CHAPTER TWO

APPROACHES TO
ETHICS

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INTRODUCTION
 All moral theories address the questions of
what is Good,
why it’s Good, and themes of morality
where the Good is located?

 Three basic kinds of prescriptive moral theories:

teleological theories,

deontological theories, and

Provide mostly
virtue-based theories conflicting
answers

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Cont…d

(1) Teleological Ethics

 It is referred as “the end justifies the means”.
 An action is judged as right or wrong, moral or immoral depending
on what happens because of it and result of action justify moral act
as bad or good.
 Act is right if and only if it produces, great a balance of good over
evil as any available alternative; an act is wrong if and only if it
doesn't do so.
 Teleologists have often been hedonists, identifying the good with
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pleasure and evil with pain.

Deontological Ethics (Non- consequentialist)
“The means justify the end”
 features act itself make an event right or wrong besides of its
consequence
 E.g., keeping a promise, is just, or is commanded by God or by the
state.
 Ethical egoism: it is always to do what will promote his own greatest
good (view held by Epicurus, Hobbes, and Nietzsche).
 Ethical universalism: usually called utilitarianism, takes the position
that the ultimate end is the greatest general good
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 Bentham & J.S. Mill, have usually been hedonists, assert that the moral
Egoism: Ethical And Psychological Egoism
Ethical egoism
 proper moral conduct consist of “looking out for number
one,” period (ethical egoism).
 there is only one rule “Look after yourself” you have no
business stopping for anybody on the freeway.
 It is a normative theory-how we ought to behave (we ought to
be selfish).

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CONT’D…
 some method to apply the principle of ethical egoism:
 Listthe possible acts
 For each act, see how much net good it would do for you.
 Identify the act that does the most net good for you
 Psychological Egoism
 humans are not built to look out for other people’s

interests has surfaced regularly (psychological egoism).

 Butler's terms, "self-love" is the only basic "principle" in

human nature;
 "ego-satisfaction" is the final aim of all activity
 psychologicalegoism -- that each of us is always
seeking one’s own greatest good. 6
 Utilitarianism: Producing the best consequences
That action is best, which produces the greatest happiness
for the greatest numbers.
traditional moral principles guide our action are:
I. “Let your conscience be your guide.”
II.“Do whatever is most loving”
III.“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Golden
rule
Conscience, love, and the Golden Rule are all worthy rules
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of thumb to help us through life.

Classic Utilitarianism
formal ethical theory of utilitarianism were sewn by the
ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (342–270 BCE), who
stated that “pleasure is the goal that nature has ordained
for us; it is also the standard by which we judge everything
good.”
rightness and wrongness are determined by pleasure or
pain that sth produces.
focused largely on the individual’s personal experience8 of
these two Ps.
Jeremy Bentham: Quantity over Quality
Bentham articulated two main features of utilitarianism:
 The consequentialist principle (or its teleological aspect):
states that the rightness or wrongness of an act is determined
by the goodness or badness of the results that flow from it.
 It is the end, not the means that counts; the end justifies the
means. and
 The utility principle (or its hedonic aspect): states that the
only thing that is good in itself is some specific type of state
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(for example, pleasure, happiness, welfare).

CONT’D…
 Hedonistic utilitarianism views pleasure as the sole good and pain
as the only evil.
 right action if it either brings about more pleasure than pain
 hedonic calculus: invented by Bentham to measure two Ps.
 The quantitative score of Ps is obtained by summing the seven
aspects of a pleasurable or painful experience: its intensity,
duration, certainty, nearness, fruitfulness, purity, and extent.
 there is only one principle to apply: Maximize
Pleasure. & minimize Pain.
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 With no special treatment to ourselves and others

 John Stuart Mill: Quality over Quantity
 sought to distinguish happiness from mere sensual
pleasure (Pig Philosophy charge to Bentham)- objection
 defines happiness in terms of higher-order pleasures or

satisfactions (intellectual, aesthetic, and social

enjoyments, as well as in terms of minimal suffering.
 two types of pleasures.

