Ethics is a complex field that explores moral principles and their application in real-world scenarios. This course review synthesizes key ethical concepts, major theories, and practical dilemmas, providing a comprehensive overview of the discipline's core elements.
The review covers autonomy, beneficence, justice, and other fundamental principles. It examines utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, and various other ethical frameworks. The course also delves into case studies, professional ethics, and interdisciplinary connections, offering a well-rounded understanding of ethical reasoning and decision-making.
Autonomy: Respecting an individual's right to make their own choices and decisions without undue influence or coercion
Includes the capacity to act on one's own values and preferences
Requires providing sufficient information for informed decision-making
Beneficence: The obligation to act in ways that promote the well-being and best interests of others
Involves taking positive steps to prevent harm and maximize benefits
Requires considering both short-term and long-term consequences of actions
Non-maleficence: The duty to avoid causing harm or injury to others
Primum non nocere: "First, do no harm" is a fundamental principle in healthcare ethics
Includes both intentional and unintentional harms
Justice: Fair and equitable distribution of benefits, risks, and costs across individuals and groups
Procedural justice focuses on fair processes for decision-making
Distributive justice addresses the allocation of resources and opportunities
Confidentiality: Protecting private information shared within a professional or trust-based relationship
Maintains trust and promotes open communication
May be limited in cases of imminent harm or legal requirements
Informed consent: Obtaining voluntary agreement from an individual before a medical intervention or research participation
Requires disclosing relevant information, ensuring comprehension, and respecting the right to refuse
Moral relativism: The view that moral judgments are relative to individual or cultural beliefs and practices rather than universal truths
Moral absolutism: The belief in universal, objective moral principles that apply in all circumstances regardless of context
Major Ethical Theories Revisited
Utilitarianism: Assessing the morality of actions based on their consequences, aiming to maximize overall happiness or well-being
Act utilitarianism evaluates the consequences of each individual action
Rule utilitarianism follows general rules that tend to promote the greatest good
Deontology: Judging the morality of actions based on adherence to moral duties or rules, regardless of consequences
Kant's Categorical Imperative: Act only according to rules that could become universal laws
Prima facie duties: Conditional duties that can be outweighed by stronger obligations
Virtue ethics: Emphasizing moral character and the cultivation of virtues such as compassion, integrity, and wisdom
Focuses on the moral agent rather than individual actions or consequences
Aristotle identified the "golden mean" as a balance between excess and deficiency
Care ethics: Prioritizing empathy, compassion, and attentiveness to the needs of particular individuals within relationships
Challenges traditional notions of impartial, universal principles
Gilligan contrasted an "ethics of care" with an "ethics of justice"
Egoism: Holding that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest
Ethical egoism as a normative theory distinct from psychological egoism
Conflicts with altruism and common-sense morality
Social contract theory: Grounding moral norms and political authority in a hypothetical agreement among free and equal persons
Hobbes: Individuals rationally agree to submit to a sovereign power to escape the "state of nature"
Rawls: Principles of justice are those that would be chosen behind a "veil of ignorance"
Natural law theory: Identifying moral principles based on the nature of human beings and their natural ends or purposes
Aquinas synthesized Christian theology with Aristotelian philosophy
Controversial in its implications for contemporary debates (sexuality, human rights)
Ethical Dilemmas and Case Studies
Trolley problem: A thought experiment involving a runaway trolley and the choice to divert it, sacrificing one person to save five
Highlights the distinction between killing and letting die
Challenges the doctrine of double effect and the moral significance of intention
Organ transplantation: Allocating scarce organs among potential recipients raises questions of fairness, utility, and respect for autonomy
Waiting lists, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and social worth as possible criteria
Opt-in vs. opt-out policies for deceased donation
End-of-life care: Decisions about withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, physician-assisted suicide, and euthanasia
