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Morality and Responsibility

Morality and Responsibility. Traditional and Modernist. Your Aim?. “Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for that reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim.” Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics.

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Morality and Responsibility

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  1. Morality and Responsibility Traditional and Modernist

  2. Your Aim? “Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for that reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim.” • Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics

  3. What are Moral Actions? • “Moral” actions (as opposed to amoral) are • serious, • affect basic direction of life and others, • and are willed. • They require (according to Aristotle/Aquinas): • Knowledge: of the act, means and ends, and why • Voluntarism: an action is willed into happening • Intentional • Freedom by the actor to choose

  4. Some terms to know… • A priori • A posteriori • postulate

  5. Kant’s 3 Postulates of Ethics For ethical consideration to be valid: • Man must be free to choose. • Man must live beyond his mortal life. • God – one who sets a universal standard - must exist.

  6. There is only one ethics, one set of rules of morality, one code: That of individual behavior in which the same rules apply to everyone alike. • Peter Drucker

  7. What do you think when I say… The good life. • Now, what do you think when I say… A good life.

  8. What is Good? Is a life to be considered good if it’s one of excellence and enjoyment? Or …if it’s one that embodies ethics and the spirit of being mindful of goodness/ the force? What is it to be a good person? • Evaluative Language • Great, good, fair, bad, evil, right and wrong, etc

  9. 4 Views of Evaluative Ethical LanguageGreat, good, fair, bad, evil, horrible, wrong, right 1. The Non-cognitive View or Boo/Yay Theory • Honesty is the best policy. meansHonesty: Yay!!! • Human sacrifice is wrong. meansHuman sacrifice: Booo!! Evaluative language conveys no form of knowing at all. People disagree too much for there to be any objective facts. • Therefore there are no objective ethical facts or sentiments • We cheer based on attitudes of cheering/condemning.

  10. 2. The Ethical Subjective View Statements convey objective knowledge about the speaker • “Human sacrifice is bad” tells us objectively about the subjective belief and thoughts of the speaker • Huh? • The only fact here is about the person, or subject, speaking, not the object being spoken of. 3. Cultural Subjective View – it says only something factual about the cultural attitudes

  11. 4. Moral Objectivism • “Killing an innocent person for sport is wrong” is an objective statement that is morally true. • Does this statement convey realities about our world? • BTW, science presupposes objectivity, though scientists can disagree

  12. Abortion is wrong. means Abortion: Booo!!! (It makes me feel yucky). means“You believe abortion is wrong for reasons you can state (but which are completely subjective).” means “ Abortion is wrong in your culture.” means Abortion is morally wrong for humans to engage in.

  13. Is it morally right?

  14. Moral Skepticism ? How do we know that any of our moral or ethical beliefs taken as statements of fact about an objective moral reality are true? • Intuition • Conscience • Evidence that “they work” • Is a belief in moral objectivity on shaky ground? • Is our belief in an external world on shaky ground?

  15. Belief Conservation Principle • For any proposition P: • If taking a certain cognitive stance toward P would require rejecting or doubting a vast number of current beliefs, • And you have no independent reason to reject or doubt all those other beliefs, and • You have no compelling reason to take up that cognitive stance toward P… • Then it is more rational for you not to take that cognitive stance toward P.

  16. What is Moral Responsibility?Is there a connection between morality and law? • Consequences follow: • Modifiers • Ignorance • Vincible • Invincible • Affected • Passion • Antecedent • consequent • Fear • Force • Habit

  17. Moderns have attempted revisions of morality and law… • Hedonism • Utilitarianism • Pragmatism • Existentialism

  18. A Note on Socrates’ Approach • Precision of knowledge is attainable in practical matters like carpentry, and is, in principle, possible in moral conduct. • That precise knowledge can be had by analyzing moral language; thus definitions are critical…

  19. Euthyphro Dialogue: Standard of Good • Is the holy beloved by the gods because it is holy, or holy because it is beloved by the gods? or … • Is what is holy holy because the gods approve it, or because it is holy.

  20. Today is a good day. • Hand out reading for Thursday • Return last week’s good and bad journal entries • A word on doing great journal writing • Reading and Using the sources • Exploring terms and ideas being considered • Editing for clarity

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