ETHICS

• Ethics is about matters such as the good things we should pursue and the bad things we should avoid, as well as the right ways in which we could or should act and the wrong ways of acting
• Ethics guides individuals to make morally right decisions, foster trust, respect, promote fairness and justice to build a better and harmonious world
• Ethics focuses on recognizing the conception of good and bad, and right and wrong
• Ethics and morals:

  • Ethics is the study of ideal human behavior
  • Morals are about personal beliefs and actions
  • Ethics and morals may be used interchangeably, but caution is needed with the use of the words "moral" and "ethical"
• Philosophy:

  • Philosophy means the love of wisdom
  • Branches of Philosophy include Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Axiology (Aesthetic & Ethics)
• Descriptive and normative ethics:

  • Descriptive Ethics describes people's/group of people's valuations without making judgments
  • Normative Ethics provides a system of moral principles that tells us what we ought to do in various situations
• Moral theories in normative ethics:

  • Deontology: Duty List Theories, Categorical Imperative (Kantianism)
  • Consequentialism: Ethical Egoism, Ethical Altruism, Utilitarianism
  • Virtue Ethics focuses on human character and what kind of person one should be
• Moral issues, decisions, judgments, and dilemmas:

  • Moral issues deal with potential violations of moral conduct
  • Moral decisions are made after facing a moral issue/dilemma
  • Moral judgments involve assessing the behavior/actions of others
  • Moral dilemmas present difficulty in choosing between options
• Reasoning in Ethics:

  • Reasoning applies critical analysis to determine what is right or wrong in specific events
  • Reasoning involves giving reasons to decide what is right or wrong in a particular situation
  • Reasoning typically applies logic and moral theories to establish the validity of maintaining certain moral principles
• Sources of Authority in Ethics:

  • Law: Rules made by a government to order societal behavior
  • Religion: Belief in spiritual beings and ultimate concerns
  • Culture: Cultural relativism suggests that ethical acceptability is relative to one's culture
• Cultural relativism is a concept in anthropology and ethics that suggests all cultural beliefs, values, and practices should be understood and evaluated within the context of their own culture
• Cultural relativism proposes that there are no universal standards of morality or ethical principles that can be applied to all cultures equally
• James Rachel's criticisms of cultural relativism include:

  • Different cultures have different moral codes, making it impossible to determine the right moral code
  • We are not in a position to judge the practices of another culture
  • We are not in a position to judge the practices of our own culture
  • Cultural relativism can only be maintained by presuming culture as a single, clearly defined substance or as something fixed and already determined
• Subjectivism:

  • The individual thinking person is at the heart of all moral valuations
  • The individual is the sole determinant of what is morally good or bad, right or wrong
• Psychological egoism:

  • Descriptive theory stating that all actions are motivated by self-interest
  • All actions are geared toward satisfying the ego or self's desires and interests
  • Examples include seeking pleasure, avoiding pain, charity as a way of showing superiority, and pity as a reminder of potential suffering
• Ethical egoism:

  • Normative ethical theory prescribing that decision-making should be guided entirely by self-interest
  • Argues that it is ethically correct to prioritize individual self above others
  • Two main forms: individual ethical egoism and universal ethical egoism
• Prisoners Dilemma:

  • Different outcomes based on confessing or not confessing
  • Highlights that pursuing one's self-interest without considering others may not always be the best choice
• The myth of Gyges:

  • Revolves around a shepherd named Gyges who gains the power of invisibility with a ring
  • Raises the ethical question of whether individuals would choose to act justly or unjustly if consequences were absent
  • Plato argues in "The Republic" that true justice is an intrinsic virtue that individuals should cultivate for its own sake
• Immanuel Kant's principle:

  • We should not make exceptions of ourselves
  • We should not perform an action if we cannot honestly wish that everyone would behave in a similar way in the same circumstances
• Ethical egoism is not a popular moral philosophy as it goes against basic assumptions about ethics, lacks solutions for conflicts of interest, and opposes the principle of impartiality
• The three senses of the self offer complementary perspectives:

  • Subjectivism recognizes individual uniqueness
  • Psychological egoism delves into motivations behind actions
  • Ethical egoism provides a framework for ethical decision-making
• A holistic understanding of the self involves integrating aspects of subjectivity, motivations, and ethical considerations in shaping human identity and behavior