Principle of double effect: Distinguishing between intended and merely foreseen consequences
Advance directives and surrogate decision-making for incapacitated patients
Research ethics: Balancing scientific progress with the protection of human subjects
Informed consent, risk minimization, and equitable subject selection
Tuskegee syphilis study as a notorious example of unethical research
Environmental ethics: Extending moral consideration to non-human animals, ecosystems, and future generations
Animal welfare and animal rights perspectives
Anthropocentrism vs. biocentrism vs. ecocentrism
Whistleblowing: Revealing illegal or unethical conduct within an organization, often at personal risk
Loyalty to employers vs. responsibility to society
Legal protections and ethical justifications for whistleblowers
Affirmative action: Policies aimed at increasing representation of historically disadvantaged groups in education and employment
Compensatory vs. diversity rationales
Critiques based on meritocracy, reverse discrimination, and stigmatization
Applying Ethics in Real-World Scenarios
Professional codes of ethics: Formal guidelines for ethical conduct within specific professions (medicine, law, engineering)
Reflect core values and address common ethical issues
Enforcement mechanisms and limitations
Organizational ethics: Creating and maintaining an ethical culture within businesses and institutions
Tone at the top, ethics training, and reporting mechanisms
Corporate social responsibility and stakeholder theory
Biomedical ethics: Addressing moral issues in healthcare, medical research, and biotechnology
Principles of respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice (Beauchamp and Childress)
Reproductive ethics, genetic engineering, and enhancement technologies
Media ethics: Ensuring responsible and accurate journalism in an age of digital media and "fake news"
Objectivity, fairness, and transparency in reporting
Balancing free speech with privacy, national security, and public interest
Technology ethics: Grappling with the social and moral implications of emerging technologies
Privacy, surveillance, and data ownership in the digital age
Artificial intelligence, automation, and the future of work
Global ethics: Addressing moral issues that transcend national boundaries, such as poverty, human rights, and climate change
Theories of global justice (Singer, Pogge) and cosmopolitanism
Role of international institutions and NGOs in global governance
Personal ethics: Cultivating individual character and making moral choices in everyday life
Integrity, honesty, and moral courage
Ethical decision-making frameworks and tools (moral reasoning, stakeholder analysis)
Critiques and Limitations of Ethical Frameworks
Moral skepticism: Questioning the existence of objective moral truths or the possibility of moral knowledge
Hume's is-ought problem and the fact-value distinction
Nietzsche's critique of traditional morality as a "slave morality"
Situational ethics: Challenging the idea of universal moral rules and emphasizing the importance of context in moral decision-making
Fletcher's "love ethic" and the primacy of agape
Criticisms of moral relativism and subjectivism
Feminist ethics: Critiquing traditional ethical theories as male-biased and neglecting the experiences and perspectives of women
Gilligan's "ethics of care" as an alternative to Kohlberg's stages of moral development
Intersectionality and the need to consider multiple, overlapping forms of oppression
Postmodern ethics: Deconstructing grand narratives and universal moral principles, emphasizing diversity and difference
Levinas' ethics of alterity and the primacy of the Other
Foucault's genealogy of moral discourses and power relations
Limitations of impartiality: Recognizing the role of emotions, relationships, and particular attachments in moral life
Williams' critique of utilitarianism and the "one thought too many" objection
Moral particularism and the irreducibility of moral judgment to general principles
Moral luck: Acknowledging the influence of factors beyond an individual's control on moral responsibility and desert
Nagel's distinction between resultant, circumstantial, constitutive, and causal luck
Implications for praise, blame, and equality
Moral disagreement: Grappling with persistent ethical disputes and the challenge of moral pluralism
Realism vs. anti-realism in metaethics
Methods for resolving moral disagreements (reflective equilibrium, overlapping consensus)
Interdisciplinary Connections
Psychology and moral development: Investigating the cognitive and emotional bases of moral reasoning and behavior
Kohlberg's stages of moral development and critiques (Gilligan)
Haidt's social intuitionist model and the role of moral emotions
Neuroscience and moral decision-making: Examining the neural correlates of moral judgments and actions
