Transcript ETHICS AND MOARLITY Chapter 1: why be ethical?

HRE 4M1 – GRADE 12M RELIGION
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ETHICS
AND MORALITY
Ethics comes from the Greek word “ta
ethicka” – means having to do with good
character
 Ethics is more interested in the good that
humans strive for. Examples of “the good”
include happiness and freedom.
 Ethics is also interested in that search for
the good.
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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ETHICS
AND MORALITY
Morality comes from the Latin word
‘moralitas’ - means having to do with the
customs, manners, and habits shaping
human life
 Morality is interested more in the ways that
humans can attain the good. Some
examples of “ways” include: rules, laws or
commandments which we experience as a
duty or obligation to follow.
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LETS IMPROVE YOUR
UNDERSTANDING...
Ethics is like...
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understanding musical
theory, reading music,
understanding technique
Morality is like...

playing music, hitting the
right notes, performing
People can still play music
without musical theory
but.....you may/may not
make good decisions in a
musical arrangement or
performance
LETS IMPROVE YOUR
UNDERSTANDING...
Ethics is like...

understanding the basic
principles of how our cars
work. (Ex. You get good
traction because of the
friction your tires have with
the road and that in a
snowstorm this friction is
reduced)
Morality is like...
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good driving – knowing and
applying the rules of the road
in bad weather such as
slowing down and allowing
greater distance to stop the
car.
You can operate a car without
understanding the laws of
physics however you would
have difficulty in making good
decisions should dramatic
changes arise
So do Ethics trump Morality?
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Ethics has a certain priority because our focus on “the
good” will steer us to choose the human thing to do in
any given situation.
Ethics guides morality – it gives us the vision of our action
(we can’t paint if we don’t know what to paint)
Ethics gives us an understanding of the essential
principles underlying our activity
Ethics point towards the application of morality
The purpose of ethics is to find the highest possible good
in various circumstances and under certain conditions
(i.e. self defence vs. Thou shall not kill)
Rules, norms, commandments and duties are not the
final word......the GOOD is!
If the rules or laws don’t contribute to that highest good the rules or laws need to be reconsidered.
4 Types of Ethical Experiences:
#1 The Scream – The Personal Response
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There is a spontaneous decision to help – it
is not a decision you make.
There is a drive to move and act – an
automatic response which urges you not to
think but to act.
The scream forces you to an awareness
of your responsibility for another
person.
4 Types of Ethical Experiences:
#2 The Beggar – The Experience of the Other
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All face to face encounters are ethical because
they remind us of our responsibility for others.
The other person takes you hostage as they
evoke a response from you (it can be guilt) and
makes you responsible
The face stays with you even
after you decide what to do
– he or she is inside you while
you are busy defending your
decision to give or not to give.
4 Types of Ethical Experiences:
#3 “I have to...” – The Obligation Experience
This experience of feeling obliged to obey a rule or
law has everything to do with your ethical side.
 You feel an intrinsic duty to oblige (i.e. To follow
parent’s rules).
 The order or wish from an authority figure can
invade our consciousness, change our
ethical framework and demand a
response.
 If you choose to ignore the ethical
response, the unrest stays with you.
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4 Types of Ethical Experiences:
#4 “This isn’t fair!” – The Experience of Contrast
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This experience occurs when you feel outraged by
something blatantly unjust or unfair happening to
yourself or to others.
When you feel overwhelmed by the unjust suffering
of others, the indignation you feel is an experience of
contrast with what the world should look like.
These experiences lead us to thoughts of “That is not
fair!” or “This must be stopped!” or “This is
intolerable!”
This is a response to a terrifying event that
contrasts greatly with how we think humans
should be acting.
Can cause a change that opposes this
destruction.
Determine which of the four ethical
experiences these video clips are
portraying:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=echAo3hmz3E&feat
ure=related (Fisher King)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrbNSNpdnTY&featu
re=related (Grey’s Anatomy - give me my dad)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLyz78t5IKI&feature
=related (Grey’s anatomy – the door is open)
Hotel Rawanda (scene 7)
Spider Man 2 (scene 33)
Crash (scene 13)
4 Types of Ethical Experiences Summary
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We all have an ethical core – we are called to react in one way or another
when confronted with a dilemma. Whether this desire to react is
- embedded in our genes (innate) or
- programmed in our psyche after years of listening to moral
authorities (learned)
- or is evidence of the divine within us
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What one person interprets as duty, guilt, intolerable contrast, etc. will be
different from another persons’ interpretation of the same experience. For
example one person may experience an encounter with a beggar on the
street and believe that it is their duty to help them.
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In every experience we are forced to an awareness of our responsibility for
another person. There is an obvious change in our thought processes, our
perception of the world and our resultant behaviour as a result of the
impact of the experience.
Actor
Action
Consequence
Other
You and your group of 3 will be assigned one eight moral
dilemmas. You are the actor in the assigned dilemma and you must
decide what course of action must be taken. In your group read
the assigned dilemma and answer the three questions below. Be
prepared to share with the class.
A. What course of action did you decide to take and WHY.
B. When choosing your course of action which of the above four
perspectives did you focus on? (You can focus on more than
one!)
Summary of Ethical Theories
Perspective
from which
decisions
are based
ACTOR
ACTION
CONSEQUENC
E
OTHERS
A decision is morally correct if...
Individual
Responsible for
Theory
Name of
Theory
It makes you a better person.
Morality is about cultivating morally desirable
character traits such as honesty, courage,
generosity.
Aristotle
385-322 BCE
Thomas Aquinas
1225-1274
Virtue Ethics
If it is in agreement with moral rules, norms,
and duties.
We are motivated to act because it is a moral
duty/obligation, not because the act is in one’s
self-interest.
Immanuel Kant
1724-1804
Duty Ethics or
Categorical
Ethics
If it does the greatest good for the greatest
amount of people.
Jeremy Bentham
1748 – 1832
John Stewart Mill
1806 – 1873
Consequentialism
or Utilitarianism
If it allows you to identify and relate to the
good and God in others
Emmanuel Levinas
1905-1995
Relational
Ethics
Ethical Theories help us to.....
 identify and define problems,
 think systematically (organize thought
processes),
 view issues from many different
vantage points, and
 provide us with decision-making
guidelines.
Ethical Pluralism
Resist the temptation to choose your favourite
approach (ethical theory) to a moral dilemma and
ignore the rest.
 Use a variety of theories when possible. Applying
many approaches to the same problem (practicing
ethical pluralism) is a good way to generate new
insights about the issue.
 You may find that some perspectives are more suited
to this problem than others.
 Combining insights from more than one theory might
help you come up with a better solution.
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INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
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PHILOSOPHY IS:
1. Love and pursuit of wisdom by
intellectual means and moral selfdiscipline.
2. Investigation of the nature,
causes, or principles of reality,
knowledge, or values, based on
logical reasoning rather than
empirical methods.
3. A system of thought based on or
involving such inquiry.