 Lower, or elementary Pleasure: eating, drinking,

sexuality, resting, and sensuous titillation.

 when overindulged- they also lead to pain

 Higher Pleasure: high culture, scientific knowledge,

intellectuality, and creativity.

 tend to be more long term, continuous, and gradual. 11
CONT’D…
 “It is better to be a human being
dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be
Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”
 Humans are the kind of creatures who require
more to be truly happy.
 Happiness … [is] not a life of rapture; but
moments of such, in an existence made up of few
and transitory pains.
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 Altruism
 an action is right if the consequences of that action are favorable to
all except the actor. Butler argued that we have an inherent
psychological capacity to show benevolence to others.
 Psychological altruism holds that all human action is necessarily
other centered and other motivated.
Difference between egoistic and altruistic desires:
Egoistic desire: concerns benefit of oneself & not anyone else.
Altruistic desire concerns benefit of at least someone other than
oneself.
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Altruists reject the theory of psychological egoism and argue instead
DEONTOLOGY: WHAT DUTY ASKS OF US?
It is diametrically opposite to utilitarianism.
referred as “the means justifies the end”.
rightness or wrongness of moral action is determined, at
least partly with reference to formal rules of conduct
It is an emphasis on the intentions, motives, moral
principles or performance of duty rather than results

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CONT’D…
Performance of One’s own Duty

The 17th century German philosopher Samuel Pufendorf,

who classified dozens of duties under three headings:
Duties to God: : (1) a theoretical duty to know the existence and
nature of God, and (2) a practical duty to both inwardly and
outwardly worship God.
Duties to oneself: two sorts: (1) duties of the soul
(developing one's skills and talents) and (2) duties of the body
(not harming our bodies, as we might through gluttony15 or
drunkenness, and not killing oneself).
CONT’D…
Duties towards others; Pufendorf divides these 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.
Conditional duties involve various types of
agreements, the principal one of which is the
duty is to keep one's promises. 16
THE DIVINE COMMAND THEORY
ethical principles are simply the commands of God.
Without God, there would be no universally valid
morality.
We can analyze the DCT into three separate theses:

1. Morality originates with God.

2. Moral rightness simply means “willed by God,” and moral
wrongness means “being against the will of God.”
3. Because morality essentially is based on divine will, not on
independently existing reasons for action, no further reasons17for
action are necessary.
RIGHTS THEORY
 a "right" is a justified claim against another person's behavior - such
as my right to not be harmed by you.
 Rights and duties are related i.e., the rights of one person imply the
duties of another person.
 John Locke: argued that the laws of nature mandate that we should
not harm anyone's life, health, liberty or possessions.
 Thomas Jefferson recognizes three foundational rights: life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
 There are four features traditionally associated with moral rights:
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natural , universal, equal and inalienable
KANT’S CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
 Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is identified with the moral theory
known as deontology.
 adamantly opposed to the idea that the outcome of an action could
determine its moral worth.
 rightness or wrongness of an act, is determined by the intention of
the person who carries out the act.
 Deontologists maintain that there are some moral obligations
which are absolutely binding, no matter what consequences are
produced.
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CONT’D…
The Categorical Imperative

 A Kant’s duty-based theory is emphasizes a single

principle of duty.
 Categorical imperative: simply mandates of an
action, irrespective of one’s personal desires, such as
“You ought to do X.”
 agreed that we have moral duties to oneself and
others.
 hypothetical imperatives: center on some personal
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desire that we have. E.g., “If you want to get a good
job, then you ought to go to college.”
CONT’D…
Kant places on the idea of good intension.
believed that nothing was good in itself except a “good
will.”
By will, Kant means the uniquely human capacity to act
according to the concepts behind laws,
A good will, thus, acts in accordance with nature’s laws.
For Kant a will could be good without qualification only if
it always had in view one principle: whether the maxim
of its action could become a universal law.
Kant’s categorical imperative states that we should act in
such a way that the maxim or general rule governing 21
our
action could be a universal law.
CONT’D…
Hypothetical imperatives
 tell us which means best achieve our ends but they do not, tell us
which ends we should choose.
 The typical dichotomy in choosing ends is between ends that are
"right" (e.g., helping someone) and those that are "good" (e.g.,
enriching oneself).
 He considered the "right" superior to the "good"; to him, the
"good" was morally irrelevant.
 In Kant's view, a person cannot decide whether conduct is "right," or
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moral, through empirical means rather through pure practical reason.
CONT’D…
Kant's believed that, unless a person freely and willingly
makes a choice, their action has no meaning.
Autonomy allows us to be self-creating when it comes to
our values and morality. Autonomy is one’s own beliefs,
independence, and government: acting without regard for
anyone else.
Conversely, heteronomy is acting under the influence of
someone else and allows for an individual to consistently
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place blame outside of self.

