| Term | Definition |
|---|
| An action is right from an ethical point of view if and only if the sum total of utilities produced by that act is greater than the sum total of utilities produced by any other act the agent could have performed in its place." The right action is the one that brings the greatest net benefits compared to the net benefits of all its alternatives The greatest good for the greatest number' | Utilitarianism |
| The right action provides the greatest utility for all people affected by the action, not just the person making the decision. The right action provides more net benefits than all its alternatives In making the decision, all current and future costs and benefits must be taken into account. | Utilitarianism Conditions |
| How do we measure individual utility? We can not get under each other's skin! How do we measure the value of things like life and health? How do we measure things that can not be easily predicted? (for example, research) What are costs and benefits exactly? Can all goods be traded for one another? (freedom, love, beauty etc) | Problems with Utilitarianism-Measurements |
| Rights - Do people have some inviolable rights? Justice – Should people be treated fairly all the time ? How do we distribute benefits and burdens in society? | Problems with Utilitarianism |
| Measurements should be quantifiable, but that can be relaxed if it is impossible Instrumental and intrinsic goods Needs and wants Price system Expert opinion | The Utilitarian Response |
| Limit utilitarianism to the evaluation of moral rules The correct moral rules are the ones following which would produce the greatest amount of utility if everyone follows them | The Utilitarian response to Rights and Justice issues- Rule Utilitarianism |
| A right is a person's entitlement to something; one has a right to something when one is entitled to act a certain way or to have others act in a certain way towards oneself. If the entitlement derives from a legal system, it is a legal right. It is limited to its particular jurisdiction If the entitlement derives from standards independent of a legal system, it is called a moral right. | Rights |
| The mere absence of prohibitions against pursuing some interest or activity. Second, we sometimes use the term right to indicate that a person is authorized or empowered to do something either to secure the interests of others or to secure one's interests. Third, the term right is sometimes used to indicate the existence of prohibitions or requirements on others that enable the individual to pursue certain interests or activities | Rights can mean |
| Negative rights are defined entirely in terms of the duties others have not to interfere with you. For example, free speech, freedom of religion, property rights Positive rights imply that others have a duty not only to refrain from interference, but also to provide you with what you need to pursue your interests . For example, right to food, right to health care, right to education etc Meanings can change over time. For example: the 'right to life' | Negative & Positive Rights |
| These rights attach only to specific individuals, and the duties they give rise to attach only to specific individuals. In addition, they arise out of specific transactions between parties and depend upon a pre-existing public system of rules. Without the institution of contracts, modern businesses could not exist. Ethical rules governing contracts: 1. Both parties to a contract must have full knowledge of the nature of the agreement. 2. Neither party must intentionally misrepresent the facts. 3. Neither party must be forced to enter the contract. 4. The contract must not bind the parties to an immoral act. | Special cases: Contractual Rights |
| Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) Everyone should be treated as a free person equal to everyone else. Universalizability Reversibility Similar to the golden-rule "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" | Categorical Imperative |
| Rights are based on the individual, whereas utilitarianism is based on society as a whole. Rights limit the validity of preferring numbers and social benefits to the individual. However, although rights generally override utilitarian standards, they do not always do so. In times of war, for example, civil rights are commonly restricted for the public good. | Rights v Utilitarianism |
| Firing an ethnic employee Breaking a business contract Terminal patient's suicide attempt | Examples of categorical imperative |
| Robert Nozick (1938 – 2002) Freedom from human constraint is necessarily good and that all constraints imposed by others are necessarily evil except when needed to impose greater human constraints. Negative right to be free from coercion | Libertarianism |
| Equality for all The driving force behind the elimination of slavery, discrimination and property requirements. But should the lazy man get the same compensation as the industrious man? Political equality (Equal participation and treatment in political system) Economical equality ( Equality of income, wealth and opportunity) | Egalitarian Justice |
| Benefits should be made based on the value of contribution an individual makes to the society Hard work leads to success and should be rewarded Contributions should be measured in terms of productivity and the market But how do you place value on the needs of the disadvantaged? How do you measure what arts and health care and education are worth? | Capitalist Justice |
| Work should be distributed according to people's abilities, and benefits should be distributed according to their needs. Match individuals to occupations they are suited for. But, why should I work harder then? And who decides what my occupation is going to be? | Socialist Justice |
| Justice is based on the free choices individuals make. Any other distribution is unjust. Freedom from coercion takes priority over all other coercions But then, is freedom superior to all other values? For example, should I be forced to share my surplus food with a starving neighbour | Libertarian Justice |
| John Rawls (1921 – 2002) The principle of equal liberty for all Each person has an equal right to the most extensive basic liberties compatible with similar liberties for all Social and economic inequalities are arranged so that: They are to the greatest benefit of the disadvantaged Offices and positions are open to all under conditions of equality of opportunity Uses Kantian principles of reversibility and universalizability | Justice as Fairness |
| An ethic that emphasizes caring for the well being of those near us. Feminist ethicists such as Carol Gilligan Other theories are too male oriented and impartial We exist in a web of relation with others We have to care for those related to us in some way Communities and communal relationships have a fundamental value that should be preserved and maintained | Ethics of Care |
| Can lead to favoritism and partiality Can lead to 'burnout' | Problems with Ethics of Care |
| Utilitarian standards - must be used when we do not have the resources to attain everyone's objectives, so we are forced to consider the net social benefits and social costs consequent on the actions (or policies or institutions) by which we can attain these objectives. Standards that specify how individuals must be treated - must be employed when our actions and policies will substantially affect the welfare and freedom of specifiable individuals. Moral reasoning of this type forces consideration of whether the behavior respects the basic rights of the individuals involved and whether the behavior is consistent with one's agreements and special duties. | Integrating Utility, Rights, Justice, and Caring1 |
| Standards of justice - indicate how benefits and bur dens should be distributed among the members of a group. These sorts of standards must be employed when evaluating actions whose distributive effects differ in important ways. Standards of caring - indicate the kind of care that is owed to those with whom we have special concrete relationships. Standards of caring are essential when moral questions arise that involve persons embedded in a web of relationships, particularly persons with whom one has close relationships, especially those of dependency. | Integrating Utility, Rights, Justice, and Caring2 |
| Started from Aristotle A moral virtue is an acquired disposition that is a valuable part of a morally good person, exhibited in the person's habitual behavior. Virtue theory says that the aim of the moral life is to develop the dispositions that we call virtues, and to exercise them as well. The key action guiding implication of virtue theory, then, can be summed up in the claim that: "An action is morally right if, in carrying out the action, the agent exercises, exhibits, or develops a morally virtuous character, ..." | Virtue Ethics1 |
| An ethic of virtue, then, is not a fifth kind of moral principle that should take its place alongside the principles of utilitarianism, rights, justice, and caring. Instead, an ethics of virtue fills out and adds to utilitarianism, rights, justice, and caring by looking not at the actions people are required to perform, but at the character they are required to have. | Virtue Ethics2 |
| Standards of justice - indicate how benefits and burdens should be distributed among the members of a group. These sorts of standards must be employed when evaluating actions whose distributive effects differ in important ways. Standards of caring - indicate the kind of care that is owed to those with whom we have special concrete relationships. Standards of caring are essential when moral questions arise that involve persons embedded in a web of relationships, particularly persons with whom one has close relationships, especially those of dependency | Integrating Utility, Rights, Justice, and Caring2 |
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