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Summary
Ethics Class 15

A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS CLASS (05:04 PM)

  • Normative ethics 
  • Deontology 
  • Teleology

CONSEQUENTIAL ETHICS (05:08 PM)

  • Consequential Ethics- Consequences for self and Consequences for others 
  • Consequences for self-
  • Psychological Egoism 
  • Ethical Egoism 
  • Consequences for others-
  • Utilitarianism 
  • Revisited Utilitarianism
  • Concept of common good
  • Egoism- It refers to when behaviour is solely motivated by the desire to benefit the self.

  • Psychological Egoism

    		 Ethical Egoism
    It is a descriptive approach

    It is a prescriptive approach
    Human actions are always motivated by self-interest Human actions should be motivated by self-interest
    Supported by one of the key philosophers- "Thomas Hobbes" Supported by one of the famous English writers- "Ayn Rand"
  • Ethical Egoism
  • Positive  Negative 
    It reduces the possibility of conflict between morality and self-interest because morality is based on self-interest However, if everyone is driven by interest then it will end up creating a self-centred society where there is a loss of empathy 
    It will make moral decisions rational and it is 'absolutely rational to pursue one's own interest'  
    It will encourage 'self-awareness'  

    If you know yourself and what you need, you can stay productive for a longer period in society.

    		  

    It makes it easier to work towards your goals and indulge in self-care routines.

    		  

THOMAS HOBBES (05:31 PM)

  • He was an English philosopher who gave his theory during the time of the Civil War.
  • According to him, humans by very nature are selfish, brutish, etc i.e. they can not maintain peace and stability and is believed that they will engage in fierce battle for scarce resources to fulfill their vested interests.
  • Prescription
  • He prescribed that people should come together through a social contract to form a state known as the Leviathan State.
  • It will have absolute power to govern.
  • People will not have absolute rights.
  • The state should emphasise education to induce obedience among the people.
  •  For e.g. North Korea.
  • Ayn Rand
  • She was a writer and philosopher who supported ethical egoism.
  • According to her, every individual should exist for their happiness i.e. neither sacrificing yourself for others nor expecting others to sacrifice themselves.
  • She condemned ethical altruism as it is against an individual's happiness.
  • For e..g., According to this perspective altruistic surrogacy is not justified.

UTILITARIANISM (05:45 PM)

  • It is a dimension of ethics, where the moral worth of an action is based on benefiting the majority.
  • 2 major philosophers-
  • Jeremy Bentham 
  • J S Mill 
  • Examples- 
  • At an individual level- Self-interest
  • At the Societal level- Greater happiness for a greater number
  • At the Governance level- Govt schemes with the intention to benefit the maximum number of people.
  • Jeremy Bentham 
  • His philosophy was based on the principle of pleasure and pain.
  • According to this approach, the moral worth of an action is based on greater happiness for a greater number.
  • In the scheme of Bentham, the focus was majority and individual liberty did not have any place.
  • He promoted quantitative utilitarianism i.e. how much one is happy but not its quality.
  • He justified it by saying, that Pushpin is the same as poetry.
  • His philosophy was criticised at two levels- 
  • a) Overlooking the interest of minorities 
  • b) Consider happiness only in materialistic things
  • Revisited Utilitarianism by J S Mills 
  • To defend Utilitarianism he put forward his perspective.
  • He supported Utilitarianism but in such a way that individual actions should not bring harm to society i.e. pleasure of one should not cause displeasure to others.
  • He distinguished between higher-order and lower-order pleasure where intellect-based pleasure is considered more important.
  • E.g. Hard work vs Entertainment.
  • It is better to be a Socrates dissatisfied rather than a fool satisfied.
  • J S Mill put forward the idea of liberty when he mentioned that in the process of serving the majority interest, the minority's interest should never be compromised.
  • J S Mill was criticised that although he tried to defend utilitarianism but ended by overturning it and it was said that he was the Peter who denied his master.
  • Concept of common good
  • Utilitarianism  Concept of Common Good
    Unit- Individual Unit- Society
    Maximum benefit for the maximum number of individuals The aim is to maximize benefit for society which will later trickle down
    Examples- Universal Basic Income, DBT, CCT, Subsidies etc Examples- Investment in social infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, schools etc

DEONTOLOGY (06:34 PM)

  • No wrong way of doing the right thing.
  • Famous philosopher- Immanuel Kant
  • He gave the concept of the "Categorical Imperative"
  • Categorical- Absolute/ Non-negotiable 
  • Imperative- Need of the hour
  • The moral worth of action will be determined by whether it fulfils principles of the 'Categorical Imperative'
  • Four moral principles on which categorical imperative is based:
  • Principle of Universalism
  • Principle of Equality
  • Principle of Humanism
  • Duty Principle
  • Principle of Universalism- Acting in such a way that it can be made a universal law. Hence telling a lie, stealing, and cheating can not be justified as per this philosophy.
  • Principle of Equality- These universal laws should be applicable to all including the self. If there are any exceptions then it is not based on categorical imperative.
  • For e.g. You show me the man, I show you the rule' goes against this principle.
  • E.g. 2- The Golden Rule of Life (Treat others as you want to be treated) justifies the principle of equality.
  • Principle of Humanism
  • People should never be treated as means but as an end in themselves. Hence, actions like child labour, surrogacy, use of humans in clinical trials, objectification, commodification, etc are not justified according to this approach.
  • Duty Principle-
  • Acting in the right manner because it is the right thing to do and not because of any reward or fear of punishment. For e.g. Philosophy of Nishkam Karma. 
  • Charity is a moral action but when celebrities indulge in charity to increase their public engagement then it will not be considered as an ethical conduct.

VIRTUE-BASED ETHICS (07:06 PM)

  • It is a branch of ethics where who is performing the action is more important than what action is performed.
  • It is not based on an 'evolutionary approach'
  • It is focused on building the moral character of the society.
  • It is based on the idea of virtue which is referred to as desirable traits. 
  • For e.g. honesty, kindness, compassion, integrity, courage, etc.
  • It emphasizes that the moral worth of an action is determined if a virtuous person will perform the same action in the same circumstances.
  • Since according to Aristotle, a virtuous person when confronted with ethical dilemmas will make the right choices.
  • This approach emphasizes the significance of the process of socialization, hence agencies of socialization have an indispensable role to play.
  • This perspective was criticized on the following grounds:
  • It fails to provide a definite model to arrive at a moral decision.
  • There is too much subjectivity in defining what constitutes virtues as they may be very culture-specific.

TOPIC OF THE NEXT CLASS- VIRTUE-BASED ETHICS (TO CONTINUE)