Reflection questions – Ethics and the Future of Business
Week 1: Morals & Ethics
1. What is morality, ethics and an ethical theory?
Answer:
Morality is human’s ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
Ethics is the systematic study of morality. (so study of ‘right and wrong’).
Ethical theories are principles and rules that determine right and wrong in different situations (can be
seen as more of a framework)
2. What is the difference between ethics and the law?
Answer:
The difference between ethics and the law, is that ethics is an on-going discussion about morality. So
a discussion to examine the right and wrong from the perspective of a human being.
The law is based on morality, it suits as the foundation of the law. The three main differences between
ethics and the law are:
1. The law doesn’t cover all ethical issues (e.g. cheating on your partner)
2. Not all legal issues are ethical (e.g. driving on the right side of the road)
3. Law and ethics can involve contradictions (e.g. apartheid)
3. Which dimensions of the Moral Machine experience more agreement?
Answer:
There is variance in agreement across different dimensions, but sparing humans instead of pets,
sparing more lives instead of fewer, and sparing the young instead of the old tend to receive more
agreement.
4. Which cultural differences come through in the Moral Machine when comparing Western,
Eastern and Southern cultures?
Answer:
Preference for sparing the ‘young’ lives and sparing ‘higher status’ lives is much higher for
countries in the Southern cluster, compared with the countries in the Eastern cluster.
Countries in the Southern cluster show a much weaker preference for sparing humas over
pets, compared to the countries in the Eastern and Western clusters.
In the Southern cluster there is a strong preference for sparing women and the strong preference for
sparing fit characters
5. What are the core normative theories in Modernist Western thinking? What are the core
ideas of each?
Answer:
There are four ‘Normative theories’ in Western thinking:
Ethical egoism: Suggests that an action is morally right if the decision-maker freely decides
to pursue either their (short-term) desires or their (long-term) interests.
Utilitarianism: States that an act is morally right if it results in the greatest amount of good to
the greatest amount of people affected by the action. → in practise a cost-benefit analysis
o Act utilitarianism: Whether a single act is right or wrong depends on the amount of common
good it produces.
o Rule utilitarianism: Focuses on creating rules that produce the most common good.
Ethics of duties: Consist of abstract, unchangeable obligations, defined by a set of rationally
deduced moral rules, which should be applied to all relevant ethical problem. (Involve human’s
, ability to develop moral law and moral rules. Humans as rational actors who had free will to make their
own choices and could decide these principles for themselves)
Categorical imperatives:
o Universal applicability: Check that the principle is acceptable to every human being.
o Respect for persons: A human being is a valuable autonomical being, and not a means to an
end or a tool.
Rights and justice: ‘Natural (human) rights’ are certain basic, important, entitlements that
should be respected and protected in every single situation. These are based in human
dignity and lead to a duty for others to protect, respect and support them. ‘Justice’ is the
simultaneous fair treatment of individuals in a given situation with the result that everybody
gets what they deserve.
6. What are alternative theories to Modernist Western normative theories described above?
Answer:
The alternative theories to Modernist Western normative theories are:
Virtue ethics: The central aim is not to fulfill duties or aim for the greatest good, but to lead a
good life. Virtue ethics focuses on the character of the individual decision-maker.
Feminist ethics: Instead of abstract moral principles, feminist ethics emphasizes caring,
empathy, and harmonious and healthy social relationships.
Discourse ethics: Discourse ethics focuses on solving ethical conflicts through democratic
dialogue and providing a process of norm generation.
Postmodern ethics: Moving away from rationality, postmodern ethics focuses on emotional
moral impulses towards others and focuses on individual questioning of universal rules. An
approach that locates morality beyond the sphere of rationality in an emotional 'moral impulse' towards
others. It encourages one to question everyday practices and rules, and to listen to one's emotions,
inner convictions, and 'gut feelings' about what is right and wrong.
7. What is the difference between ethical absolutism, relativism and pluralism?
Answer:
Absolutism: Ethical absolutists believe in the existence of moral truths that are not subject to
variation or interpretation. → certain actions are inherently right or wrong, regardless of the cultural or
situational context in which they occur.
Relativism: Ethical relativists believe that what is considered morally right or wrong varies
depending on cultural norms, customs, and beliefs. → Different cultures may have divergent moral
standards, and there is no universal standard of morality that applies to all contexts.
Pluralism: Ethical pluralists maintain that various ethical perspectives can coexist and
contribute to a richer understanding of morality. → They may believe that different moral principles
are applicable in different contexts and that there is value in considering multiple ethical perspectives.
8. What is a good leader?
Answer:
A good leader (a normative concept) is both ethical (impact of behaviour and actions in the long
and short run) and effective (often the timeframe of a decision).
Problematizations:
o Moral luck: Leaders are not in control of everything!
o Dirty hands problem: Sometimes only bad options!
o Moral perfection as an achievable target?
o Altruism as a necessity for leadership?
o Transformational leadership as strong values?
o Do leaders need to be charismatic?
o From Plato’s philosopher king to weavers (bringing together different people)?
