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Ethical Theory and Business Chapter Two. Jerry Estenson. The language of ethics. Fairness Justice Desert Rights Obligation Equality Greed Ego. Principle Consequence Integrity Personal Autonomy. Relativism , Cultural and Moral Norman Bowie. Cultural Relativism
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Ethical Theory and BusinessChapter Two Jerry Estenson
The language of ethics • Fairness • Justice • Desert • Rights • Obligation • Equality • Greed • Ego • Principle • Consequence • Integrity • Personal Autonomy
Relativism, Cultural and MoralNorman Bowie • Cultural Relativism • Different cultures have ideas about ethical behavior • Moral (ethical) Relativism • What is “really right or wrong” is completely determined by the culture in which a person lives
CRITICISM OF MORAL RELATIVISM • A culture thinking something is moral does not make it moral (slavery) • It is not consistent with moral language which tends to be absolute • All cultures tend to believe in universal principles • There are no separate cultures (Bosnia, Somalia, Cambodia) • Cultural traditions are bounded by physical laws (outlawing sex)
Dealing with ethical and cultural relativism • The counter-point to relativism is: something is wrong since there is a wide variety of other beliefs and values contrary to the action. As an example sexual harassment is wrong because it is contrary to: people should be treated with equal respect, people should be free from coercion and threats, self-respect is good, loss of dignity is harmful.
Remember: • “Accepting a deplorable situation as least harmful of the alternatives is not the same as accepting it as ethically valid.” • “Tolerating diverse opinions and values is not the same as ethical relativism.
Utilitarianism – ConsequentialistHobbes, Hume, Adam Smith, Bentham, John Stuart Mills • Can determine if act is good or bad based on the outcome (consequences of the act) • Maximizing the overall good – “greatest good for the greatest number” • Constructed as a counter-point to authoritarian policies that aimed to benefit the political elite. Thus the foundation of representative democracy.
Other Utilitarian perspectives • Happiness is the ultimate good • Utilitarians judge action not as happiness of the individual but the general or overall good • Happiness is beyond the physical (hedonism) but also experiences of social and intellectual pleasure (Betham)
The Utilitarian Calculus • Educated citizenry with freedom to pursue their own ends who make decisions through majority-rule democracy = a society that maximizes the happiness for the greatest number of people
Preference Utilitarianism – The foundation for market economies • Because of limited resources people must rank order their wants. • They then enter the market and are free to bargain in an open, free and competitive market environment. • Thus competition among rational and self-interested individuals will continuously work to promote the greatest overall good
The Hedonist Calculus • How do we quantify pleasure? • Gross national product
The Utilitarian doctrines in business • Deregulation of private industry • Protection of personal property rights • Allow for free exchange of goods and services • Encourage competition • “Allow the invisible hand of the market to work (Adam Smith) • This even allows people to take risks and thus make more
Deontological (Duty) • We will not use people as a means to an end • Individuals have rights that should not be sacrificed simply to produce a net increase in the collective good – ethical rights which are basic to all individuals • We have duties ( also defined as obligations, commitments or responsibilities)
KANT’S CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE • UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE • A person should act that the principle of one’s act could become a universal law of human action in a world in which one would hope to live. • A person should treat other people as having intrinsic value, and not merely as a means to achieve one’s end. • People should not be treated as objects but as subjects
Rights Talk • Want is a psychological state of the individual • Wants get translated into interest work for that person’s benefit and are connected to what is good for the person • Right are so important to well being of the individual that they should not be sacrificed to increase the overall good. • Right override the collective will
Basic Human Rights • Freedom to make our own choices • Equal treatment (or consideration)
Virtue Ethics • Ethics requires us, at least at times, to act for the well-being of others. It asks to define the virtues that lead to a life that is full, satisfying , meaningful, enriched and worthy. • This is called “character” and is the emotional (affective) side of humans. • Character is shaped while young by parents, schools, church, friends, and society. As adults it is modifies by workplace