Microlectures
Video: Ethics vs. Morals
Ethics: rules provided by an external source. Governed by professional and legal guidelines (how
to deal with gray areas)
- Refers to value judgments we make
- E.g., codes of conduct in workplaces (workers have to follow this conduct regardless of
own personal thoughts/ feelings/etc)
Descriptive ethics: (aka. Comparative ethics) describing/ explaining behaviour
- How to determine right from wrong: What do ppl think is right in certain place/time/ sit
Prescriptive ethics: (aka. Normative ethics) guiding/ prescribing behaviour
- Study of principles/ rules/ theories that guide our actions & judgments to determine what
is right/wrong
- Main question to determine what is wrong/right: how should ppl act??
Moral: individual’s own principles regarding right and wrong
Video: Virtue Ethics
How can we become a good person?
Chapter 1 - Ethics Theory: An Overview
Ethics: "form of inquiry concerned with the process of finding rational justifications for our actions when
the values that we hold come into conflict"
- "Ethics is the process of finding rational justifications for our actions when simultaneously held
values come in conflict" (dilemmas)
- brand of moral philo that is rooted in writing of Aristotle, Epictetus, etc other ancient Greeks
concerned w nature of goodness
- Efforts to articulate our reasons for putting grater eight on some moral claims than others in
certain dilemmas (focus on rightness of specific actions)
- Epistemic: focused on questions of how we actually know what we claim to know
- Know "right and wrong"/ "rightness" and "goodness"
- are these qualities intrinsic in acts/objects VS. concepts are products of our intuitions
1. Ethics is about our thinking process
- Focus on quality of deliberative process and not the outcome
2. Ethics is based on rational justifications
- Quality of reasoning for doing something/ not!! Good, ethical decisions should be able to
be defended on the basis of solid, evidence-based reasoning (not just a series of moral
claims
- Not about pleasing everyone!
3. Ethics helps us negotiate among conflicting values
, - Accepting that some values, as important as they are, must be temporarily subsumed in
the service of things that we deem more important, given the circumstance
- Process of compromise = help come to more cler understanding of values
Morality: refers to a set of beliefs that we embarace to help us understand what is good and what is bad in
the world (don't usually question the validity of these beliefs)
Key thinkers
1. Aristotle
2. Immanuel Kant
3. John Stuart Mill
4. W.D. Ross
5. Philippa Foot
6. Seyla Benhabib
Idealism vs. Relativism
Ethical ideology: made up of our degree of idealism + degree of relativism.
Our worldview/ belief system about the relationship between the individual
level & global level that shapes how we're most likely to deal w ethical probs
Idealism: refers to how strongly we feel about the pursuit of humanitarian
goals (e.g., believing that everyone should be concerned w the welfare of ppl),
belief that world affairs can and should be ordered to place a priority on
maximizing everyone's well-being
Relativism: belief that the only way we can decide what's ethical and what's
not is to rely on our experiences and internal moral compass (rejects idea of
universal moral rules bc they dont exist outside individual experience, no
moral absolutes)
- Relies on more individualistic perspective
Key thinkers through the ages
Video: Ethics vs. Morals
Ethics: rules provided by an external source. Governed by professional and legal guidelines (how
to deal with gray areas)
- Refers to value judgments we make
- E.g., codes of conduct in workplaces (workers have to follow this conduct regardless of
own personal thoughts/ feelings/etc)
Descriptive ethics: (aka. Comparative ethics) describing/ explaining behaviour
- How to determine right from wrong: What do ppl think is right in certain place/time/ sit
Prescriptive ethics: (aka. Normative ethics) guiding/ prescribing behaviour
- Study of principles/ rules/ theories that guide our actions & judgments to determine what
is right/wrong
- Main question to determine what is wrong/right: how should ppl act??
Moral: individual’s own principles regarding right and wrong
Video: Virtue Ethics
How can we become a good person?
Chapter 1 - Ethics Theory: An Overview
Ethics: "form of inquiry concerned with the process of finding rational justifications for our actions when
the values that we hold come into conflict"
- "Ethics is the process of finding rational justifications for our actions when simultaneously held
values come in conflict" (dilemmas)
- brand of moral philo that is rooted in writing of Aristotle, Epictetus, etc other ancient Greeks
concerned w nature of goodness
- Efforts to articulate our reasons for putting grater eight on some moral claims than others in
certain dilemmas (focus on rightness of specific actions)
- Epistemic: focused on questions of how we actually know what we claim to know
- Know "right and wrong"/ "rightness" and "goodness"
- are these qualities intrinsic in acts/objects VS. concepts are products of our intuitions
1. Ethics is about our thinking process
- Focus on quality of deliberative process and not the outcome
2. Ethics is based on rational justifications
- Quality of reasoning for doing something/ not!! Good, ethical decisions should be able to
be defended on the basis of solid, evidence-based reasoning (not just a series of moral
claims
- Not about pleasing everyone!
3. Ethics helps us negotiate among conflicting values
, - Accepting that some values, as important as they are, must be temporarily subsumed in
the service of things that we deem more important, given the circumstance
- Process of compromise = help come to more cler understanding of values
Morality: refers to a set of beliefs that we embarace to help us understand what is good and what is bad in
the world (don't usually question the validity of these beliefs)
Key thinkers
1. Aristotle
2. Immanuel Kant
3. John Stuart Mill
4. W.D. Ross
5. Philippa Foot
6. Seyla Benhabib
Idealism vs. Relativism
Ethical ideology: made up of our degree of idealism + degree of relativism.
Our worldview/ belief system about the relationship between the individual
level & global level that shapes how we're most likely to deal w ethical probs
Idealism: refers to how strongly we feel about the pursuit of humanitarian
goals (e.g., believing that everyone should be concerned w the welfare of ppl),
belief that world affairs can and should be ordered to place a priority on
maximizing everyone's well-being
Relativism: belief that the only way we can decide what's ethical and what's
not is to rely on our experiences and internal moral compass (rejects idea of
universal moral rules bc they dont exist outside individual experience, no
moral absolutes)
- Relies on more individualistic perspective
Key thinkers through the ages