 Ross’s Prima Facie Duties or Moral Guidelines
Is more recent duty-based theory developed Sir William David Ross
(1877 –1971).
The term prima facie means “at a first sight” or “on the surface.”
By prima facie duties, Ross means
duties that dictate what we should do when other moral factors are not
considered.
Or duties that generally obligate us; that is, they ordinarily impose a
moral obligation but may not in a particular case because of circumstances.
An actual duty is the action that one ought to perform after considering
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and weighing all the prima facie duties involved.
CONT’D…
Ross’s categories of prima facie duties:-
Duties of Fidelity: duty to keep promises & the obligation not to lie.
 Duties of Reparation: duty to compensate others when we harm them.

 Duties of Gratitude: duty to thank those who help us.

 Duties of Justice: duty in benefits and burdens distribution fairly

 Duties of Beneficence: the duty to improve the conditions of others.

 Duties of Self-improvement: is to act so as to promote one’s own good.

 Duties of Non-maleficence/non-injury: is the duty not to harm others

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physically or psychologically.
 VIRTUE ETHICS
 Virtue Ethics: challenging the adequacy of rule-based theories

 E.g., help someone in need.

 Deontologist: acting in accordance with a moral rule or principle

 Consequentialist: consequences of helping will maximize well-

being; and

 Virtue ethicist: providing help would be charitable or benevolent –

charity and benevolence being virtues. 26

ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.)
 He first wrote a detailed discussion of virtue morality in the Nichomachean

Ethics.

 He understood ‘Virtus’ as strength. Correspondingly, specific virtues are

seen as strengths of character.

 After over-shadowed by utilitarianism and deontological theories Virtue ethics

has been restated and reinvigorated in the years since 1958 by Philippa Foot,

Alasdair MacIntyre and Elizabeth Anscombe.

 They argue that how we ought to live could be much more adequately
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answered by a virtue-based theory than consequences or obeying rules.

CONT’D…
 Good is that which all things aim. Something is good if it

performs its proper function.

A. The good of human beings cannot be answered with the
exactitude of a mathematical problem since mathematics starts
with general principles and argues to conclusions.
B. Aristotle distinguishes between happiness (eudaemonia) and
moral virtue:
o Moral virtue is not the end of life for it can go with
inactivity, misery, and unhappiness; Happiness, the end
of life, that to which all aims. 28
CONT’D…
The Good Character
1. People have a natural capacity for good character, and it
is developed through practice.
2. Virtue, arete, or excellence is a mean between two
extremes of excess and defect in regard to a feeling or
action as the practically wise person would determine it.

Aristotelian Vice Of Mean Or Vice Of Excess

Virtues & Vices Deficiency Virtue
Sphere of Action

Fear Cowardice
courage Foolhardiness

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CONT’D…
Pleasure is the natural accompaniment of unimpeded
activity. As such it is neither good nor bad.

A. Even so, pleasure is something positive and its effect is to

perfect the exercise/practice of activity.

B. Pleasure cannot be directly sought--it is the side-product

of activity. It is only an element of happiness.

C. The good person, the one who has attained eudaemonia,

is the standard as to what is truly pleasant or unpleasant.
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CONT’D…
Friendship: a person's relationship to a friend is the same as the relation
to oneself. can be thought of as a second self.

A. In friendship a person loves himself (egoism) not as one seeks money

for himself, but as he gives his money away to receive honor.

B. The kinds of friendship: Utility and Pleasure

 The Good--endures as long as both retain their character.
The Contemplative Faculty--the exercise of perfect happiness in
intellectual or philosophic activity.

A. Reason is the highest faculty of human beings. We can

engage in it longer than other activities. 31

B. Philosophy is loved as an end-in-itself.

 Non-Normative
Ethics/Meta-
ethics
 [Metaethics] is not about what people ought
to do. It is about what they are doing when
they talk about what they ought to do.
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 Meta-ethics:
 Examines the meaning of moral terms and concepts and their relationships.

 Explores where moral values, such as ‘personhood’ and ‘autonomy’, come from.

 Considers the difference of moral values and other kinds of values.

 Examines the way in which moral claims are justified.

 Meta-ethics also poses questions of the following kind:

 What do we mean by the claim, ‘life is sacred’?

 Are moral claims a matter of personal view, religious belief or social standard, or,
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are they objective in some sense?

