"There is one thing a professor can be
absolutely certain of; almost every student entering the
university believes, or says he believes, that truth is
relative."
Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind
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Moral
Theories - General
Introduction
"There is one thing a professor can be
absolutely certain of; almost every student entering the
university believes, or says he believes, that truth is
relative." |
Links to lectures I've prepared on moral theories
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Learning Outcomes:
People generally hold many values in common, yet respond differently to Case Study Discussion Question Definition For purposes of the introductory portion of this course, people/ethics will be divided in three categories which directly relate to the action they will take.
Philosophical/ethical stand generally determines actions. As Macelli states, "Ideas have consequences." Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we be properly informed.
1. Duty-Defined individuals would probably say, "It's my duty to be honest, not to cheat and not to lie. It's a universally rational law that a world could not exist well if people cheated. There's no question as to what I should do. The Ten Commandments say so." 2. Consequentialists would say, "It's more complicated than that. What would be the results of my cheating? Would it help my financial situation, so that I could spare the family financial hardships? I may be laid off because of cutbacks. My kids should get their persistent colds checked out. The benefactor has money to spare. I'd be benefiting 5 people and the family would be happy.... Yes, the end result would be better if I got a scholarship. A greater good would be produced by my taking the money.... would it be the most loving thing for me to do? Would it be showing that my care and compassion for my family are primary?" (Time, place, circumstance, love, and care and very important in consequentialist thinking 3. Virtue Ethics: Aristotle wrote that the happy life is the life of "virtuous action," that happens to be filled with pleasure to. He considered honor to be the most important ingredient in the good life In the classical sense, virtue is a developed capacity to accomplish the moral good in spite of obstacles, at a great cost to us or those we love. Quotes for discussion Friedrich Nietzsche, whose scientific method was truly
"experimental", alerted us to the fact that
"morality" - standardized moral judgements of a given
society - devalues the individual for the sake of the aggregate of
individuals in order to maintain the status quo. The individual
is erased, being subsumed into the herd. You can
easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do
nothing for him.
Under construction:
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