Ethical Theories

Parable of the Sadhu

Parable of the Sadhu What would you have done? Are there any good solutions? How would we compare solutions? What is the best way to decide the right course of action?

Rest: 4 stage model of EDM Moral awareness  moral judgment moral intent moral behavior

3 C’s Controlled Conscious Cognitive

A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife.

Heinz Dilemma Should Heinz have broken into the store to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?

Stages 1 & 2 Obedience Self-interest Heinz should not steal the medicine because he will consequently be put in prison which will mean he is a bad person. Heinz should steal the medicine because it is only worth $200 and not how much the druggist wanted for it; Heinz had even offered to pay for it and was not stealing anything else. Self-interest Heinz should steal the medicine because he will be much happier if he saves his wife, even if he will have to serve a prison sentence. Heinz should not steal the medicine because prison is an awful place, and he would probably languish over a jail cell more than his wife's death.

Stages 3 & 4 Conformity Law-and-order Heinz should steal the medicine because his wife expects it; he wants to be a good husband. Heinz should not steal the drug because stealing is bad and he is not a criminal; he tried to do everything he could without breaking the law, you cannot blame him. Law-and-order Heinz should not steal the medicine because the law prohibits stealing, making it illegal. Heinz should steal the drug for his wife but also take the prescribed punishment for the crime as well as paying the druggist what he is owed. Criminals cannot just run around without regard for the law; actions have consequences.

Stages 5 & 6 Human rights Universal human ethics Heinz should steal the medicine because everyone has a right to choose life, regardless of the law. Heinz should not steal the medicine because the scientist has a right to fair compensation. Even if his wife is sick, it does not make his actions right. Universal human ethics Heinz should steal the medicine, because saving a human life is a more fundamental value than the property rights of another person. Heinz should not steal the medicine, because others may need the medicine just as badly, and their lives are equally significant.

Who cares about my stage?! Your stage matters! Problem-solving changes in your 20s-30s Specific educational attempts to influence awareness Behavior is influenced by moral perception and moral judgments

3 C’s Controlled Conscious Cognitive

Can the 3 C’s explain everything? Julie and Mark are brother and sister. They are traveling together in France on summer vacation from college. One night they are staying alone in a cabin near the beach. They decided that it would be interesting and fun if they tried making love. At the very least it would be a new experience for each of them. Julie was already taking birth control, and Mark used a condom just to be safe. They both enjoy it, but decided not to do it again. They keep that night as a special secret, which makes them feel even closer.

Moral awareness  moral judgment moral intent moral behavior Can this explain it? Moral awareness  moral judgment moral intent moral behavior

Emotion Cognition Judgment & Behavior

Decision-making Often outside of our awareness The effect of “primes” in research

Moral stages don’t stop dilemmas from occurring…

Trolley problem

Ethical Dilemmas = Tension Rules vs. results Means vs. ends The good vs. the right Principle vs. practicality The needs of many vs. the rights of the few (or the one)

The battle between rules, rights, relationships and reputation Ethical Lenses The battle between rules, rights, relationships and reputation

T. L. Ceranic Business & Society (ETLW 302)

Rights/Responsibilities Lens (duties) Emphasizes DUTY Consequences play a minor role Plato Immanuel Kant Focuses on the ideals (whether through Nature or God) that we as people should seek. Deontology

Relationship Lens (fair systems) Seeks justice and to care for those less fortunate John Rawls Deontology

Results Lens (goals) Focuses on individual results, goals and what makes individuals happy. Adam Smith Jeremy Bentham John Stuart Mill Utilitarianism/Teleological

Reputation Lens (virtues) Focuses on what virtues are valued by the community and that those in positions of responsibility should cultivate.  The What makes us responsible and virtuous citizens within our workplace/community? Aristotle Alisdair MacIntyre. Utilitarian/Teleological Virtue ethics

Utilitarianism (GREY) Advantages Maximization of the good “Easy” decision process Popular Disadvantages Measurement The means Individual rights

Formalism (BLACK/WHITE) Advantages Protects the means Protects individual rights Morally more appealing Disadvantages Inflexible Impractical

T. L. Ceranic Business & Society (ETLW 302)

T. L. Ceranic Business & Society (ETLW 302)

T. L. Ceranic Business & Society (ETLW 302)

Aristotle’s Means of Persuasion Logos Values Pathos Ethos

Student Privileges with Strings Attached

So what Lens are you?

Why is this important? To understand how we make decisions To understand multiple positions To uncover biases To create powerful and effective responses To generate options To make ethical decisions

All individuals are morally autonomous beings with the power and right to choose their values, but it does not follow that all choices and all value systems have an equal claim to be called ethical.

When in Rome… This makes ethics only a matter of opinion Denies that we can make rational or objective ethical judgments No right or wrong

“Relative” harassment? A male manager tells a female job applicant she will only be hired if she submits to his sexual advances. The manager feels the behavior is fine and the woman feels it’s wrong. According to the relativist: Each opinion is equally valid. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Next class Organizational culture