Used to designate human attitudes that show

LACK OF CONCERN on whether a conduct is

Amoral right or wrong. People who DON'T CARE
Human behaviours, values, beliefs about the morality or immorality of an action
considered or judged in light of the insofar as it gratifies their selfish desires
Morals principles of ethics. We can judge a person's
morals as good or bad. One can act morally Used to describe acts that fall outside the
or immorally spectrum of moral evaluation (choosing
Non-moral
what to order for lunch - pizza or burgers /
soccer or rugby)

Branch of philosophy that studies the ideal

human conduct in terms of right and wrong,
good and bad or desirable and undesirable
actions

ARISTOTLE Eudaimonia (consequentialism) High level of happiness or well-being

BENTHAM Utilitarianism (consequentialism) Happiness to the greatest number

*the capacity to be one's own person, to live

IDEAL BEHAVIOUR: WESTERN one's life according to reasons and motives
PERSPECTIVE that are taken as one's own and not the
a) Freedom to exercise autonomy*
product of manipulative or distorting
external forces, to be in this way
independent (without influence of desires)

b)Treated with dignity as an END rather than

KANT Deontology - duty for its own sake a MEANS

c) Do to others as you would want them to

do to you

d) Make that a universal law

Duty to the community (as a means to

Menkiti Deontology + Consequentialism the) -> Attainment of personhood (end in Ethics of personhood
itself).

Asouzu Consequentialism Joy of being -> individual AND collective Ethics of Complementary Reflection
IDEAL BEHAVIOUR: AFRICAN
PERSPECTIVE Duty to others (Communion as an end in
Metz Deontologism Ubuntu-based rational ethics
itself)

Joy of being -> individual AND collective OR

Chimakonam Consequentialism Uze-Ezumezu ethics
both (as an end in itself)

Moral Values are objective

- exist in spirit-realm beyond subjective
human conventions
- are absolute and eternal, never changing
- universal and apply to all rational creatures
around the world and throughout time

One Other-Worldly Discussion E.g. Plato: moral values are absolute truths,
thus abstract, spirit-like entities - spirit-like
objects

Medieval philosophers commonly grouped

all moral principles together under the
heading of “eternal law” which were also
frequently seen as spirit-like objects.
Metaphysical Issues:

Whether morality exists

independently of humans Approach to the metaphysical
status of SKEPTICISM

One This-Worldly Discussion
-morality is divine commands issuing from
God’s will
-sometimes called voluntarism (or
divine command theory), this view was
inspired by the notion of an all-powerful God
who is in control of everything
-God simply wills things, and they become
reality.
-William of Ockham: God wills moral
principles, such as “murder is wrong,” and
these exist in God’s mind as commands.
-God informs humans of these commands
by implanting us with moral intuitions or
revealing these commands in scripture.
- The second and more this-worldly
approach to the metaphysical status of
morality follows in the skeptical
philosophical tradition and denies the
objective status of moral values. Technically,
skeptics did not reject moral values
themselves, but only denied that values exist
as spirit-like objects, or as divine commands
in the
mind of God. Moral values, they argued, are
strictly human inventions, a position that has
since
been called moral relativism
Individual Relativism - This view holds that moral values in fact
-Individual people create their own moral change from society to society throughout
standards time and throughout the world.
- They frequently attempt to defend their
REALITIVSIM position by citing examples
Cultural Relativism of values that differ dramatically from one
- morality is grounded in the approval of one' culture to another, such as attitudes about
s society and not simply in the preferences polygamy, homosexuality and human
of individuals sacrifice.

Many if not all of our actions are prompted

by selfish desires even donating to charity (
experiencing power over other people) -
known as Psychological Egoism

Closely related to Psychological Egoism is

Egoism and Altruism Psychological Hedonism - pleasure is the
driving force behind all actions

Psychological Altruism - at least some of our

Studies the nature, scope, meaning and
sources of moral theories, and the
META-ETHICS
foundation of moral principles and
judgements.
Asks about the SOURCE and MEANING of
ethical principles and standards
Are they subjective or objective?
actions are maintained by instinctive
Rational or emotional?
Metaethics benevolence (instinctive kindness)
Are moral principles and standards culturally
relative or universal

Inspired by DAVID HUME's anti-rationalist

views - 20th century philosophers DENIED
that MORAL assessments are FACTUAL
descriptions

EMOTIVE ELEMENT

DAVID HUME -The Speaker (I) expresses personal

feelings (emotions) of approval about
charitable donations (behaviour) (basically
saying "HOORAY FOR CHARITY!

