ETHICS

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 Objectives
■ Distinguish between varying theories on ethics.
■ Evaluate the Trolley Problem and how it may be
solved by various theories on ethics.
■ Apply the theories on ethics to various career a
student may undergo.
 Topics
■ Normative Ethics/Applied Ethics with focus on:
– Consequential Ethics
– Duty Ethics
– Virtue Ethics
 What is Good, What is Bad, and What is Ugly?
■ To answer such question is to answer questions of
ethics or morality.

■ Ethics and morality are technically different. Morality

is something that’s personal and normative, whereas
ethics is the standards of “good and bad” distinguished
by a certain community or social setting.
 What is Good, What is Bad, and What is Ugly?
■ However, in this topic we will use will them
interchangeably.

■ Ethics or morality is generally concerned with what

is good and what is bad; or why is ‘good’ good and
why is ‘bad’ bad.
 What is Ethics?
■ There are three branches of philosophical ethics.
– Normative Ethics
– Meta-Ethics
– Applied Ethics

■ In this topic, we will only focus on Normative Ethics.

However, here some simple distinctions:
 What is Ethics?
■ Normative Ethics
– examines standards for the rightness and wrongness of actions; it is
concerned with how one ‘ought’ to act

■ Meta-Ethics
– studies the meaning of moral language and the metaphysics of
moral facts; it is concerned with the question: what is goodness?

■ Applied Ethics
– concerned with real-world actions and their moral considerations
in the areas of private and public life, the professions, health,
 Normative Ethics
■ Normative Ethics is also different from descriptive ethics as
descriptive ethics is concerned with empirical investigation
with people’s moral beliefs.

■ Descriptive Ethics is concerned with the question: ‘What do

people think is right?’

■ Since Descriptive Ethics is empirical, this is more usually

handled in the fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology,
or evolutionary science.
 Normative Ethics
■ Normative Ethics is more prescriptive. It is
concerned with the question: ‘How should people
act?’

■ Normative Ethics has different forms:

– Virtue Ethics
– Deontological Ethics
– Consequential Ethics
■ Normative Ethics has different forms:
– Virtue Ethics
– Duty Ethics
– Consequential Ethics
– Ethics of Care
■ argues that morality arises out of the experiences of empathy
and compassion
– Pragmatic Ethics
■ argues that moral correctness evolves similarly to scientific
knowledge: socially over the course of many lifetimes
– Role Ethics
■ argues that morality is based on roles one have in society (e.g.
family role)
 Normative Ethics
■ It is important to note that in Applied Ethics, various
theories are also used. But generally, the first three
(virtue, duty, consequential) are more popular. Thus
in this topic, we will focus on those three.

■ It is also important to note that while we discuss

theories and concepts here in ethics, and answer
ethical problems that we encounter in real-life—that
essentially is applied ethics.
Consider this ethical problem: the trolley problem
 If your answer is to save more people…
■ You are leaning more with consequential ethics.
– argues that the morality of an action is contingent
on the action's outcome or result

■ One of its forms is Utilitarianism.

– it holds that an action is right if it leads to the
most happiness for the greatest number of people
 consequential…
■ There are other forms which have varying focus on
which should have better consequence

■ State consequentialism (state welfare)

■ Egoism (good for the self)
■ Intellectualism (knowledge)
■ Welfarism (welfare, in general)
■ etc.
Consider the trolley problem, again:
 Let’s add another parameter
■ What if the single individual strapped in the rail is
one of your loved ones?

■ Would you still sacrifice that ‘one’ to save more

people?
 If you are having doubts to give an answer because
either way, you will cause the death of another…

■ You are leaning more with duty ethics (also called

deontological ethics).
– morality of an action should be based on whether
that action itself is right or wrong under a series
of rules, rather than based on the consequences of
the action
 deontological…
■ One deontological theory is Immanuel Kant’s
Categorical Imperative.
– asserts that morality is in humanity's rational
capacity and asserts certain inviolable moral laws
■ Kant presented three formulations of categorical
imperative:

■ Act only according to that maxim by which you can also

will that it would become a universal law.
■ Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether
in your own person or in the person of any other, never
simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.
■ Every rational being must so act as if he were through his
maxim always a legislating member in a universal
kingdom of ends.
 Kant’s Categorical Imperative
■ Act only according to that maxim by which you can also
will that it would become a universal law.
– personal justice, importance of universal law

■ Kant’s concept of universalizability is central to this

maxim.
– asks whether the maxim of your action could become
one that everyone could act upon in similar
circumstances, whether it can be universalized
 Kant’s Categorical Imperative
■ Act in such a way that you always treat humanity,
whether in your own person or in the person of any
other, never simply as a means, but always at the
same time as an end.
– interpersonal justice, importance of means-ends
distinction
 Kant’s Categorical Imperative
■ Every rational being must so act as if he were
through his maxim always a legislating member in a
universal kingdom of ends.
– social justice, interpersonal ‘social contract’
Let us look at it again.
 Once again, another parameter.
■ What if you are actually in the moment of deciding
whether to spare that ‘one’ person, spare the ‘five’
persons, or just do nothing at all?

■ What will you actually do?

 Once again, another parameter.
■ For some reason, you will do something—something
that may be different from what you are speculating
right now.

■ Because, well, we are humans. We have our own

nature—maybe you will instinctively spare five
persons, maybe you will instinctively spare that one
person, or maybe whatever…
 Once again, another parameter.
■ Still, the point is you will definitely do something—for
it is in your nature.

■ This is virtue ethics (also, aretaic ethics).

– focuses on the inherent character of a person rather
than on specific actions; emphasizes virtues of mind
and character
– aretaic is from Greek term arete meaning excellence
or virtue
 Virtue Ethics (Aretaic Ethics)
■ For some philosophers, morality does not rely on certain
moral consequence or certain moral rules rather morality
depend on how people will deal with moral virtues.

■ Will one cultivate it, or will one ignore it?

■ A virtue is generally agreed to be a character trait, such

as a habitual action or settled sentiment.
 Virtue Ethics (Aretaic Ethics)
■ There are three concepts that are central to virtue
ethics:
– arete (excellence or virtue),
– phronesis (practical or moral wisdom), and
– eudaimonia (flourishing).
■ There are three concepts that are central to virtue ethics:
– arete (excellence or virtue),
■ bound up with the notion of fulfillment of purpose or
function, i.e. to be human
– phronesis (practical or moral wisdom), and
■ acquired trait that enables its possessor to identify the
thing to do in any given situation, results in action or
decision
– eudaimonia (flourishing).
■ state achieved by the person who lives the proper
human life, an outcome that can be reached by
practicing the virtues
What is your answer now then?
 Activity

■ List down at least two ethical problems that you

may encounter in your future career
■ Explain how you are going solve that problem.
You can refer to the theories we have discussed.
■ e.g. Medicine – question of euthanasia (you can refer to
internet or ask your instructor)