vacation time preferences from
all the employees and honor their preferences, then he would be acting in a way that shall
maximize the pleasure of all the employees.
Another example, imagine there is a trolley heading toward a group of 5 workers
on the tracks. You are sitting in a control center several miles away, and you have a button
that can switch the trolley onto another track where there’s only 1 worker. If you flip the
switch, one person will die. If you do nothing, 5 people will die. Should you flip the switch?
(Utilitarian:1 death is better than 5 deaths, so if you have to choose, you should try to
minimize the loss of life by flipping the switch.)
Suppose that you are buying ice cream for a party that ten people will attend.
Your only flavor options are chocolate and vanilla, and some of the people attending like
chocolate while others like vanilla. As a utilitarian, you should choose the flavor that will
result in the most pleasure for the group as a whole. If seven like chocolate and three like
vanilla and if all of them get the same amount of pleasure from the flavor they like, then
you should choose chocolate. This will yield what Bentham, in a famous phrase, called
“the greatest happiness for the greatest number.”
An important point in this case is that you should choose chocolate even if you are
one of the three people who enjoy vanilla more than chocolate. The utilitarian method
requires you to count everyone’s interests equally. You may not weigh some people’s
interests—including your own—more heavily than others. Similarly, if a government is
choosing a policy, it should give equal consideration to the well-being of all members of
the society.

c. Eudaimonism: An action is good if it results in the fulfillment of goals along with the welfare
of the human beings. In other words, the actions are said to be fruitful if it promotes or tends
to promote the fulfillment of goals constitutive of human nature and its happiness. Suppose
manager enforce employee training and knowledge standards at work, which are natural
components of human happiness.
Eudaimonia is often translated as “happiness”, but that’s a bit misleading.
Eudaimonia comes from two Greek words: Eu (good) and Daimon (soul or “self”). A difficult
word to translate into English. In Greek philosophy, Eudaimonia means achieving the best
conditions possible for a human being, in every sense―not only happiness, but also virtue,
morality, and a meaningful life. It was the ultimate goal of philosophy: to become better
people—to fulfill our unique potential as human beings.
Example: If you’re a parent, you should excel at raising your children; if you’re a
doctor, you should excel at healing people; and if you’re a philosopher, you should excel
at gaining knowledge and wisdom, and teaching. Of course, each person plays many
roles life, and it’s by excelling in all of them that one achieves Eudaimonia.
So, instead of happiness, Eudaimonia could be translated as fulfillment, living a
good (moral) life, human flourishing, and moral or spiritual success.
2. DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICAL THEORY

Deontological Ethical Theories hold that the actions are morally right independent of their
consequences.

Types of Deontological Ethical Theories

a. Negative and Positive Rights Theories: The negative rights theory asserts that an action is
right if it protects the individual from harm or unwarranted interference from other people
or the government while exercising his right. Suppose an individual has the right to use, sell
or dispose of his personal car then the other persons have the correlative duty to not to
prevent him from doing whatever he want to do with his car.
The positive rights theory posits that an action is right if it provides or tends to provide
an individual with anything that he needs to exist. Suppose an individual has the right to
adequate health care services to survive this means other agents, perhaps the
government has the correlative duty to provide him with the necessary health care
services.