Greene's dual-process theory of moral judgment (deontological vs. utilitarian)
Role of emotion, intuition, and reasoning in moral cognition
Evolutionary ethics: Explaining the origins and functions of moral norms and behaviors from an evolutionary perspective
Kin selection, reciprocal altruism, and group selection as mechanisms for the evolution of morality
Debating the normative significance of evolutionary explanations (naturalistic fallacy)
Anthropology and cultural relativism: Studying the diversity of moral beliefs and practices across societies and cultures
Descriptive vs. normative relativism
Challenges of ethnocentrism and the search for universal values
Literature and moral imagination: Exploring ethical themes and thought experiments through fiction and storytelling
Novels as a source of moral insight and empathy (Nussbaum)
Role of narrative in shaping moral identity and character
Religion and moral authority: Examining the relationship between religious beliefs and moral norms
Divine command theory and the Euthyphro dilemma
Secular ethics and the possibility of morality without religion
Political philosophy and theories of justice: Analyzing the moral foundations of social and political institutions
Rawls' theory of justice as fairness and the veil of ignorance
Libertarianism, egalitarianism, and communitarianism as competing frameworks
Personal Ethical Development
Moral education: Fostering moral reasoning, empathy, and character through formal and informal learning experiences
Kohlberg's "just community" approach and moral dilemma discussions
Role modeling, service learning, and moral exemplars
Ethical self-reflection: Engaging in critical examination of one's own moral beliefs, values, and behaviors
Socratic questioning and the examined life
Journaling, meditation, and other contemplative practices
Moral identity and integrity: Developing a coherent and stable sense of oneself as a moral agent
Blasi's self-model of moral functioning
Maintaining consistency between moral judgments and actions
Empathy and perspective-taking: Cultivating the ability to understand and share the feelings and viewpoints of others
Hoffman's stages of empathy development
Role-playing, literature, and other techniques for enhancing empathy
Moral courage and activism: Taking principled stands and actions in the face of adversity or injustice
Whistleblowing, civil disobedience, and social movements
Strategies for overcoming moral muteness and conformity
Ethical leadership: Influencing and inspiring others to act with integrity and pursue ethical goals
Transformational vs. transactional leadership styles
Creating ethical organizational cultures and decision-making processes
Lifelong learning and growth: Recognizing that personal ethical development is an ongoing process, not a fixed endpoint
Openness to new experiences, ideas, and moral challenges
Seeking out mentors, role models, and communities of practice
Future Directions in Ethics
Globalization and cross-cultural dialogue: Fostering mutual understanding and respect among diverse moral traditions and worldviews
Comparative ethics and the search for common ground
Role of international institutions and NGOs in promoting global ethical standards
Environmental ethics and sustainability: Developing moral frameworks for addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and other ecological challenges
Anthropocentrism vs. ecocentrism and the intrinsic value of nature
Intergenerational justice and obligations to future generations
Bioethics and emerging technologies: Grappling with the moral implications of advances in genetics, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence
Designer babies, cognitive enhancement, and transhumanism
Regulation and governance of emerging technologies
Business ethics and corporate responsibility: Encouraging companies to prioritize ethical considerations alongside financial ones
Stakeholder theory and the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit)
Role of consumers, investors, and activists in shaping corporate behavior
Ethics of war and peace: Addressing the moral challenges of armed conflict, terrorism, and humanitarian intervention
Just war theory and the principles of jus ad bellum and jus in bello
Pacifism, nonviolence, and alternatives to war
Animal ethics and veganism: Extending moral consideration to non-human animals and questioning the use of animals for food, research, and entertainment
Singer's argument for animal liberation and the expanding circle of moral concern
Debates over animal rights, welfare, and personhood
Effective altruism and global poverty: Using evidence and reason to determine the most effective ways to improve the lives of others, particularly the global poor
Singer's "drowning child" argument and the moral imperative to donate
Randomized controlled trials and other tools for measuring impact