What is Meta-ethics?
Meta-ethics tries to answer question, such as:
 What does “good,” “right,” or “justice” mean?
 Is morality irreducible, cognitive, or overriding?
 Do intrinsic values exist?
Meta-ethics concerned with questions about the following:

(a) Meaning: what is the semantic function of moral

discourse? Is the function of moral discourse to state
facts, or does it have some other non-fact-stating role?
(b) Metaphysics: do moral facts (or properties) exist? If so,
what are they like? Are they identical , they irreducible 34
and
sui generis (it self)?
CONT’D…
c. Epistemology and justification: is there such a thing as moral
knowledge? How can we know whether our moral judgements are
true or false? How can we ever justify?
d. Phenomenology: how are moral qualities represented in the
experience of an agent making a moral judgement? Do they appear to
be 'out there' in the world?
e. Moral psychology: what can we say about the motivational state of
someone making a moral judgment?
f. Objectivity: can moral judgments really be correct or incorrect?
 Some meta-ethical theories (moral realism, non-cognitivism, error-
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theory and moral anti-realism)

Cognitivism and Non-Cognitivism
Consider a particular moral judgment, such as the judgment that murder

is wrong. What sort of psychological state does this express?

Cognitivists, think that a moral judgment such as this expresses a belief.

Beliefs can be true or false: they are truth-apt, or apt to be assessed in

terms of truth and falsity.

So they think that moral judgments are capable of being true or false.

Non-cognitivists: think that moral judgments express non-cognitive

states such as emotions or desires. Desires and emotions are not truth-apt.
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So moral judgements are not capable of being true or false.

Strong Cognitivism: Naturalism
holds that moral judgments
(a) are apt for evaluation in terms of truth and falsity, and
(b) can be the upshot of cognitively accessing the facts which
render them true.
can be either naturalist or non-naturalist.

According to a naturalist, a moral judgement is rendered true or false

by a natural state of affairs, and it is this natural state of affairs to
which a true moral judgement affords us access.

But what is a natural state of affairs? G. E. Moore's characterization:

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“By 'nature', then, I do mean and have meant that which is the subject
matter of the natural sciences and also of psychology.”
STRONG COGNTIVISM: NON-NATURAL
 think that moral properties aren’t identical to or reducible to natural
properties. They are irreducible and sui generis.
 two types of strong cognitivist non-naturalism:

1st Moore's ethical non-naturalism: the property of moral goodness is

non-natural, simple, and unanalysable; and

2nd Contemporary version of non-naturalism of John McDowell and

David Wiggins.
 Again, both types of non-naturalist are moral realists: (they really
on moral facts and moral properties- which constitutively
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independent of human opinion.
STRONG COGNITIVISM WITHOUT MORAL REALISM: MACKIE'S
'ERROR-THEORY
 Mackie argued that although moral judgements are apt to be true or
false, and that moral judgements, if true, would afford us cognitive
access to moral facts, moral judgements are in fact always false.

 He concludes that there are no moral properties or moral facts

 so that (positive, atomic) moral judgements are uniformly falseour
moral thinking involves us in a radical error. Because Mackie
denies that there are moral facts or properties, he is a moral
antirealist.
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Non-Cognitivism

 deny that moral judgements are even apt to be true or false.

 disagree with both weak and strong cognitivism.

 We shall look at a number of arguments which the non-cognitivist

uses against cognitivism. An example of such an argument is the

argument from moral psychology.

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CONT’D…
 So moral judgements are not truth-apt and cannot express beliefs,
what do they express?
 three versions of non-cognitivism which give different answers to this
question: according to the ff scholars our moral judgements express:
 J. Ayer's emotivism (1936): our emotions, or sentiments of approval
or disapproval;
 Simon Blackburn's quasi-realism (1984): our dispositions to form
sentiments of approval or disapproval; and
 Allan Gibbard's norm-expressivism (1990): our moral judgements
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express our acceptance of norms.
 Internalism and Externalism, Humeanism and Anti-
Humeanism

 Internalism: as moral psychology claim that there is

an internal and necessary connection between sincerely
making a moral judgement and being motivated to act
in the manner prescribed by that judgement.
 it says that there is an internal or conceptual
connection between moral judgement and motivation.
 Some cognitivist philosophers respond to the argument
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from moral psychology by denying internalism.
 Cont’d…

 Externalist deny moral pyshcology and see the connection

between judgement and motivation is only external and
contingent.
 Humean theory of motivation: claim that motivation always
involves the presence of both beliefs and desires –Hume’s
work
 anti-Humean theory of motivation: beliefs themselves can
be intrinsically motivating. - McDowell and Wiggins
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