Lecture 23 Ethics Review 1
Writing Process Be clear, precise, and concise. o Clear: do not confuse your reader. o Precise: choose your words very carefully. o Concise: argue straightforwardly and without repetition. Being concise will be especially important for your second paper because you have a limited amount of space to explain an ethical theory, defend it from objections, and apply it to a practical issue. 2
Writing Process Reread readings, lectures, and notes. Go back and forth between generating ideas and organizing ideas. Re-read Peter Horban and Jim Pryor s tips on writing philosophy. Meet with Caroline Blaney, the Philosophy Peer Writing Tutor. Contact me if you have any questions or would like me to take a look at a section of your paper. Generating Ideas Organizing Ideas Brainstorm: Make a list of any idea or question that comes into your head about the topic. They can be contradictory. Free-write: Sit down and continuously write about your ideas on the topic. Pay no attention to grammar or spelling. Outline: Create a bulleted outline with your thesis sentence, topic sentences, conclusion, supporting ideas, and quotations. Diagram: Create a map or diagram that visually represents connections between ideas. 3
Writing Process Edit: correcting spelling, grammar, and formatting. Revise: changing the content of what you said and how you said it. Rewrite: starting whole sections of your paper from scratch to see if you can write a better version of it. 4
Organization No fluff in your introduction! Get straight to the point. NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: There are many different ethical theories that philosophers have pondered over the millennia. BETTER: Rules by themselves are never sufficient to guide human action in the face of the complexities and nuances of everyday moral life. Virtue ethics is the best approach to ethics because it recognizes this fact and countenances practical wisdom in order to develop people s ethical sensitivity in varying circumstances. 5
Organization Your introduction/thesis paragraph should include: 1. Your thesis statement. 2. A roadmap of the structure of your paper. A map of where you will go in your paper. It should tell your reader your main reasons for defending your thesis. The roadmap shouldn t simply gesture at what you are going to do in the paper. It needs to actually articulate the substance of your arguments. The reader should already know what your main arguments are after reading your first paragraph NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: And then I will compare utilitarianism to deontology and the formula of the end in itself, showing that utilitarianism is better than deontology. BETTER: And then I will argue that utilitarianism is better than deontology as an ethical theory because the greatest happiness principle provides a more objective standard for determining moral action than the formula of the end in itself. 6
Organization Every paragraph of your paper should make a distinct point and have a clear topic sentence. o Make sure you aren t saying the same thing in two different paragraphs. o Make sure you give a complete point in each paragraph. Your ideas should flow smoothly from one paragraph to the next. Your conclusion should reiterate your thesis and summarize your main points/arguments. 7
Second Paper 1. About 1 1.5 pages: Exegesis of a moral theory its main concepts, tenets, and arguments. Use relevant and concise quotes. Offer your own interpretation of every quote. 2. About 3-4 pages: A. Defend your ethical theory from its main objections. B. Show why your ethical theory is better than at least one rival ethical theory. 3. About 1 page: Application of your ethical theory to a practical issue. Demonstrate how the moral theory provides insightful and illuminating normative guidance. 8
MLA Citation Guidelines Page numbers should be AFTER QUOTATION MARKS AND BEFORE PERIODS. You do not need to put commas, pages, or pgs. in your in-text citations Plato wrote (regarding what Socrates said), As the soul is immortal, has been born often and has seen all things here and in the underworld, there is nothing which it has not learned (15). As the soul is immoral, has been born often and has seen all things here and in the underworld, there is nothing which it has not learned (Plato 15). https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/ 9
Due Date The paper is due on Saturday, May 28. Papers must be submitted as a.doc or.docx file through email before midnight. Late papers will not be accepted because otherwise I will not have sufficient time to grade them before grades are due. My email is jonkwan11@gmail.com. 10
Utilitarianism Consequentialism: consequences are the only morally relevant feature of an action. Utilitarianism: We should evaluate consequences based on how much they maximize happiness. Note that the distinction between lower order and higher order pleasure is one that John Stuart Mill makes, but is not necessarily one that utilitarians in general make. It might be helpful to elaborate on this distinction and you could consider whether you agree with Mill that the quality of pleasure matters too. 11
Criticisms of Utilitarianism 1. Pleasure 2. Consequences Justice Rights 3. Impartiality Overly Demanding Disrupts Personal Relationships 12
Criticisms of Utilitarianism 1. Is Pleasure All That Matters? Hedonism Pleasure is the ultimate good. Robert Nozick The Experience Machine Cypher from The Matrix 13
