Phil 333: Unit 1 & 2

• Descriptive morality


  Describes existing moral practices and beliefs without judging them
• Prescriptive morality


  Evaluates moral practices and beliefs against ethical standards to determine what should be morally endorsed or condemned
• Scenario: In a remote village, there is no concept of private property or ownership. People freely take what they need from communal resources without any sense of wrongdoing or theft.
• This scenario can be considered amoral because the concept of morality typically involves principles or norms regarding right and wrong behavior. In this village, the absence of private property norms means there is no established framework for defining ownership, theft, or property rights.
• Positive rights


  • Safety on roads, government provides policing
  • Access to education
• Negative rights


  • Freedom from persecution
  • Freedom to practice religion
  • Freedom of speech
• Scenario 1: A lawyer represents a client accused of a serious crime. The lawyer's prima facie duty is to provide the best legal defense, but new evidence emerges that conclusively proves the client's guilt. The lawyer continues to vigorously defend the client.
• In this scenario, the lawyer's prima facie duty to provide the best legal defense initially appeared to be the actual duty. However, once incontrovertible evidence of guilt arises, the lawyer's actual duty shifts to ensuring the trial proceeds fairly and the true facts are brought to light.
• Scenario 2: A medical researcher conducting a clinical trial for a new drug. The researcher's prima facie duty is to ensure the safety and well-being of the trial participants by following ethical guidelines and obtaining informed consent. Unexpected side effects occur.
• In this case, the researcher's prima facie duty to protect the participants' safety and obtain informed consent is indeed their actual duty. The researcher must prioritize the participants' welfare, suspend the trial if necessary, and ensure all participants are fully informed.
• It is important to understand another person's reasoning before critiquing that reasoning and before offering counter-arguments. This is important because if you don't correctly understand the other person's reasoning, you will be arguing and critiquing in ways that are not applicable to the conversation.
• A person responds without accurately understanding the reasoning and offers counter-arguments that are irrelevant, such as "No one should have to wear masks because Covid isn't real."
• Act utilitarianism


  Looks at how much happiness will be caused by a particular action in the moment
• Rule utilitarianism


  Looks more broadly at what would happen if everyone performed that same action and makes a rule based on what will bring the most happiness to the most people overall
• Kant's perspective on duty and ethics

  • Emphasizing the importance of duty as a central concept in moral philosophy
  • Moral actions are those carried out from a sense of duty, guided by the categorical imperative rather than personal inclination or consequences
• Arguments in Favor of Kant's View

  • Universalizability
  • Respect for Autonomy
  • Emphasis on Good Will
  • Clarity and Objectivity
• Criticisms of Kant's View

  • Rigidity
  • Overemphasis on Rationality
  • Conflict of Duties
• Whether duty captures what is most important about ethics and evaluating moral behavior depends on one's philosophical perspective
• Kant's approach offers a robust framework emphasizing principles, universalizability, and the importance of intention
• Kant's focus on duty provides valuable insights into moral philosophy, but it may not encompass all dimensions of moral behavior and evaluation that other ethical theories seek to address
• Kantian ethics would generally find the lie morally wrong due to its breach of truthfulness, while utilitarianism might support the lie if it prevents greater emotional harm and promotes happiness overall
• Arguments in Favor of Contractarianism

  • Rational Agreement
  • Mutual Benefit
  • Fairness and Equality
• Criticisms of Contractarianism


  • Hypothetical Nature
  • Consent and Coercion
  • Limited Scope
• The appeal of contractarianism lies in its emphasis on voluntary agreement and rational deliberation in forming moral principles, which can align with principles of autonomy and fairness
• Whether one agrees with contractarianism depends on the importance placed on voluntary consent, rational deliberation, and the ability to address diverse moral perspectives in ethical decision-making
• Rawls' two principles of justice

  The Principle of Equal Liberty: Each person has an equal right to basic liberties that are compatible with similar liberties for all<|>The Difference Principle: Social and economic inequalities are permissible only if they benefit the least advantaged members of society, and if they are attached to positions and offices open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity
• Rawls' two principles of justice provide a robust framework for justifying social inequalities in a theoretically fair society
• Rawls' principles offer a compelling basis for ethical and political theory, but their application and adequacy in addressing all forms of inequality continue to be debated
• The idea that physicians, as primary health-care providers, are granted the power by society to control health-care resources can be examined through the lens of contractarian ethics
• The applicability of the contractarian ethical model to other professions may be more nuanced, as each profession operates within its own ethical framework shaped by historical context, societal expectations, and professional codes of conduct
• Agreeing with Virtue Ethicists


  • Virtuous Dispositions and Moral Action
  • Holistic Approach
  • Critique of Consequentialism and Deontology
• Critiquing Virtue Ethics


  • Clarity and Consistency
  • Action Guidance
  • Handling Moral Dilemmas
• Integrating elements of virtue ethics with consequentialist and deontological considerations can provide a more comprehensive ethical framework that balances character development with ethical action and consideration of outcomes and duties
• Virtue ethics may struggle to provide concrete answers in situations where virtues seem to conflict or where immediate consequences are severe, whereas consequentialist or deontological theories offer more structured approaches to resolve such dilemmas
• Integration and Synthesis


  Integrating elements of virtue ethics with consequentialist and deontological considerations can provide a more comprehensive ethical framework that balances character development with ethical action and consideration of outcomes and duties
• Whether one agrees with virtue ethicists depends on the emphasis placed on character in determining moral behavior
• While virtue ethics highlights the significance of virtuous dispositions, it can be complemented by aspects of consequentialism and deontology to address the complexities and challenges of moral decision-making across different contexts and moral dilemmas
• An integrated approach that draws on strengths from multiple ethical theories may offer a more robust foundation for navigating diverse moral issues in practice
• Feminist ethicists think that ethical analyses should consider the ways in which social and political structures render some persons in society subordinate or oppressed in relation to other persons who are dominant and more at liberty
• Power Imbalance


  The senior executive holds a position of authority and power within the organization, while the junior female employees are in subordinate roles