Ethics

• Absolutism


  Belief that moral rules are applicable regardless of the situation
• Absolutism is the belief that there exists an absolute, unbreakable, universal basis for moral behavior
• There are facts about which actions are right and wrong, and these facts do not depend on the perspective, opinion, or anything about the person who happens to be describing those facts
• Absolutism


  • Moral rules are universal & apply to all individuals
  • Moral truths are objective
  • Actions are inherently right or wrong
• Arguments In Favor of Absolutism

  • Provides clear moral guidance
  • Upholds the dignity of human beings by recognizing inherent rights and wrongs
  • Preserves moral integrity by not compromising principles for situational convenience
• Arguments Against Absolutism


  • Ignores cultural and situational differences
  • Does not account for moral dilemmas where conflicting moral principles apply
  • Can lead to inflexibility and intolerance towards differing moral perspectives
• Examples of Absolutism in Practice

  • HUMAN RIGHTS
  • ETHICAL CODES
  • LEGAL SYSTEMS
• Absolutism serves as a powerful moral lens through which individuals interpret and respond to ethical challenges
• Relativism


  Acknowledges that ideas, beliefs, values, and practices are shaped by individuals' backgrounds and experiences
• Relativism underscores the diversity among groups and rejects the idea of universal attitudes or practices across different cultural or societal contexts
• Two features common to relativism


  • Moral values, beauty, knowledge, taste, or meaning is relative to some particular framework or standpoint
  • The main genera of relativism can be distinguished according to the object they seek to relativize
• Forms of relativism


  • Moral relativism
  • Epistemological relativism
• Descriptive Moral Relativism (DMR)


  Empirical evidence shows that moral disputes are profound and persistent in many cultures, and they are far more important than any potential agreements
• Meta-Ethical Moral Relativist


  Moral judgments lack the moral authority or normative power that moral objectivists typically contend these judgments may have since they typically assume that many fundamental moral issues cannot be rationally addressed
• Protagoras, the most important sophist, introduced the idea that "man is the measure of all things" which has been interpreted as a first stance in favour of relativism
• Richard Rorty argued that because values are relative and limited to locality and culture, there is no possibility of a more universal ethical values applicable universally
• Bernard Williams was a sceptic about the objectivity of moral value, embracing instead a qualified moral relativism—the 'relativism of distance'
• Altruism


  Behavior described as altruistic when it is motivated by a desire to benefit someone other than oneself for that person's sake
• Altruistic acts include not only those undertaken in order to do good to others, but also those undertaken in order to avoid or prevent harm to them
• Types of Altruism


  • Mixed motives and pure altruism
  • Self-sacrifice, strong and weak altruism
  • Moral motives and altruistic motives
  • Well-Being and perfection
• Aristotle believed that virtuous friendships are the only relationship where genuine altruistic motivation, a concern for the wellbeing of the other for their sake, exists
• Rule utilitarianism


  Focusing on general types of actions and determining whether they typically lead to good or bad results
• Utilitarianism


  Actions and inactions which benefit few people and harm more people will be deemed morally wrong while actions and inactions which harm fewer people and benefit more people will be deemed morally right
• Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill believed that actions and inactions that cause less pain or unhappiness and more pleasure or happiness than available alternative actions and inactions will be deemed morally right, while actions and inactions that cause more pain or unhappiness and less pleasure or happiness than available alternative actions and inactions will be deemed morally wrong
• Types of Utilitarian


  • Actual consequence utilitarianism
  • Foreseeable consequence utilitarianism
  • Act utilitarianism
• Consequentialism


  Moral rightness of acts, which holds that whether an act is morally right depends only on the consequences of that act or of something related to that act, such as the motive behind the act or a general rule requiring acts of the same kind
• John Stuart Mill believed that most moral actions are those that give the most good for the most people, and moral judgements are made on the basis of how judgements or acts affect the public utility (usefulness or advantage) or the common good
• Jeremy Bentham was one of the founding figures of consequentialism, a moral theory that judges the rightness or wrongness of actions based on their outcomes or consequences
• Egoism


  An ideological position that views self-interest as the foundation of morality and one's individual actions
• Max Stirner, the founder of egoism, argues that selfishness is not just innate but should be embraced, and that individuals are impossible to fully comprehend
• James L. Walker advocated egoism as a practical philosophy for how people can live their lives, but also believed that egoism can be reconciled with altruistic, or "other regarding" behavior
• Dora Marsden understood "egoism" and "archism" as the outcome of the conflict between statism and anarchism, and as the outcome of the conflict between female bondage and feminism
• Deontology


  A moral theory that posits the existence of moral duties and obligations independent of their consequences, asserting that certain actions are inherently right or wrong, regardless of their consequences
• Key Principles of Deontology

  • Universalizability: An action is morally permissible only if its underlying principle can be consistently applied to all rational beings without contradiction
• Kantian Ethics


  Provides a distinctive framework for ethical reasoning and decision-making, emphasizing the importance of duty, rationality, and respect for persons
• Kantian ethics upholds the intrinsic value and dignity of every human being, treating individuals as ends in themselves deserving of respect and moral consideration, rather than mere means to an end
• Idealism


  A philosophical orientation emphasizing mind or spirit as the pre-eminent feature of life, holding that the most basic "unit" of reality is not material, but conceptual
• Kantian ethics


  Upholds the intrinsic value and dignity of every human being. Individuals are to be treated as ends in themselves, deserving of respect and moral consideration, rather than mere means to an end.
• Kantian ethics


  • Places a strong emphasis on human autonomy and rationality. Moral agents, according to Kant, possess the capacity for rational deliberation and are capable of discerning moral principles through reason.
• Deontology and Kantian ethics offer valuable insights into ethical reasoning and decision-making, reminding us of the importance of duty, rationality, and respect for persons in our moral deliberations.