teleology final
TRANSCRIPT
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Consequentialism = Teleology
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Teleology Classic
Definition
The word teleology comes from the Greek roots telos,
which means end, and logos, which means science.
Thus, teleology is the "science of ends."
Key questions which teleological ethical systems ask include:
What will be the consequences of this action?
What will be the consequences of inaction?
How do I weigh the harm against the benefits of this
action?
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Teleology and Ethics
Teleological moral systems are characterized primarily by a
focus on the consequences which any action might have
Referred to as consequentialist moral systems
In order to make correct moral choices, we have to have
some understanding of what will result from our choices.
When we make choices which result in the correct
consequences, then we are acting morally; when we make
choices which result in the incorrect consequences, then we
are acting immorally.
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Teleology
Teleological methods are based on estimating what the likely
outcomes of a given course of action will be, and then
choosing the method that has the most positive
consequences and the fewest negative consequences.
According to these methods, those actions should be chosen
which lead to more positive and fewer negative
consequences, and those actions should be rejected which
lead to more negative consequences and fewer positive
consequences.
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Types
Examples of teleological ethical theories include:
Ethical Egoism:
An action is morally right if the consequences of the action are more
favorable than unfavorable only to the moral agent performing the action.
Ethical Altruism:
An action is morally right if the consequences of the action are more
favorable than unfavorable to everyone except the moral agent.
Ethical Utilitarianism:
An action is morally right if the consequences of the action are more favorable
than unfavorable to everyone.
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Key Ethical Principles
1) Principle of Beneficence
2) Principle of the Common Good
3)Principle of Distributive Justice
4) Principle of Double Effect
5) Principles of Formal and Material Cooperation
6) Principle of Human Dignity
7) Principle of Informed Consent
8) Principles of Integrity and Totality
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9) Principle of Proportionate and Disproportionate Means
10) Principle of Religious Freedom
11) Principle of Respect for Autonomy
12) Principle of Respect for Persons
13) Principle of Stewardship
14) Principle of Subsidiarity
15) Principle of Toleration
Key Ethical Principles
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Principle of Beneficence
First principle of morality
It means Do good, avoid evil
Some norms that arise from this principle:
Never deliberately kill innocent human life
Never deliberately (directly intend) harm
Seek the patients good
Act out of charity and justice
Respect the patients religious beliefs and value system
Never knowingly commit or approve an objectively evil action
Appreciate the complexity of life and make sound judgments for the
good of oneself, others, and the common good
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Principle of the Common Good
Common good consists of all the conditions of society and goods
secured by those conditions, which allow individuals to achieve human
and spiritual flourishing
human community must be actively concerned in promoting health and
welfare of every one of its members
Principle has three essential elements:
respect for persons
social welfare
peace and security
Obligates public authorities to respect the fundamental human rights of
each person
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Principle of Distributive Justice
Closely linked to the concepts of human dignity, the common
good, and human rights
Refers to what society owes its individual members in
proportion to:
the individuals needs, contribution and responsibility;
the resources available to the society or organization
the societys or organizations responsibility to the common
good
Implies that society has a duty to the individual in serious need
and that all individuals have duties to others in serious need
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Principle of Double Effect
An action that is good in itself that has two effects
An intended attainable good effect and
An unintended yet foreseen evil effect
However there is a due proportion between the intended good and the permitted evil
Moral criteria to distinguish between The Good and Permitted Evil are:
The object of the act must not be intrinsically evil
The direct intention of the agent must be to achieve the beneficial effects and to avoid the
foreseen harmful effects as far as possible
The foreseen beneficial effects must not be achieved by the means of the foreseen harmful
effects, and no other means of achieving those effects are available;
The foreseen beneficial effects must be equal to or greater than the foreseen harmful effects
The beneficial effects must follow from the action at least as immediately as do the harmful
effects.
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Immediate Material Cooperation: Occurs when the cooperator participates in circumstances that are essential
to the commission of an act, such that the act could not occur without this
participation.
Immediate material cooperation in intrinsically evil actions is morally illicit.
Mediate Material Cooperation:
Occurs when the cooperator participates in circumstances that are notessential to the commission of an action, such that the action could occur
even without this cooperation.