b. Social Contract Theories: The social contract theories posit that people contract with each
other to abide by the moral and political obligations towards the society in which they live.
This theory is based on the notion that if there is no order and law in the society, then
people will have unlimited freedoms, i.e. the right to all things and will resort to all misdeeds
such as rape, murder, plunder, etc. Thus, there will be an endless “war of all against all”
and in order to overcome such situation people enter into an agreement with each other
to give up some of their freedoms and accept the obligation to respect and safeguard
the rights of the others. Thus, an individual gains the civil rights that constitute the social
benefits that he is entitled to the extent he fulfills his due obligations towards the society.
Example: Consider if William accuses Adam of stealing $1,000 from him. Adam
denies having done it. In a natural law state, the men might settle the matter by fighting –
or perhaps William would break into Adam’s home and attempt to take the money back.
Once a social contract has been entered into by forming a cohesive society, governed
by law, the men must put their faith in the legal system.
In the United States, the people have elected representatives to run the
government, which consists of three separate branches, each keeping the others in
check. Each member of society has given up his right to take matters into his own hands,
expecting that everyone else will do the same. One of the benefits, in this example of the
social contract theory, is that no one is free to get revenge on people they think have
wronged them.
Another example of social contract theory might occur if two men wake up in the
woods. Nether knows where he is, or how he got there. While they have no supplies, both
men have guns, and a healthy distrust of the other. As the men walk around looking for
edible plants and berries, each keeps looking behind himself, fearing the other might steal
what he’s found, or hurt him. Not only are the men distracted, it is difficult to gather food
carrying a gun around. However, if both men agree to lay down their guns at the same
time, they can go about their tasks without fear. To add another dimension to the contract
the men have just entered into, they might agree to search for what they need together,
sharing equally.

c. Social Justice Theories: The action will be considered right if it confirms the fairness in
the distributive, retributive and compensatory dimensions of cost and rewards. The
 distributive dimension means the perceived fairness in the distribution of social benefits and
burden among the group members. The retributive dimension considers the punishment
proportionate to the extent of crime while the compensatory dimension is the way people
are compensated in relation to the injuries inflicted upon them.
For example, if the second-hand smoke hurts the passive or non-smokers at work,
there should be a fair distribution of health risk burden and the proportionate punishment
should be imposed on the party responsible for it. Also, the affected parties shall be
compensated to the extent they have suffered the injuries.
Thus, a theory asserts that the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend
on the goodness or badness of their consequences.

3. SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT ETHICAL THEORY

System Development Ethical Theories state that the extent to which organization system is
sensitive to the need to develop a work culture supportive of ethical conduct determines the
ethical value of actions.

Major Types of System Development Ethical Theories

a. Personal Improvement Ethics: The action is good if it is intended to promote the individual’s
personal responsibility for the continuous learning, improvement, holistic development and
moral excellence.
For example, the employees in order to gain expertise in their work enroll in the
company’s training programmes with a view to improving themselves as well as the
organization’s functioning.

b. Organizational Ethics: The action is right if it confirms the development of the formal and
informal organizational processes which in turn enhances the procedural outcomes,
respectful caring, innovation in ethical work culture and systematic justice.
For example, if there is no employee complaints Redressal system in the
organization and also the employees do not have a voice system for feedback then it is
the responsibility of the manager to implement such system and give a voice to the
employee. By doing so, the manager supports individual and organizational moral
development and reduce the intense resistance to the overall moral development.
One example of organizational ethics is the uniform treatment of all employees.
Small business owners should treat all employees with the same respect, regardless of their
race, religion, cultures or lifestyles. Everyone should also have equal chances for
promotions.
Some companies hold one-day seminars on various discrimination issues. They then
invite outside experts in to discuss these topics. Similarly, small company managers must
also avoid favoring one employee over others. This practice may also lead to lawsuits from
disgruntled employees. It is also counterproductive.

c. Extraorganizational Ethics: The action is right if it promotes or tends to promote the

collaborative partnerships and respect the global and domestic constituencies
representing the diverse political, economic, legal, social ecological and philanthropic
concerns that affect the firm.
 For example, it is the social responsibility of a manager to consider all the factors
external to the organization such as political, legal, social, environmental, etc. that can
affect the organizational business processes.
Thus, the managers who cautiously assess the moral conduct of his employees and
retribute (punish) their wrong doings then he is said to have successfully developed the system of
ethics. In case, the manager relies exclusively on the character of his employees and do not
implement morally supportive intra-organizational systems and stable processes; then the
organization is exposed to the future ethical risk.

