Ethics summary

• Teleological theory of ethics


  An action is right or wrong is determined by the 'end'/ consequence (outcome or consequence)
• Consequentialist theory of ethics


  No action is intrinsically right or wrong
• Utilitarianism


  Comes from the word 'utility' = usefulness of the results of the actions. 'Good' is defined as pleasure or happiness
• 'Greatest good of the greatest number'


  An action which brings about the greatest amount of pleasure or happiness for the greatest number is morally right
• Hedonism


  The belief that 'good' equates (equals or is the same as) with happiness/pleasure
• Jeremy Bentham


  • Principle of utility - the utility (usefulness) of an action is measured in pleasure and pain
  • Hedonic calculus – Bentham's method by which we can quantify the pleasure / pain an action brings about
  • Empiricism – right and wrong could be determined through the senses
  • Autonomous ethics – we should each work out right and wrong using reason
  • Hedonism – good equates with pleasure
  • Egalitarianism – each person's happiness counts as much as anyone else's & must be included in the hedonic calculus
• Act utilitarianism


  The hedonic calculus must be applied to each action i.e. the principle of utility is applied to a particular action in a particular situation
• Criticisms of Bentham


  • Trying to apply the hedonic calculus is too time-consuming and impractical
  • We can't always predict consequences
  • It suggests that nothing is intrinsically right or wrong
  • The minority may suffer for the majority
  • He views all pleasure as being of equal value
  • Can you really measure pleasure in the mathematical way?
  • Could this justify actions we would normally consider immoral?
  • Does good always equate with pleasure?
• Strengths of Bentham


  • Pleasure (or happiness) matters
  • Considers consequences
  • Empiricism
  • Egalitarian
  • It can be followed by anyone, not just one religion
• John Stuart Mill


  • Happiness, not pleasure – morally right actions will bring about the most pleasure not happiness
  • Higher pleasures (of the intellect) & lower pleasures (physical pleasures)
  • Use 'tried and tested' rules
  • Rule utilitarian- Bentham and Mill never used the terms Act and rule utilitarian, but later commentators used these terms to describe the difference between their approaches
• Criticisms of Mill


  • Higher and lower pleasures mean that the simplicity of Bentham is lost
  • We can reject Mill's distinction between higher and lower pleasures
  • Assumes rules are simple and clear
  • Is it deontological or consequentialist?
  • Less autonomous
  • Less flexible
  • Ignores motive
• Strengths of Mill


  • Qualitative view of happiness
  • It emphasises the importance of rules in morality
  • There are rules for guidance based on past experience
• Immanuel Kant


  • His theory is deontological (Deon – duty). He rejected consequentialism (util)
  • Moral law exists within each of us. This means that we are all able to access moral law and that these laws will be the same for everyone
  • Morality is autonomous – each individual has the responsibility to discover moral law, rather than obeying some external authority (Bible, church, tradition etc.)
• Categorical imperative


  How you decide the action
• The good will is the motive behind the action, the duty is the action and the categorical imperative is how you decide the action
• Principles of the categorical imperative

  • Principle of universalization
  • Principle of respect for persons
  • Principle of autonomy
• Action and the categorical imperative

  How you decide the action
• Moral motive


  Duty (honest shopkeeper), not self-interest, immediate inclination (feelings) or consequences
• Hypothetical (consequentialist) imperatives


  Rejected by Kant because: we cannot predict the consequences, we are not always in control of the consequences, not all humans may desire the same consequences, wrong actions can have positive consequences
• Three principles of the categorical imperative

  • Principle of universalization
  • Principle of humanity (people are ends not means)
  • Principle of the kingdom of ends (do your duty, even if you are the only one doing so)
• Honest shopkeeper


  Kant's example to illustrate the importance of motive and what doing one's duty means
• Enquiring murderer


  Kant's example to reject consequentialism
• Kant's 3 postulates


  • God
  • Freedom
  • Immortality
• How should businesses behave? Should they follow the same ethical rules as individuals, or are business dealings outside normal considerations of morality?
• Businesses clearly have economic responsibilities (to remain profitable) and legal responsibilities (to obey the law), but what, if any, ethical responsibilities do they have?
• Key ideas in business ethics

  • Corporate social responsibility
  • Whistle-blowing
  • Good ethics is good business
  • Globalisation
• Friedman's view: the only obligation of business is to 'increase profits… within the rules of the game'
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR)


  The idea that a business has a responsibility towards the community and the environment, beyond simply maximizing profits
• Friedman's argument


  The pursuit of profits is not at all immoral, as long as it is within the law. Indeed, for supporters of a free-market economy, it is the self-interested pursuit of profits that ultimately brings the greatest happiness to the population.
• Kantian ethics


  Motive is key, if the motive behind corporate social responsibility is self-interest, then it is not a truly moral action
• Whistle-blowing


  When an employee discloses wrongdoing of the employer to the public
• Whistle-blowers


  • Edward Snowden
  • Jeffrey Wigand
• Legal protection for whistle-blowers in the US and UK
• These legal protections reflect the belief that whistle-blowing is in the public interest, and is legally and morally right
• If we focus only on words to consequences, we may be ignoring the real economic pressures businesses face in a competitive market-driven economy

  Can we really expect businesses to not act out of self-interest?
• Ignoring self-interest


  May ultimately harm the primary stakeholders in the business
• Strength


  • Good compromise between deontological and consequentialist approaches
• Choosing between competing principles

  How do we do it?
• Higher / lower distinction adds layer of complexity
• Whistle-blowers


  • Edward Snowden - disclosed spying of the National Security Agency (NSA) on millions of ordinary citizens in the US and UK without their knowledge or consent
  • Jeffrey Wigand - disclosed the tobacco's company attempt to enhance nicotine's effect on people by boosting it with ammonia