Transcript Introduction to the Law

Jody Blanke, Professor
Computer Information Systems and Law
What Is Consequentialism?
 Consequentialism: An ethics focused on the
results of actions, not the actions themselves
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Utilitarianism: The Greater
Good
 Utilitarianism: The ethical belief that an act is
recommendable if it brings the greatest good to
the greatest number, if it increases net
happiness—or decreases net unhappiness—when
everyone is taken into account
 Global ethics: An ethics taking into account
everyone affected by an act, now and in the
future
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Versions of Utilitarian Happiness
 Monetized utilitarianism: The reduction of happiness
and sadness to monetary values within a utilitarian
ethics
 Ex. Ford Pinto case p. 57
 Hedonistic utilitarianism: Utilitarianism seeking to
maximize any and all sensations of happiness and
pleasure (Jeremy Bentham)
 Idealistic utilitarianism: Utilitarianism seeking to
maximize sensations of happiness and pleasure
connected with intellectual life and culture (John Stuart
Mill)
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Versions of Utilitarian Regulation
 Soft utilitarianism: Frequently referred to simply as
utilitarianism, it’s the ethical belief that an act is
recommendable if it increases net happiness (or
decreases net unhappiness) when everyone is taken into
account
 Hard utilitarianism: The ethical belief that an act is
recommendable if it increases net happiness (or
decreases net unhappiness) when everyone is taken into
account and when the total benefit is more than any
other possible act
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Versions of Utilitarian Regulation
 Act utilitarianism: Frequently referred to simply as
utilitarianism, it is the ethical belief that an act is
recommendable if it increases net happiness (or
decreases net unhappiness) when everyone is taken into
account
 Rule utilitarianism: The ethical belief that a rule for
action is recommended if collective obedience to the
rule increases net happiness when everyone is taken
into account
 Ex. Would we all benefit with a rule such as “don’t steal?”
 [videos]
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Advantages of Utilitarian Ethics
in Business
 Clarity and simplicity – easy to understand that we
should all act to increase the general welfare
 Acceptability – bringing the greatest good to the
greatest number is consistent with the understanding of
what ethical guidance is supposed to provide
 Flexibility – weighing individual actions in terms of their
consequences allows for meaningful and firm ethical
rules without having to treat everyone identically
 Breadth – attractive for public policy. Utilitarianism
provides a foundation and guidance for business
regulation
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Disadvantages of Utilitarian
Ethics in Business
 Subjectivity – it is difficult to know what makes happiness and
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unhappiness for specific individuals
Quantification – happiness and unhappiness cannot be measured
with a ruler or weighed on a scale
Apparent injustices – utilitarianism can produce decisions that may
seem wrong
Utilitarian monster - a hypothetical individual capable of feeling
disproportionately high sensations of pleasure and happiness, one
who consequently requires many others to sacrifice their happiness
in the name of maximizing net happiness
Utilitarian sacrifice - an individual whose happiness is sacrificed in
order to increase the happiness of others
Altruism
 Altruism: The belief that an action is morally right if
the action’s consequences increase net happiness (or
decrease net unhappiness) when everything is taken
into account except the actor’s increased or diminished
happiness
 Altruism is a variety of selflessness but it’s not the same
thing
 Selflessness: Acting without regard for one’s own well-being
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This does not necessarily imply acting in favor of the wellbeing of others
TOMS Shoes
 After a trip to Argentina, Texas entrepreneur Blake
Mycoskie decided to start a shoe company that would
donate a pair of shoes to a needy child in Argentina for
every pair of TOMS sold
 The product became very trendy after a number of
celebrities started wearing them
 The product line has since expanded to eyeglasses and
apparel and the distribution to Ethiopia, Guatemala,
Haiti, Rwanda, South Africa, and the United States
Altruism: Everyone Else
Personal altruism
 Practicing an altruistic ethics
without regard for what others
are doing or should do
Impersonal altruism
 The belief that everyone
should practice an altruistic
ethics
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The Altruist in Business and the
Business That Is Altruistic
 Altruism connects with business in three basic
ways:
 There are altruists who use normal business
operations to do good
 There are altruistic companies that do good by
employing nonaltruistic workers
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e.g., The College Board; The Red Cross
 And there are altruistic organizations composed of
altruistic individuals
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Advocating and Challenging Ethical Altruism
 Advantages:
 Clarity and simplicity – the notion that one is
working to make others happy is easy to grasp
 Acceptability – it is hard to criticize on ethical terms
someone who is working for the well-being of others
 Flexibility – there are many ways to execute one’s
goals
 Disadvantages
 Uncertainty about what makes others happy
 Shortchanging yourself
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Ethical Egoism
 It is the belief that an action is morally right if the
action’s consequences are more beneficial than
unfavorable for the person who acts
 Ethical egoism mirrors altruism
 Contrast can be drawn in this context between egoism
and selfishness
 Egoism means putting your welfare above others’
 Selfishness is the refusal to see beyond yourself
 Egoists aren’t against other people; they’re for
themselves. If helping others works for them, that’s
what they’ll do.