Mediate material cooperation in an immoral act might be justifiable under
three basic conditions:
If there is a proportionately serious reason for the cooperation the graver
the evil the more serious a reason required for the cooperation; The importance of the reason for cooperation must be proportionate to the
causal proximity of the cooperators action to the action of the principal
agent
The danger of scandal must be avoided
Principles of Formal and Material
Cooperation
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Principle of Human Dignity
Intrinsic Worth
Imago Dei
Self Respect
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Principle of Informed
Consent Right to advance ones own welfare
Right to grant or refuse consent
Adequate disclosure of information
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Principles of Integrity and
Totality
Human nature is an integration of body and spirit
The body and soul are inseparable entities
Human body should be respected as one would respect the
person
Surgeries and health care
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Principle of Proportionate and
Disproportionate Means
Analysis of ethical questions arising from the general
obligation to preserve human life and the limits of that
obligation
In case of euthanasia, it helps surrogate decision-makers to
weigh benefits and burdens
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Principle of Religious Freedom
Freedom to practice any religion of your choice
One cannot be compelled to act against ones religion
Discrimination based on religion is unethical
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Principle of Respect for
Autonomy
Autonomy is the capacity for self-determination
To respect autonomy means to acknowledge that persons right
to make choices and take action based on that persons own
values and beliefs
This principle implies that one should be free from coercion in
deciding to act, and that others are obligated to protect
confidentiality, respect privacy, and tell the truth
This can be done through the process by obtaining informed
consent
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Principle of Respect for
Persons
All individual human beings are presumed to be free and responsible
persons and should be treated as such in proportion to their ability in
the circumstances
4 Dimensions of Human Life Interrelation
Biological bodily subject
Psychological knowing subject
Social social subjectSpiritual self-transcendent
subject
As a subject, and not merely an object, a human person must be treated with
respect in such a way that recognizes his or her human dignity
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Principle of Stewardship
Stewardship requires us to appreciate the two great gifts: the
earth and our own human nature
The principle requires that the gifts of human life and its natural
environment be used with profound respect for their intrinsic
ends
Particular commitment to human dignity and common good
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Principle of Subsidiarity
Corollary of the principle of common good, this
principle requires those in positions of authority, to recognize
that individuals have a right to participate in decisions that
directly affect them, in accord with their dignity and with their
responsibility to the common good
The principle implies that, when a decision is to be made, we
should identify the most appropriate forum and level of decisionmaking, and how best and to what degree those individuals
most affected should participate in the decision making process.
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Principle of Toleration
According to this principle, those who govern both society and the
individual institutions, may at times, tolerate the evil actions of others,
if two criteria are met:
1) if a greater good or set of goods would be lost if the evil action
were not tolerated; or,
2) if greater evils would occur were the original evil not tolerated.
In short, it is toleration of others participating in evil actions, where the
eradication of this participation is not practically or morally feasible
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Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was an English
jurist, philosopher, and legal and
social reformer
He has come to be considered the
founding figure of
modern utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill was student of
Jeremy Bentham
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John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British
philosopher, political economist and
civil servant. He was also an influential
contributor to social theory, political
theory, and political economy
He was a proponent of utilitarian, an
ethical theory developed by Jeremy
Bentham
Mill's famous formulation of
utilitarianism is known as the "greatest-
happiness principle"
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Consequentialism
Consequentialism is one form of teleological ethics and it emphasizes on
the principle of the good as its central concept
A morally right act is one that will produce a good outcome, or consequence
It derives the rightness or wrongness of one's conduct from the outcomes or
result of the conduct
Consequentialism have been criticized for placing too much emphasis on
the maximization of valuable resulting states of affairs, which can lead to
morally counter-intuitive conclusions
Amongst various forms of Consequentialism, the most popular form
is Utilitarianism
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Utilitarianism
Two influential contributors to this ethical theory are
Jeremy Bentham and John Mill
Utilitarianism holds that morally valuable actions are those
actions that bring about the greatest good for the greatestnumber of people
For example:
If one believes that the good consists in the maximization of
utility, then one is a strict utilitarian.
Utilitarian refers to maximization of good to maximum number of
people
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Utilitarianism There are several theories of value held by individuals who have been
called Utilitarians.
a. Hedonism: equates good with pleasure, bad or evil with pain.
b. Eudamonism: equates good with happiness, bad or evil with
unhappiness.
c. Agathism: views good as an indefinable, intrinsic feature of various
situations and states, evil as either an indefinable, intrinsic feature of other
situations and states, or simply as the absence of good.
d. Agapeism: equates good with live, bad with hate.
e. Values pluralism: holds that there are many good, including pleasure and
happiness, but also knowledge, friendship, love, and so forth. These may or
may not be viewed as differing in importance or priority.
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Aristotle vs. Bentham
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, founder of Western
philosophy, encompassed morality, logic, science, politics, etc.
He believed that final causes guided all natural processes.
Thus he was teleological
Bentham was hedonistic and thus a strong utilitarian
He believed in the greatest happiness principle which
predominantly means pleasure over pain
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Thank you