4. VIRTUE ETHICAL THEORY

Virtue Ethical Theories hold that ethical value of an individual is determined by

his character. The character refers to the virtues, inclinations and intentions that dispose of a
person to be ready to act ethically. In contrast with the other normative theories which tend to
start with right action, it begins with an account of virtuous character. In other words, it offers an
account of what states of character are desirable, or virtues, and then tends to define right actions
in terms of these virtues.
For example, Virtue Ethical Theory might say that lying is wrong because it is dishonest, or
not what an honest person (virtuous person) would do. Virtue ethicists, particularly, Aristotle and
those who follow him, argue that right action cannot be understood as conformity of actions to
rules. They tend to emphasize that the virtuous person is someone who acts rightly in the situation
upon requirements that are unique to the situation. The virtuous person is someone who is able to
perceive what the situation requires and act accordingly.

Major Types of Virtue Ethical Theories

a. Individual Character Ethics: The individual character ethics hold that the identification and
development of noble human traits help in determining both the instrumental and intrinsic
value of human ethical interactions. These noble traits are courage, self-discipline,
prudence, gratitude, wisdom, sincerity, understanding, benevolence, etc.

b. Work Character Ethics: The identification and development of reflective, practitioner,

noble traits at works such as creativity, honesty, loyalty, honor, trustworthiness, civility,
dependability, shared work pride, empathy, etc. determine the intrinsic and instrumental
ethical quality of work life. For example, suppose a manager is facing global competition,
huge productivity expectations and requires an effective teamwork, then his work
character behavior should be such that he is considered as a role model for task
accomplishment and his considerate relations with everyone at the workplace.

c. Professional Character Ethics: The professional character ethics hold that self-regulation,
loyalty, impartial judgment, altruism, truthfulness, public service determine the intrinsic and
instrumental ethical quality of an individual associated with some communities.
For example, if a business manager of a firm of doctors detects the double billing
for the OT’s services, then his ethical professional behavior will enforce him to inform about
this to the doctors-in-charge to get the problem solved. And in case the problem still
persists, then he will act as a whistleblower and inform about this to the public outside and
will not be silent until the problem is rectified. He does all this because of his loyalty towards
the professional code of ethics.
 Thus, the Virtue Ethical Theories are based on the notion that developing a sound
character is what the life is all about. The character builds a substantive moral foundation for one’s
actions.
It is believed that a person with the strong character has imbibed emotional, intellectual,
moral and social virtues to achieve the self-discipline and do the right thing or want what is
actually good for him. Whereas, the person with weak character finds himself doing all the wrong
things, wanting what is truly harmful and making excuses for all his ill doings.

APPLIED ETHICS

Applied Ethics seeks to apply normative ethical theories to specific issues. It is concerned
with the actions which a person is obliged to perform in a particular situation. It is ethics with
respect to real-world actions and their moral considerations in the areas of private and public life,
the professions, health, technology, law, and leadership.

Examples:
 Bioethics community is concerned with identifying the correct approach to moral issues in
the life sciences, such as euthanasia, the allocation of scarce health resources, or the use
of human embryos in research.
 Environmental ethics is concerned with ecological issues such as the responsibility of
government and corporations to clean up pollution.
 Business ethics includes questions regarding the duties or duty of 'whistleblowers' to the
general public or their loyalty to their employers.

Andrew Fisher explains the relationship between the three branches of Ethics with an analogy
with a football game. The players can be thought of as issues of applied ethics. They are
concerned with specific strategies to kick a ball to score a goal. Just like applied ethics which is
concerned with how ethics is applied strategically on certain issues. The referee can be seen as
the issues of normative ethics. Normative ethics is concerned with underlying principles which
guide the applied ethicist. And finally, metaethicist can be thought of as football analyst who
does not apply the ethics or interpret the rules but tries to understand what is going on in the game
itself.
In conclusion, normative ethics, also known as normative theory, or moral theory, intends to
find out which actions are right and wrong, or which character traits are good and bad. In
contrast, metaethics, as the term suggests, is a study of the nature of ethics. A metaethical study
would be concerned, amongst other things, with determining the meaning and objectivity of
moral concepts of right and wrong, or good and bad. Applied ethics is just the application of
normative ethics to particular issues of practical concern such as abortion, euthanasia,
cloning, animal rights, and criminal punishment, sometimes using the conceptual tools of meta-
ethics as well. Thus, ethics are the well-defined standards that impose obligations to refrain human
beings from any misconduct, which could be harmful to the self as well as for the society.