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Enlightened Egoism, Cause
Egoism, and the Invisible Hand
 Enlightened egoism: The belief that benefitting
others—acting to increase their happiness—can serve
the egoist’s self-interest just as much as the egoist’s
acts directly in favor of him or herself
 A simple and generic manifestation of enlightened
egoism is a social contract
 Social contract: An agreement made between people to act in
certain ways not because the acts are themselves good or bad,
but because the rules for action are mutually beneficial
 Ex. I agree not to steal from you if you agree not to steal
from me
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Enlightened Egoism, Cause
Egoism, and the Invisible Hand
 Cause egoism: Giving the false appearance of
being concerned with the welfare of others in
order to advance one’s own interests
 Invisible hand: The force of marketplace
competition that encourages or even requires
individuals who want to make money to make
the lives of others better in the process
 Adam Smith – free and competitive markets are the
best means for attaining utilitarian goals
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Some Rules of Egoism
Personal egoism
 Practicing an ethics of egoism
without regard for what others
are doing or should do
Impersonal egoism
 The belief that everyone
should practice ethical of
egoism
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Some Rules of Egoism
Rational egoism
 Subscribing to ethical egoism
because it’s the most
reasonable of the ethical
theories, the one a perfectly
rational person would choose
Psychological egoism
 The belief that we’re all
necessarily egoists; it’s an
inescapable part of what it
means to be human.
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The Four Relations between
Egoism and Business
 You can have egoists in egoist organizations
 You can have egoists in nonegoist organizations
 You can have nonegoists in egoist organizations
 You can have nonegoists in nonegoist
organizations
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Advocating and Challenging
Ethical Egoism
 The arguments for an egoistic ethics include the
following:
 Clarity and simplicity – everyone knows what it
means to look out for yourself first
 Practicality – we know ourselves the best
 Sincerity – isn’t our real motive to provide for our
own happiness first?
 Unintended consequences – in the business world,
the concept of the invisible hand allows egoists to
claim that their actions end up helping others
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Advocating and Challenging
Ethical Egoism
 Arguments against ethical egoism include the
following:
 Egoism isn’t ethics – we need rules so that everyone
is not simply looking out for number one
 Egoism ignores blatant wrongs – does stealing candy
from a baby become acceptable because it serves
one’s interests
 Psychological egoism is not true – the idea that we
have no choice but to pursue our own welfare before
anything else is just not true
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Utilitarianism and Business
 Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand
 In classic free market economics, people are made
happy when they get what they want
 Happiness is increased when the overall satisfaction
of consumer demand increases
 Healthy economies produce those goods that
consumers want the most
 Thus, competitive markets are seen as the most
efficient means to the utilitarian end of maximizing
happiness
Utilitarianism and Business
 Public policy approach
 Legislative bodies create the public goals that attempt to
maximize happiness
 The administrative side (presidents, governors) executes
policies to fulfill these goals
 This “administrative” version of utilitarian policy
can be contrasted with the “market” version. This
distinction is evident in many disputes in business
ethics
 Ex. Product safety and risk should be regulated vs.
Product safety will be determined in the market place
Lawn Darts