Moral Theories Moral Theories Moral theories: theories about the nature of moral judgments (meta-ethical theories) or giving criteria for right and wrong (normative ethics). meta-ethical theory example: error theory: all moral statements are false. normative theory: example: something is wrong only if it causes pain. Moral Theories Meta-ethical theories: -emotivism -relativism -error theory -realism Normative theories: -consequentialism -deontology -virtue theory Moral Theories Emotivism: moral value judgments are not true or false but merely expressions of our attitudes or emotions Murder – boo! Kindness – yay! Moral Theories Objection to emotivism: People disagree about morality. One says killing is wrong and the other says it’s okay. For the emotivist, this boils down to an expression of emotion (killing – boo!; killing – yay!). But this is not genuine disagreement. Disagreement: You say A and I say ~A. Moral Theories Relativism: 1. all moral value judgments are determined by a society’s beliefs toward actions or behavior. 2. There are no objective or universal moral value judgments. -the community disapproves of stealing, so stealing is wrong. -the community disapproves of lying, so lying is wrong. Moral Theories What arguments are there for relativism? The cultural differences argument: (1) Different cultures have different moral codes (different opinions concerning what is right and what is wrong). Therefore, (2) Therefore, there is no objective “truth” in morality. Right and wrong are only matters of opinion, and opinions vary from culture to culture. What do you think of this argument? A. Good B. Bad Moral Theories Objections to relativism: 1. No society is superior or inferior to another. 2. Every society’s laws are morally infallible. 3. There is no moral progress. 4. Moral revolutionaries are immoral. 5. Tolerance is only valuable if a society holds to it. Moral Theories Moral Theories Meta-ethical theories: -emotivism -relativism -error theory -realism Normative theories: -consequentialism -deontology -virtue theory Moral Theories Consequentialism: a class of moral theories in which the moral value of any human action or behavior is determined exclusively by its outcome. based on teleology: philosophical belief that the value of an action or object can be determined by looking at the purpose or end of the action or object. Examples: egoism and utilitarianism Moral Theories What do you think? Is it ever morally okay to torture an individual if the outcome is really good (or prevents something really bad)? Moral Theories Ethical Egoism: the consequentialist theory that everyone should only act in order to maximize his or her own individual pleasure or happiness (Distinct from Psychological Egoism: everyone acts in order to maximize his or her own individual pleasure or happiness.) Moral Theories Ethical Egoism: the consequentialist theory that everyone should only act in order to maximize his or her own individual pleasure or happiness Appeal of egoism: says it’s right to be selfish. You get to be selfish and a good person. Moral Theories Objection 1: if a wicked action maximizes your happiness, then ethical egoism endorses it. (James Rachels, “Ethical Egoism”) -To increase his profits, a pharmacist filled prescriptions for cancerpatients using watered-down drugs. -A nurse raped two patients while they were unconscious. -Parents fed a baby acid so that they could fake a lawsuit, claiming the baby’s formula was tainted. -A 13-year-old girl was kidnapped by a neighbor and kept shackled in an underground bomb-shelter for 181 days, while she was sexually abused.” Moral Theories Objetion 2: Egoism goes against the following principle: “We can justify treating people differently only if we can show that there is some factual difference between them that is relevant to justifying the difference in treatment.” -James Rachels, “Ethical Egoism” Moral Theories Utilitarianism: a consequentialist theory according to which all people ought to act in order to maximize the greatest pleasure or happiness for the greatest number. “the greatest good for the greatest number” Moral Theories Difficulties for utilitarianism 1. How do we define happiness? 2. How do we measure happiness? Moral Theories Objections to utilitarianism: Cases in which utilitarianism “gives the wrong answer to moral questions.” 1. The riot prevention case 2. The healthy donor case 3. The promise-breaking case Moral Theories A reply to the objections by the utilitarian: distinguish between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism (http://www.iep.utm.edu/util-a-r/#H2): 1. Act Utilitarianism: the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number should be applied on a case by case basis. Choose the act that produces the greatest good for the greatest number. 2. Rule Utilitarianism: “a) a specific action is morally justified if it conforms to a justified moral rule; and b) a moral rule is justified if its inclusion into our moral code would create more utility than other possible rules (or no rule at all)” Moral Theories Consider our objections again with the distinction between act and rule utilitarianism in mind 1. The riot prevention case 2. The healthy donor case 3. The promise-breaking case Moral Theories Moral Theories Meta-ethical theories: -emotivism -relativism -error theory -realism Normative theories: -consequentialism -deontology -virtue theory Moral Theories Deontology (Immanuel Kant): -not concerned with consequences -concerned with duty Duties are unconditional: you should do your duty no matter what Example: tell the truth Moral Theories Duties are instances of the Categorical imperative (in other words, the absolute command): your actions or behaviors toward others should always be such that you would want everyone to act in the same manner. For example: telling the truth – this is something we want everyone to do. Moral Theories Objection 1 to Deontology. Deontology says we should do our duty no matter what, but sometimes our duties conflict so that we cannot carry out both duties. Example: The Nazis at your door. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/#WeaDeoThe Moral Theories Revised deontology: Build in a hierarchy of duties -Duty to protect innocent lives -Duty to tell the truth Moral Theories Objection 2 to Deontology: Deontology says that we should do our duty no matter the consequences. But what if doing our duty has terrible consequences. Example: the duty not to torture. What if torturing one person will save 10,000,000 lives? What if torture someone to save the planet from exploding?