- EXPRESSES EMOTIONS ABOUT CERTAIN

BEHAVIOUR
"it is good to donate to charity"

PRESCRIPTIVE ELEMENT

-The Speaker (I) is trying to get you to

donate to charity by essentially giving a
command - "DONATE TO CHARITY"
Emotion and Reason
-PRESCRIBING SPECIFIC BEHAVIOUR
-We need a distinctly emotional reaction in
order to make a moral pronouncement.

Psychological Issues:
-Although emotional factors do play a part,
Underlying mental basis of moral he argued that we should resist that kind of "
judgment & conduct (what motivates us to sway".
be moral)
-TRUE moral actions are motivated ONLY by
reason when it is sFREE from EMOTIONS and
DESIRES

IN OPPOSITION
Moral assessments are indeed
IMMANUEL KANT -Kurt Baier (1958), was proposed in direct
acts of reason
opposition to the emotivist and prescriptivist
theories of Ayer and others. Baier focuses
more broadly on the reasoning and
argumentation process that takes place
when making moral choices. All of our moral
choices are, or at least can be, backed by
some reason or justification. If I claim that it
is wrong to steal someone’s car, then I
should be able to justify my claim with some
kind of argument. For example, I could argue
that stealing Smith’s car is wrong since this
would upset her, violate her ownership
rights, or put the thief at risk of getting
caught. According to Baier, then, proper
moral decision making involves giving the
best reasons in support of one course of
action versus another.

Using the woman’s experience as a model

Feminist Philosophers:
for moral theory, then, the basis of morality
would be spontaneously caring for others as
- women have traditionally had a nurturing
would be appropriate in each unique
role which require less rule following and
circumstance.The agent becomes part of the
Traditional Morality is male centred more spontaneous action
situation and acts caringly within that
Since it is modelled after practices that have
context whereas male-modelled morality the
been traditionally male-dominated, such as
agent would act mechanically and perform
Male and Female Morality acquiring property, engaging in business
required duty but can remain distanced and
contracts, and governing societies
unaffected by the situation
-psychological differences between men
and women

There is a unique female perspective of the

world which can be shaped into a value
theory

Ethics

- The Golden Rule:

We should do to others what we would want

- Involves arriving at moral standards that
regulate right and wrong conduct
ETHICS AND
others to do to us
an example of a normative theory that
establishes a single principle against which
we judge all actions

MORALS wisdom Virtue theorists hold that we should avoid

acquiring bad character traits, or vices,
Week 1 Lecture 2-3 Places emphasis on developing good habits courage
such as cowardice, insensibility, injustice,
and vanity. Virtue theory emphasises
- Michaela Langa of character such as kindness rather than
following rules of conduct
Plato cardinal virtues
temperance
moral education since virtuous character
traits are developed in one’s youth. Adults,
therefore, are responsible for instilling
justice virtues in the young.

Virtue Theories
Aristotle argued that virtues are good habits
that we acquire which regulate our emotions.

- natural feelings of fear -> develop virtue

According to Aristotle, since it is difficult to
of courage -> allows you to be fir when
find a perfect mean between extreme
facing danger
character traits, we need assistance from
reason
- if you do not have enough courage, you
develop the disposition of cowardice (a vice)
- if you have too much courage you develop
the disposition of rashness (also a vice)

Theoretical duty to know the existence and

nature of God
Duties to God
Studies moral principles and standards that Practical Duty to both inwardly and
regulate good and bad, right and wrong outwardly worship God
actions. Prescribes the ultimate criterion for
NORMATIVE ETHICS Details
gauging all right and wrong conducts and Duties to soul which involve one's skills and
EXPLAINS THE CONSEQUENCES of bad talents
actions Samuel Pufendorf Duties to Oneself
Duties to the body which involve not
harming our bodies

Avoid wronging others

Duties to others (universally binding on
people, conditional duties (keep one's
Treat people as equals
promise) and are a result of contracts
between people)
Promote the good for others

RELATION BETWEEN RIGHTS AND DUTIES The Rights of one person implies the Duties
(CORRELATIVITY OF RIGHTS AND DUTIES) of another person

Argued that the laws of nature mandate that

Natural rights given by God we should not harm anyone’s life, health,
liberty or possessions
Rights of property
John Locke
Life
Movement
Thomas Jefferson recognises 3 foundational
Rights Theory Liberty Other more specific rights should include
rights
- My right to not be harmed by you Speech
Pursuit of Happiness
Religious expression

