James Fieser Code Of Ethics Essay
ETHICS: DISCOVERING RIGHT AND WRONG
Louis Pojman, James Fieser
Book Outline to Seventh Edition
Prepared by James Fieser with additions by Sandra Dreisbach
1. WHAT IS ETHICS
1) Introduction i) Kitty Genovese example
2) Ethics and its subdivisions i) Philosophy a) Clarify concepts, analyze and test propositions and beliefs b) Major task is to analyze and construct arguments ii) Ethics vs. morality a) Both terms derive their meaning from the idea of “custom”, that is, normal behavior b) Moral: Latin word “mores” c) Ethical: Greek “ethos” iii) The study of ethics draws on three subdivisions a) Descriptive morality: actual beliefs, customs, …show more content…
b) Why should I be moral?
2) Why does society need moral rules i) Hobbes and the State of Nature a) Human nature 1. Human beings always act out of perceived self-interest 2. We are equally able to harm others, and have equal desires to satisfy our goals b) State of nature 1. A war of all against all where there are no common ways of life, no enforced laws or moral rules, and no justice or injustice c) Social contract 1. We give up some of our liberty in exchange for peace 2. We establish rules of law and create a government assures that we follow the rules out of fear of punishment d) Morality is a form of social control ii) Hobbesian Morality and “Lord of the Flies” a) Boys ages six to twelve from an English private school, cast adrift on an uninhabited Pacific island, create their own social system, which dissolves into …show more content…
If an act is morally right, then it must be reasonable to do it 2. If it is reasonable to do the act, then it must be in my interest to do it 3. But sometimes the requirements of morality are incompatible with the requirements of self-interest 4. Hence, a morally right act must be reasonable and need not be reasonable, which is a contradiction c) Premise 2 (principle of rational self-interest): If it is reasonable to do the act, then it must be in my interest to do it 1. Criticism: wrongly assumes ethical egoism; we sometimes have good reasons for doing something that goes against our interest (e.g., helping the needy) ii) Modified Principle of Rational Self-Interest a) The principle: If it is reasonable to choose a life plan L, which includes the possibility of doing act A, then it must be in my interest (or at least not against it) to choose L, even though A itself may not be in my self-interest b) Solution to paradox: while the individual moral act may occasionally conflict with one’s self-interest, the entire life plan in which the act is embedded and from which it flows is not against the individual’s
Louis Pojman, James Fieser
Book Outline to Seventh Edition
Prepared by James Fieser with additions by Sandra Dreisbach
1. WHAT IS ETHICS
1) Introduction i) Kitty Genovese example
2) Ethics and its subdivisions i) Philosophy a) Clarify concepts, analyze and test propositions and beliefs b) Major task is to analyze and construct arguments ii) Ethics vs. morality a) Both terms derive their meaning from the idea of “custom”, that is, normal behavior b) Moral: Latin word “mores” c) Ethical: Greek “ethos” iii) The study of ethics draws on three subdivisions a) Descriptive morality: actual beliefs, customs, …show more content…
b) Why should I be moral?
2) Why does society need moral rules i) Hobbes and the State of Nature a) Human nature 1. Human beings always act out of perceived self-interest 2. We are equally able to harm others, and have equal desires to satisfy our goals b) State of nature 1. A war of all against all where there are no common ways of life, no enforced laws or moral rules, and no justice or injustice c) Social contract 1. We give up some of our liberty in exchange for peace 2. We establish rules of law and create a government assures that we follow the rules out of fear of punishment d) Morality is a form of social control ii) Hobbesian Morality and “Lord of the Flies” a) Boys ages six to twelve from an English private school, cast adrift on an uninhabited Pacific island, create their own social system, which dissolves into …show more content…
If an act is morally right, then it must be reasonable to do it 2. If it is reasonable to do the act, then it must be in my interest to do it 3. But sometimes the requirements of morality are incompatible with the requirements of self-interest 4. Hence, a morally right act must be reasonable and need not be reasonable, which is a contradiction c) Premise 2 (principle of rational self-interest): If it is reasonable to do the act, then it must be in my interest to do it 1. Criticism: wrongly assumes ethical egoism; we sometimes have good reasons for doing something that goes against our interest (e.g., helping the needy) ii) Modified Principle of Rational Self-Interest a) The principle: If it is reasonable to choose a life plan L, which includes the possibility of doing act A, then it must be in my interest (or at least not against it) to choose L, even though A itself may not be in my self-interest b) Solution to paradox: while the individual moral act may occasionally conflict with one’s self-interest, the entire life plan in which the act is embedded and from which it flows is not against the individual’s