Welcome back
Welcome back to your second class. In this class, we are going to reflect on the work you have done for your homework. And we’re going to explore some different approaches to ethical issues.
Discussion
We’ll start off in groups, talking about your homework. I want you to discuss the following two questions:
-
What was the ethical problem that you faced?
-
How did you resolve this problem? How did you come to a decision?
We’ll feed back afterwards. Here, we’re less interested in the ethical problem itself, and more interested in the thought processes and forms of reasoning you used to resolve this problem.
Can we Reach Objectivity in Ethics?
Last time, we discussed the passage from the Euthyphro, where Plato reminds us that objectivity in ethics is difficult — when compared to things we can more readily measure.
In this course, we’re going to explore some answers to the question: how can I know what is ethical, good, or right?
-
One way is by thinking about rules and principles. Are there some ethical rules that can never be broken? This is often called deontological ethics.
-
Another way is by thinking about consequences and outcomes. If you read about consequentialism or utilitarianism, these approaches to ethics fall under this broad category.
-
Or you could think about the ethical qualities and virtues that make us good. What makes Gatsby the dog a good boy? Loyalty? Not barking at strangers? Or some other virtues? And how do we—and Gatsby—cultivate virtues? This is called virtue ethics, and is strongly associated with the Greek thinker Aristotle. Some argue that Buddhist ethics, or Confucian ethics, are forms of virtue ethics.
-
Or perhaps, ethics is about caring for others. How do we build a culture of care? Should we care for each other equally, or should care be differentiated according to our different relationships?
-
Or maybe ethics is about co-being, co-existence, community, or being-with-others. Some theories of ethics—notably Ubuntu ethics in the African context—emphasise this. Ethics is not just about individual decision-making, but about community.
-
Finally, perhaps religion has something to do with ethics. For many, religion and ethics are inseparable. This raises all kinds of interesting questions. For example: maybe ethical rules are not worked out by human beings, but are revealed to us. So what role does religion have in deciding ethics?
You can see from the above that there are many ways of asking about ethics. But how to decide which is the best one? And how do we decide between them if, for example, one of these approaches tells us one thing, and one tells us another?
An Ethical Case Study
Let’s take this Myanmar-themed ethical dilemma from the University of Texas at Austin. It is about amber sourced from Myanmar. Read through, and discussion question 1 in the questions section. What other ethical approaches other than deontology and utilitarianism could help inform your discussions of this case study?
https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Myanmar-Amber-1.pdf
Homework
Next time, we’re going to start by talking about deontological ethics: in other words, rule-based ethics.
For your homework, I want you to read two sections from Kant’s Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals. The readings may be difficult, but please persevere with them! Read them through several times. Then we’ll talk through them in class.
-
Reading 1: Preface 4:387–4:390 where Kant sets out the overall framework of his philosophy, and also asks: what is a moral law (or rule)?
-
Reading 2: 4:420 (from “When I think of a hypothetical imperative”) to the end of 4:423 (“he would rob himself of all hope of the assistance he wishes for himself”)
On Canvas, I want you to share the following. You must respond to both of these to get the participation grade.
-
One thing you found interesting in the reading
-
One thing that you didn’t understand, or found puzzling.