June 10, 2009Dr. David Koepsell, TPM - Philosophy

A Brief Intro to Ethics

Ethics and Engineering Lecture 2.5

Ethics and Morality

• The field of ethics, also called moral philosophy, involves categorizing, defending, and suggesting concepts of right and wrong behavior.

• Normative ethics involves deriving moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. It is a search for an ideal test of proper behavior or “the good.”

Ethics and Morality

• The key assumption in normative ethics is that there is only one ultimate criterion of moral conduct, whether it is a single rule or a set of principles. Three approaches will be discussed (1) virtue theories, (2) duty theories, and (3) consequentialist theories.

Virtue Ethics

• Virtue theory is one of the oldest normative traditions in Western philosophy. In the West, it is rooted in ancient Greek civilization. Plato emphasized four virtues in particular, which were later called cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. Other virtues include fortitude, generosity, self-respect, good temper, and sincerity.

Virtue Ethics

• In addition to good habits of character, virtue theorists hold that we should avoid acquiring bad traits or vices, including cowardice, insensibility, injustice, and vanity. Virtue theory emphasizes moral education given that virtuous character is supposedly developed when young.

Virtue Ethics

• Aristotle argued that virtues are good habits which temper our emotions. For example, in response to natural feelings of fear, we ought to develop the virtue of courage which allows us to be steadfast when facing danger. Looking at 11 specific virtues, Aristotle argued that most fall within a mean between extreme character traits.

Virtue Ethics

• If one does not develop enough courage, then we fall prey to cowardice, which is a vice. If one has too much courage, they suffer from rashness which is also a vice. According to Aristotle, it is not easy to find the perfect mean between extreme character traits. In fact, we need assistance from our reason to do this.

Virtue Ethics

• After Aristotle, medieval theologians added to Greek lists of virtues with three Christian ones: faith, hope, and charity. Interest in virtue theory continued through the middle ages and declined in the 19th century with the rise of other moral theories.

Deontological Theory

• Many people feel that there are clear obligations we owe as humans, such as to care for our families, and to not murder. Duty theories base morality on specific, foundational principles of duty. These theories are sometimes called deontological, from the Greek word deon, or duty, in view of the foundational nature of our duty or obligation.

Deontological Theory

• 17th century German philosopher Samuel Pufendorf, classified duties under three headings: duties to God, duties to oneself, and duties to others. Duties towards God fell under two kinds: (1) a theoretical duty to know the existence and nature of God, and (2) a practical duty to both inwardly and outwardly worship God.

Deontological Theory

• Duties towards oneself were also of two sorts: (1) duties of the soul, which involve developing one's skills and talents, and (2) duties of the body, which involve not harming our bodies, such as through gluttony or drunkenness, and not killing oneself.

Deontological Theory

• Duties towards others are divided between absolute duties, which are universally binding on people, and conditional duties, which are the result of contracts between people.

• Absolute duties are of three sorts: (1) avoid wronging others; (2) treat people as equals, and (3) promote the good of others.

Deontological Theory

• Another duty-based approach to ethics is “rights theory.” Most generally, a "right" is a claim against another person's behavior which is somehow justified -such as my right to not be harmed by you. Rights and duties are related. The existence of rights of one person implies the duties of another person.

Deontological Theory

• The most influential early account of rights theory is that of 17th century British philosopher John Locke, who argued that the laws of nature mandate that we should not harm anyone's life, health, liberty or possessions. For Locke, these are our natural rights.

Deontological Theory

• Rights are natural because they are not invented or created by governments. They are universal because they do not change from country to country. They are equal because rights are the same for all people, regardless of gender, race, or handicap. They are inalienable meaning one cannot hand over ones rights to another person, such as by selling oneself into slavery.

Deontological Theory

• A third duty-based theory is that of Immanuel Kant emphasizing a single principle of duty. Kant agreed that we have moral duties to oneself and others, such as developing one's talents, and keeping our promises to others. But Kant argued that there is a more foundational principle of duty that encompasses our particular duties.

Deontological Theory

• According to Kant, there is a self-evident principle of reason that he calls the "categorical imperative." A categorical imperative is fundamentally different from hypothetical imperatives that hinge on some desire, for example, "If you want to get a good job, then you ought to go to college." Instead, a categorical imperative mandates an action, regardless of desires.