→ A virtue ethical defence of leadership
Week 1: Morals & Ethics
1. What is morality, ethics and an ethical theory?
Answer:
Morality is human’s ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
Ethics is the systematic study of morality. (so study of ‘right and wrong’).
Ethical theories are principles and rules that determine right and wrong in different situations (can be
seen as more of a framework)
2. What is the difference between ethics and the law?
Answer:
The difference between ethics and the law, is that ethics is an on-going discussion about morality. So
a discussion to examine the right and wrong from the perspective of a human being.
The law is based on morality, it suits as the foundation of the law. The three main differences between
ethics and the law are:
1. The law doesn’t cover all ethical issues (e.g. cheating on your partner)
2. Not all legal issues are ethical (e.g. driving on the right side of the road)
3. Law and ethics can involve contradictions (e.g. apartheid)
3. Which dimensions of the Moral Machine experience more agreement?
Answer:
There is variance in agreement across different dimensions, but sparing humans instead of pets,
sparing more lives instead of fewer, and sparing the young instead of the old tend to receive more
agreement.
4. Which cultural differences come through in the Moral Machine when comparing Western,
Eastern and Southern cultures?
Answer:
Preference for sparing the ‘young’ lives and sparing ‘higher status’ lives is much higher for
countries in the Southern cluster, compared with the countries in the Eastern cluster.
Countries in the Southern cluster show a much weaker preference for sparing humas over
pets, compared to the countries in the Eastern and Western clusters.
In the Southern cluster there is a strong preference for sparing women and the strong preference for
sparing fit characters
5. What are the core normative theories in Modernist Western thinking? What are the core
ideas of each?
Answer:
There are four ‘Normative theories’ in Western thinking:
Ethical egoism: Suggests that an action is morally right if the decision-maker freely decides
to pursue either their (short-term) desires or their (long-term) interests.
Utilitarianism: States that an act is morally right if it results in the greatest amount of good to
the greatest amount of people affected by the action. → in practise a cost-benefit analysis
o Act utilitarianism: Whether a single act is right or wrong depends on the amount of common
good it produces.
o Rule utilitarianism: Focuses on creating rules that produce the most common good.
Ethics of duties: Consist of abstract, unchangeable obligations, defined by a set of rationally
deduced moral rules, which should be applied to all relevant ethical problem. (Involve human’s
, ability to develop moral law and moral rules. Humans as rational actors who had free will to make their
own choices and could decide these principles for themselves)
Categorical imperatives:
o Universal applicability: Check that the principle is acceptable to every human being.
o Respect for persons: A human being is a valuable autonomical being, and not a means to an
end or a tool.
Rights and justice: ‘Natural (human) rights’ are certain basic, important, entitlements that
should be respected and protected in every single situation. These are based in human
dignity and lead to a duty for others to protect, respect and support them. ‘Justice’ is the
simultaneous fair treatment of individuals in a given situation with the result that everybody
gets what they deserve.
6. What are alternative theories to Modernist Western normative theories described above?
Answer:
The alternative theories to Modernist Western normative theories are:
Virtue ethics: The central aim is not to fulfill duties or aim for the greatest good, but to lead a
good life. Virtue ethics focuses on the character of the individual decision-maker.
Feminist ethics: Instead of abstract moral principles, feminist ethics emphasizes caring,
empathy, and harmonious and healthy social relationships.
Discourse ethics: Discourse ethics focuses on solving ethical conflicts through democratic
dialogue and providing a process of norm generation.
Postmodern ethics: Moving away from rationality, postmodern ethics focuses on emotional
moral impulses towards others and focuses on individual questioning of universal rules. An
approach that locates morality beyond the sphere of rationality in an emotional 'moral impulse' towards
others. It encourages one to question everyday practices and rules, and to listen to one's emotions,
inner convictions, and 'gut feelings' about what is right and wrong.
7. What is the difference between ethical absolutism, relativism and pluralism?
Answer:
Absolutism: Ethical absolutists believe in the existence of moral truths that are not subject to
variation or interpretation. → certain actions are inherently right or wrong, regardless of the cultural or
situational context in which they occur.
Relativism: Ethical relativists believe that what is considered morally right or wrong varies
depending on cultural norms, customs, and beliefs. → Different cultures may have divergent moral
standards, and there is no universal standard of morality that applies to all contexts.
Pluralism: Ethical pluralists maintain that various ethical perspectives can coexist and
contribute to a richer understanding of morality. → They may believe that different moral principles
are applicable in different contexts and that there is value in considering multiple ethical perspectives.
8. What is a good leader?
Answer:
A good leader (a normative concept) is both ethical (impact of behaviour and actions in the long
and short run) and effective (often the timeframe of a decision).
Problematizations:
o Moral luck: Leaders are not in control of everything!
o Dirty hands problem: Sometimes only bad options!
o Moral perfection as an achievable target?
o Altruism as a necessity for leadership?
o Transformational leadership as strong values?
o Do leaders need to be charismatic?
o From Plato’s philosopher king to weavers (bringing together different people)?
→ A virtue ethical defence of leadership