They are natural, not created by government

The key assumption in normative ethics is
that there is only one ultimate criterion of
moral conduct, whether it is a single rule or a
set of principles. 3 types of strategies
- Base morality on specific, foundational
principles
of obligation.
- These theories are sometimes called
Duty Theories deontological
- They are also sometimes called non-
consequentialist since these principles are
obligatory, irrespective of the consequences
that might follow from our actions.
Universal, don't change from country to
country
FOUR FEATURES OF ASSOCIATED WITH
FOUR CENTRAL DUTY THEORIES MORAL RIGHTS Equal, the same for all people (irrespective
of race, gender, age etc)
Inalienable, cannot hand them over to
another person (such as selling yourself into
slavery)

CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

- It is a single, self-evident principle

of reason

- Fundamentally different from hypothetical

imperatives that hinge on some personal Always treat people with dignity, and never
Immanuel Kant Emphasises a single principle duty
desire that we have, for example, “If you use them as mere instruments.
want to get a good job, then you ought to go
to college.”

- Simply mandates an action, irrespective of

one’s personal desires, such as
“You ought to do X.”

Fidelity: the duty to keep promises

Reparation: the duty to compensate others

when we harm them

Gratitude: the duty to thank those who help

us

Ross argues that our duties are “part of the Justice: the duty to recognize merit
W.D. Ross Emphasises prima facie duties
fundamental nature of the universe.”
Beneficence: the duty to improve the
conditions of others

Self-improvement: the duty to improve our

virtue and intelligence

Non-maleficence: the duty to not injure

others

an action is morally right if the

consequences of that action are more
Ethical Egoism
favourable than unfavourable ONLY to the
agent performing the action
- determine our moral responsibility by
weighing the consequences of our actions. an action is morally right if the
consequences of that action are more
Ethical Altruism
- correct moral conduct is determined solely favourable than unfavourable to everyone
by a cost-benefit analysis of an action’s except the agent
consequences
Tally consequences of each action we
Consequentialist Theories perform and thereby determine on a case by
- An action is morally right if the Act-Utilitarianism
consequences of that action are more case basis whether an action is morally right
favourable than unfavourable. or wrong
Jeremy Bentham Two notably important features
-the most attractive feature of Tally the pleasure and pain which results
consequentialism is that it appeals to from our actions. (For Bentham, pleasure
publicly observable consequences of actions Hedonistic Utilitarianism and pain are the only consequences that
matter in determining whether our conduct is
an action is morally right if the moral)
Utilitarianism consequences of that action are more
favourable than unfavourable to everyone Revised version where a behavioural code or
rule is morally right if the consequences of
adopting that rule are more favourable than
unfavourable to everyone. Unlike act
utilitarianism, which weighs the
Rule-Utilitarianism consequences of each particular action, rule- Three-tiered method for judging conduct
utilitarianism offers a litmus test only for the
morality of moral rules, such as “stealing is
wrong.” Adopting a rule against theft clearly
has more favourable consequences than
unfavourable consequences for everyone.

Analysis of specific, controversial moral

issues such as abortion, animal rights, or
euthanasia

Personal benefit: acknowledge the extent to

which an action produces beneficial
consequences for the individual in question

Social benefit: acknowledge the extent to

which an action produces beneficial
Details consequences for society.

Principle of benevolence: help those in need

Principle of paternalism: assist others in

pursuing their best interests when they
cannot do so themselves

represent a spectrum of traditional

Principle of harm: do not harm others
most commonly appealed to in applied normative principles and are derived from
ethical discussions both consequentialist and duty-based
Principle of honesty: do not deceive others
approaches

Principle of lawfulness: do not violate the law

APPLIED ETHICS Principle of autonomy: acknowledge a

person’s freedom over his/her actions or
physical body

Principle of justice: acknowledge a person’s

right to due process, fair compensation for
harm done, and fair distribution of benefits.

Rights: acknowledge a person’s rights to life,

information, privacy, free expression, and
safety

1. Issue has to be controversial

APPLIED ETHICS AND ITS CONNECTIONS
2 Requirements
WITH NORMATIVE AND META-ETHICS
2. Has to be a moral issue

Religion Actions judged as righteous/sinful

Law Actions judged as legal/illegal

Etiquette Actions judged as correct/incorrect

Line between actions that are judged as

Some societies like traditional ones have law
moral/immoral, righteous/sinful, legal/illegal
and religion intertwined and referred to as "
Norms customs" in which some customs are
and even correct/incorrect - e.g. Islam
societies, the way you process meat can
normative.
raise a moral question