Intro to Moral Philosophy

Fall 2024

Outline

1. Introduction
2. Table Discussion
3. Philosophy Cheat Sheets
4. Share outs

Outline

• Introduction
• Table Discussion
• Philosophy Cheat Sheets
• Share outs

Next two classes: how do we think about what we ought to do?

Moral philosophy is one way of helping us decide. Sandel: Examines various philosophical traditions, and how each defines and gives weight to 3 ideas:

Welfare�The wellbeing of a person or group; tends to be used interchangeably with the economic aspects of welfare, but the term is much broader.

Freedom�The ability to exercise one’s free will.

Virtue�Refers to certain qualities that are intrinsically “good.”

Who is Michael Sandel?

• American Political Philosopher
• Professor of Government at Harvard
• Public intellectual known for his effectiveness at using the Socratic method and facilitating respectful debates and dialog
• Has written a number of very popular books (including the one that we are reading).

Source: Wikipedia

From Chapter 1.

“Few of us face choices as fateful as those that confronted the soldiers on the mountain (Afghan goat herders) or the witness to the runaway trolley. But wrestling with their dilemmas sheds light on the way a moral argument can proceed in our personal lives and in the public square.” (Chapter 1)

Sandel: the process of moral reasoning

1. Notice how moral reflection emerges naturally from an encounter with a hard moral question.
1. You have an opinion
2. You reflect on the reason for that opinion
3. You define a principle upon which your opinion is based
4. You then confound the principle in part c by changing the scenario a bit�
2. In doing so, you move back and forth – a “dialectic” between judgements we make in real, concrete situations, and the principles that inform those judgements
3. This can’t be done only in one’s own head, but as part of a community

Side Note: Logical Fallacies

It’s also useful to know some common pitfalls that can happen when you’re arguing for a particular position. Let’s think about some of these…

Outline

• Introduction
• Table Discussion
• Philosophy Cheat Sheets
• Share outs

At your tables, discuss…

1. Did anything stand out to you in the example scenarios in Chapter 1?
1. Hurricane price fixing
2. The purple heart
3. The Wall Street Bailout
4. Afghan goat herders
5. Runaway Trolley
2. Which philosophical perspective did you read about? What did you think about it?

Share out...

Outline

• Introduction
• Table Discussion
• Philosophy Cheat Sheets
• Share outs

Today: 3 different chapters

Ch2. Utilitarianism

Ch3. Libertarianism

Ch5. Kantian / Deontological Ethics

Activity: Philosophy Cheatsheet

1. Split up into groups of 3-5 people who read the same chapter you did (either Ch, 2, 3, or 5).
2. Make a copy of the Google Doc above (1 per group).
3. Everyone in the group: please put your name on the doc at the top.
4. Answer the questions as best you can (in 10-15 minutes).
5. When your done, make your doc permissions “anyone with the link can view” and email it to Sarah (svanwart@unca.edu)
6. We will share these documents on Moodle, to help each other understand some of the different moral perspectives.

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Outline

• Introduction
• Table Discussion
• Philosophy Cheat Sheets
• Share outs

Group Share Outs

• Give us a summary of the philosophical perspective you chose
• How does the philosophical perspective help us to know what “doing the right thing” should be in a given situation?
• Who are the philosophers in this “camp”?
• What are some critiques / weaknesses of this philosophical perspective?
• Give an example of making a decision using this philosophical perspective.

1. Utilitarianism

Falls in the category of “consequentialist ethics,” which judges an action by its consequences:

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1. To do good is to make the world better
2. To do bad is what makes the world worse

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...where “better” and “worse” are defined by total utility�

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1. Utilitarianism

The idea that an action is right insofar as it promotes happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct (maximizing welfare across all of society)

• How do we maximize utility?�Add up the sum of all pleasure and all pain for a �given action and see which one wins. A “simple formula.”

1. Utilitarianism: Objections & Critiques

1. Individual rights?�Not thinking about rights is creepy...
1. Throwing the guy in front of the train (Singer)?
2. Throwing christians to the lions?
3. The city of happiness and the child in the locked room?�
2. A common currency of value?�How do you assign a monetary value on human life?
• Cost-benefit analysis of smoking on “taxpayer savings”
• Exploding gas tanks / “the senior discount”

1. Utilitarians: Jeremy Bentham & John Stuart Mill

Some of Bentham’s Ideas

• Rounding up all the beggars and putting them in the workhouse
• Outsourcing prison management using the Panopticon – a surveillance tool that will watch prisoners and ensure they work

John Stuart Mill

• A more expansive view of “utility” – and that respecting �liberty is a means to optimizing utility (instrumental perspective on human rights)
• A distinction between “higher” and “lower” forms of pleasure

2. Libertarianism

Is it just to tax the rich and redistribute wealth?

• How might a utilitarian argue for redistribution?
• How might a utilitarian argue against redistribution?

A libertarian would argue that this is wrong on the grounds that it violates a fundamental human right – the right to with their money whatever they please.

“Libertarians favor unfettered markets and oppose government �regulation, not in the name of economic efficiency, but in the �name of human freedom.”

2. Libertarianism and the State

The state should only enforce private contracts, protect private property from theft, and keep the peace. Anything else is morally unjustified. Taxation likened to “forced labor.”

1. No paternalism (seatbelt laws, Social Security)
2. No moral legislation
3. No redistribution of wealth

Nozick’s thoughts: if your initial holdings were acquired justly �and your earnings were made without coercion, then your�money is your own. OK to redress wrongs but no equality�for its own sake

2. Critiques of Libertarianism

You tell me! How might you critique this view of morality?

3. Kantian Ethics

Falls in the category of “deontological ethics,” which judges whether the action is right or wrong given a series of ‘universal’ principles. The motive is more important than the consequences.�

• Rejects utilitarianism because it is wrong to think of humans as a means to an end. All human beings are worthy of dignity and respect
• An emphasis on freedom and universal human rights (like the Libertarians), but a more restrictive view of what freedom means (see next slide)

More on Kant...

Intent v. Consequences�Morality is based on the intention/motive, not the consequences. Doing the right thing is all about intention (and not about some ulterior motive). A good will is good in itself.

Freedom: Autonomy v. heteronomy�Idea that choice is genuinely chosen and not the result of social conditioning or biological / physical forces but from reason. This is a different definition of freedom than the libertarians.

Reason & Categorical Imperatives

Utilitarians define “reason” as instrumental – to inform the means of maximizing utility (hypothetical imperatives – if you want to do X, then do Y). The ends justify the means.

Categorical imperatives are unconditional and always good or bad, regardless of the circumstances. To derive a categorical imperative...

• Universalize your maxim (what if everyone did X?)
• Treat persons as ends in themselves

4. Virtue Ethics

• There are certain universal ideals for which we should all be striving as part of the communities to which we belong
• These can be discovered through thoughtful reflection on human potential, and include Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence
• People develop these virtues through practice and self-discipline (and become corrupted through perpetual self-indulgence)

Philosophers who held this view: Aristotle & Plato

Source: https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/ethics-and-virtue/

4. Virtue Ethics: Critiques

• Is “reflection” adequate for uncovering these universal virtues are?
• How do we choose between competing virtues?
• Aren’t “virtues” just socially constructed?
• Others?