Criticisms of Utilitarianism 1. Is Pleasure All That Matters? Utilitarian Responses: 1. Right Action = Best Results 2. Pluralists: lists of various intrinsic goods. 3. Maximize preferences rather than happiness. Pleasure is subjective; preferences are more objective and linked to actual choices and behavior. 14
Criticisms of Utilitarianism 2. Are Consequences All That Matter? Justice Rights 15
Criticisms of Utilitarianism 2. Are Consequences All That Matters? Justice 16
Criticisms of Utilitarianism 2. Are Consequences All That Matter? Rights 17
Criticisms of Utilitarianism 3. Should We Be Equally Concerned for Everyone? Utilitarianism is Too Demanding Supererogatory: going above and beyond what duty requires you to do 18
Criticisms of Utilitarianism 3. Should We Be Equally Concerned for Everyone? Utilitarianism Disrupts Personal Relationships 19
Mohism Jian ai 兼愛 : impartial caring or inclusive care. Partiality versus Impartiality Impartiality might be understood as treating everyone the same counting everyone s interests as mattering equally. Partiality might be understood as treating some people and their interests as mattering more to you than others for instance, because they stand in special relationships to you such as parents or friends. Jian ai as inclusive care: Mozi wants us to expand our circle of care to include people with whom we might not have special relationships. At the very least, this acts as a counter to temptations to exploit others in order to help one s in-group when one is strong and in a position to do so. 20
Jian ai as Inclusive Care How does jian ai understood as inclusive care differ from the views of John Stuart Mill and other utilitarians? Which view is better? One the one hand, jian ai as inclusive care avoids the objection to utilitarianism that it sacrifices personal relationships. On the other hand, does jian ai as inclusive care give up on an advantageous feature of utilitarianism namely, having an objective standard by which to weigh different interests? 21
Deontology Formula of the End in Itself: Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means but always at the same time as an end (2). O Neill: To use someone as a mere means is to involve them in a scheme of action to which they could not in principle consent (2). Duties of Justice: Never use someone as a mere means to an end. Perfect duties, not selective Duties of Beneficence or Charity: Sometimes help others to achieve their own maxims and be happy. Imperfect duties, selective 22
Criticisms of Deontology 1. No concern for agents that are not rational 2. Overemphasis on right intentions? 3. Conflicts of duties 4. Murderer at the door 5. Problems with consent? 23
Criticisms of Deontology 1. No concern for agents that are not rational, such as infants, mentally disabled, or animals. 24
Criticisms of Deontology 2. Does Kant overemphasize having the right intentions and acting from a sense of duty? What if we do the right thing out of instinct, habit, or sympathy? 25
Criticisms of Deontology 3. How should we weigh between duties when they conflict? 26
Criticisms of Deontology 4. What if a murderer comes to your door and asks where your friend is? You know the murderer wants to kill your friend and your friend is inside. Should you lie? 27
Criticisms of Deontology 5. Can we treat someone immorally even if they consent to it? 28
Virtue Ethics Virtue ethics is often viewed as an approach toward moral theorizing that is distinct from deontology or utilitarianism. Virtue ethics does not focus on what rules (The Categorical Imperative versus The Greatest Happiness Principle, for example) our action should follow to be morally right. Rather, virtue ethics focuses on what character traits (virtues) one should have in order to be a morally good or virtuous person. 29
Practical Wisdom Phronesis or Practical Wisdom: knowledge that enables its possessor to make correct moral decisions about what to do to reason correctly about what is right (782). We should not reason about what to do in terms of what will maximize the best consequences, and not in terms of what will be in accordance with correct moral principles such as Do not lie or Keep promises, but in terms of what a virtuous agent would do in the circumstances (782). 30
Practical Wisdom Practical wisdom cannot be captured in any simple straightforward rule, but is instead a sort of knowledge that is subtle, nuanced, and sensitive to particular circumstances. For example, do trustworthy people always keep their promises? Do honest people always volunteer the truth? 31
Do We Need Rules in Ethics? Benefit of Rules: Consistency across different actions. Clear guidelines for what to do. Ability to hold people accountable (e.g. laws). Insufficiency of Rules: Rules have exceptions. Rules might conflict. Rules might not deal with the complexities and nuances of every moral situation. Can virtue ethics replace rule-based ethics? Or we still need a rule-based moral theory that is just supplemented by practical wisdom? 32
Confucianism Confucius did not take a definitional approach Confucius did not think that there could be a universal definition for a moral concept, which would be applicable to everyone in every situation (48). Four Key Concepts: 1. Zhong or Loyalty 2. Shu or Empathy 3. Ren or Humanity 4. Li or Ritual Propriety 33