Deontological Theory

• Kant gives at least four versions of the categorical imperative, but one is especially direct: “Treat people as an end, and never as a means to an end.” That is, we should always treat people with dignity, and never use them as mere instruments. For Kant, we treat people as an end whenever our actions toward someone reflect the inherent value of that person.

Deontological Theory

• Another expression of the categorical imperative is:

• Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it would become a universal law.

Consequentialism

• According consequentialism, good conduct is determined solely by a cost-benefit analysis of an action's consequences:

• Consequentialism: An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable.

Consequentialism

• Consequentialist requires that we first tally both the good and bad consequences of an action. Second, we then determine whether the good outweighs the total bad consequences. If the good consequences are greater, then the action is morally good.

Consequentialism

• If the bad outweighs the good, then the action is morally wrong. Consequentialist theories are sometimes called teleological theories, from the Greek word telos, or end or purpose, since the end result of the action is the sole determining factor of its morality.

Consequentialism

• Ethical Egoism: an action is morally good if the consequences of that action are more favorable only to the person performing the action.

• Ethical Altruism: an action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable to everyone except the agent.

• Utilitarianism: an action is morally right if the consequences of that action increase the overall happiness.

Consequentialism

• Jeremy Bentham developed one of the earliest systems of utilitarianism. Bentham proposed that we tally the consequences of each action we perform and thereby determine case by case basis whether an action is morally right or wrong. This aspect is known as act-utilitiarianism.

Consequentialism

• Bentham also proposed that we tally the pleasure and pain which results from actions. For Bentham, pleasure and pain are the only consequences that matter in determining whether our conduct is moral. This is called hedonistic utilitarianism.

Consequentialism

• Bentham’s student, John Stuart Mill refined a theory of utility to place certain pleasures above others. Specifically, the aesthetic and intellectual pleasures were valued more than the base or bodily pleasures.

Consequentialism

• Unlike act utilitarianism, which weighs the consequences of each particular action, rule-utilitarianism offers a test only for the morality of rules, such as "stealing is wrong." Adopting a rule against theft clearly has more favorable consequences than unfavorable consequences for everyone.

Problems with Ethical Theories

• Thinks of some specific examples of problems with each of the three main ethical theories.

• Virtue ethics

• Deontological theory

• Utilitarianism.

• Can you come up with unsatisfying cases applying each?

Applied Ethics

• In response to specific failures of applying ethics in the real world, especially in medicine, applied ethics evolves. For instance, the Nuremberg Code. The war crimes trials revealed horrible abuses by Nazi physicians such as Mengele, in human research.

Applied Ethics

• Nuremberg Code:ten points, developed in 1947. Adopted into the Declaration of Helsinki and the US CFR rules for the Dept. of HHS. Includes such principles as informed consent and absence of coercion; properly formulated scientific experimentation; and beneficence towards experiment participants.

Applied Ethics

• Nuremberg Code:

• Must have voluntary consent

• The experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good of society, unprocurable by other methods or means of study, and not random and unnecessary in nature.

• The experiment should be so designed and based on the results of animal experimentation and a knowledge of the natural history of the disease or other problem under study that the anticipated results will justify the performance of the experiment.

Applied Ethics

• Nuremberg Code:

• The experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury.

• No experiment should be conducted where there is an a priori reason to believe that death or disabling injury will occur; except, perhaps, in those experiments where the experimental physicians also serve as subjects.

• The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined by the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved by the experiment.

Applied Ethics

• Nuremberg Code:

• Proper preparations should be made and adequate facilities provided to protect the experimental subject against even remote possibilities of injury, disability, or death.

• The experiment should be conducted only by scientifically qualified persons. The highest degree of skill and care should be required through all stages of the experiment.

• During the course of the experiment the human subject should be at liberty to bring the experiment to an end.

Applied Ethics

• The U.S. was not immune to abuses, including the famous Tuskegee Syphilis study. In response to this and other human subjects abuses, in 1979, "Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research” also called the Belmont Report

Applied Ethics

• The Belmont Report identifies three fundamental ethical principles for all human subject research –respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. Those principles remain the basis for the HHS human subject protection regulations. 45 CFR part 46. The “common rule.”