Upload
minhazhuq
View
222
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
1/20
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
2/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Why Study Ethics?
n Moral concerns are unavoidable in
life.
n Analogy: morality is a lot likenutrition.
Principal concern: health
The role of experts
Disagreement
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
3/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Ethics as an Ongoing
Conversation
n Professional discussions of ethical
issues in journals.
n We come back to ideas again and
again, finding new meaning in them.
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
4/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Ethics and Morality
n Morality: first-order set of beliefs and
practices about how to live a good
lifen Ethics: a second-order, conscious
reflection on the adequacy of our
moral beliefs.
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
5/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Moral Health
n The goal of ethical reflection is moral
health.
n Thus we seek to determine what willnourish our moral life and what will
poison it.
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
6/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Ethical Inventory
n Take the ethical inventory on pp. 8-10
now or on the web at:
http://ethics.sandiego.edu/ActiveWebSurvey/theory/ .
n Return to your answers after
finishing each chapter.
http://ethics.sandiego.edu/ActiveWebSurvey/theory/8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
7/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
The Moral Point of View
n What makes something a moral
issue?
Content:
duties, rights, human welfare, suffering,
character, etc.
Perspective:
impartial, compassionate, etc.
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
8/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Example: Cheating
Imagine a situation in which you see aclassmate cheating. There are severalelements from a moral point of view: Some people are hurt by the cheating
There is deception in the situation
Cheating seems to be unfair to those whodont cheat
There are conflicting valueshonesty, loyalty,
etc. There are questions of character.
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
9/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
The Language of Moral Concerns
n Some philosophers have argued that
moral issues are characterized by a
particular kind of languageterms
such as duty, obligation, right, and
good.
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
10/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Impartiality
Many philosophers have argued that
the moral point of view is
characterized by impartiality, that is, Idont give my own interest any
special weight.
Immanuel Kant
John Stuart Mill
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
11/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Compassion
n Other philosophers have seen the
origin of the moral life to be in
compassion, feeling for the sufferingof other sentient beings.
n Josiah Royce: Such as that is for
me, so is it for him, nothing less.
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
12/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Universally Binding
n Moral obligations, somephilosophers maintain, areuniversally binding and that is what
gives them their distinctivecharacter.
n Kant: morality is a matter of
categorical imperatives.
Distinguish between hypothetical andcategorical imperatives.
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
13/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Concern for Character
n Philosophers from Aristotle onward
have seen the primary focus of
morality to be character.n Two questions:
What ought I to do? (Kant and Mill)
What kind of person ought I to be?(Aristotle)
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
14/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
The Focus of Ethics
n Ethics as the Evaluation of Other
Peoples Behavior
We are often eager to pass judgment onothers
n Ethics as the Search for Meaning and
Value in Our Own Lives
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
15/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Ethics as the Evaluation of Other
Peoples Behavior
n Ethics often used as a weapon
n Hypocrisy
n Possibility of knowing other people
n The right to judge other people
n The right to intervenen Judging and caring
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
16/20
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
17/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
What to Expect from a Moral
Theory
Functions of theory:
n Describe
n Explain
n Give strength (Stockdale)
n Prescribe
Open new possibilities
Wonder
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
18/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
What to Expect from a Moral
Theory, 2
What is ethics like?
n Physics
Clear-cut, definitive answers
n Engineering
Several possible ways of doing things,
many ways that are wrong
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
19/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
The Point of Ethical Reflection
n Ethics as the evaluation of other peoplesbehavior Sources of mistrust about moral judgments
Hypocrisy
Knowing other people
The right to judge
Judging and intervention
Judging and caring
n Ethics as the search for the meaning ofour own lives
8/8/2019 Moral Point of View1
20/20
1/30/2006 Lawrence M. Hinman
Conclusion:
Ethics & Good Health
n Ethics is like nutrition
One studies bodily health, the other
moral health Significant disagreement in both fields
Still there is a significant common
ground.