Confucianism 1. Zhong or Loyalty: not simply allegiance to a superior but the fulfillment of one s social roles. 2. Shu or Empathy: Negative Golden Rule Do not impose upon others what you yourself do not desire (Liu 53). 3. Ren or Humanity: an ideal state of being, superior moral personhood. 4. Li or Ritual Propriety: rituals that provide external guidance for action, which also involves an internal moral sense of righteousness. 34
Criticisms of Confucianism 1. Too much emphasis on hierarchy not enough equality. 2. Ritual propriety is too restrictive and doesn t allow for freedom. Instead people are merely following social conventions put in place by people who lived before them. 3. In general, insufficient emphasis on individual freedom, rights, and creativity. Do these criticisms charitably interpret Confucianism s main tenets? Can Confucianism be salvaged and modified to avoid some of these criticisms? Or should we abandon Confucianism whole sale? 35
Social Contract Dialectic Motivations for the Social Contract Framework We can tell a story to justify the rules that govern our lives as well as the authority and legitimacy of government. The rules that govern us are justified because we have agreed to them. Free and equal individuals in a state of nature agree to form a social contract. Consent of the governed. Possible Problem: The social contract is a fiction and so is the state of nature. No one ever agreed to a social contract or a set of rules to govern behavior. Replies: People tacitly agree to the social contract by following the rules. While not historically real, the social contract is still a good idea of reason (Kant) or device of representation (Rawls) that can help us think about justice and morality. What would people have agreed to if they were in a state of nature? 36
The Legitimate Social Contract The key notion of Rousseau s legitimate social contract is the idea of the general will. Consider the analogy between a political society to a human body. A body is a unified entity even though it has various parts that perform different functions. Just as a body is has a will that looks after its well-being, a political state also has a (general) will that looks after its well-being. The general will is tied to Sovereignty, directed at the public good and abstract. 37
General Will The general will is distinct from the collection of individual wills. There is often a great deal of difference between the will of all and the general will. The latter looks only to the common interest; the former considers private interest and is only a sum of private wills. But take away from these same wills the pluses and minuses that cancel each other out, and the remaining sum of the differences is the general will (Social Contract, Vol. IV, p. 146). 38
Criticisms 1. What is the general will and how is it formed? Who is making the social contract? 2. Does the general will allow for individual diversity and freedom? 3. Compare Rousseau s social contract to utilitarianism. Do both ignore the distinction between persons and allow one to be sacrificed for others? 39
Pateman s Criticism of the Social Contract The original contract is a sexual as well as a social contract: it is sexual in the sense of patriarchal that is, the contract establishes men s political right over women and also sexual in the sense of establishing orderly access by men to women s bodies (336). Two arguments for the above thesis: 1. Public versus Private Sphere: The social contract creates a public sphere of equality and freedom between men that both hides and depends on a private sphere in which men oppress women. Example: Unpaid domestic labor by women. Women do most of the work at home including childcare and household chores. Such work is not considered work that deserves monetary compensation. In other words, it is excluded from the economy or the public sphere. Nonetheless, the public sphere depends on this unpaid labor to function since society wouldn t run unless households and children were taken care of. 2. The individuals who agree to the social contract are really men or people with masculine characteristics. 40
The Racial Contract The peculiar contract to which I am referring, though based on the social contract tradition that has been central to Western political theory, is not a contract between everybody ( we the people ), but between just the people who count, the people who really are people ( we the white people ). So it is a Racial Contract (3) In its obfuscation of the ugly realities of group power and domination, [the social contract] is, if unsupplemented, a profoundly misleading account of the way the modern world actually is and came to be (3). Apparent racist violations of the terms of the social contract in fact uphold the terms of the Racial Contract (4). 41
The Racial Contract as Descriptive rather than Normative The Racial Contract I employ is in a sense more in keeping with the spirit of the classic contractarians Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant. I use it not merely normatively, to generate judgments about social justice and injustice, but descriptively, to explain the actual genesis of the society and the state, the way society is structured, the way the government functions, and people s moral psychology (5). 42
The Social Contract Framework Is the social contract framework useful as an approach for theorizing about ethics? Can it be modified or salvaged in ways that avoid the sexist and racist charges levied by Pateman and Mills? 43
Evaluate Me Please! www.hunter.cuny.edu/te 44