Levels of Moral Response

Moral Norms and Regulative Norms

• Moral norm: a specific individual system of personal values with validity of genesis, development, and adoption
• Other regulative norms: close to moral, including those of primitive societies, customs, religion, and law

Traditional Arrangements of Ethics

• The Utilitarian Approach:
  • Epicurus (341-270 BCE): the best life is one that produces the least pain and distress
  • Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832): actions are good or bad based on the amount and degree of pleasure and/or pain they produce
  • John Stuart Mill (1806-1873): modified the system to prioritize happiness over pleasure
• The Egoistic Approach:
  • Variation of utilitarian approach, prioritizing individual self-interest
  • Proponents: Thrasymacus (c. 459-400 BCE), Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), and Ayn Rand (1905-1982)
• The Common Good Approach:
  • Plato (427-347 BCE) and Aristotle (384-322 BCE): actions should contribute to ethical communal life
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): the best society should be guided by the "general will" of the people

Non-Consequentialist Theories

• The Duty-Based Approach:
  • Associated with Immanuel Kant (1724-1804): doing what is right is about having the proper intention, not about consequences
  • Kant's formula for discovering ethical duty: "categorical imperative"

Levels of Morals Response

• The Expressive Level: unanalyzed expressions or feelings without justification
• The Pre-Reflective Level: justification via law, religious tenets, social values, codes of ethics, etc.
• The Reflective Level: reasoned ethical argument based on ethical principles, rules, virtues, and values
• Meta-Ethics: the nature of right or good, and the justification of ethical issues
• Normative Ethics: standards and principles
• Applied Ethics: the application of ethical principles to particular situations

Types of Ethical Theories

• Consequentialist Theories: primarily concerned with the ethical consequences of actions
• Non-Consequentialist Theories: broadly concerned with the intentions of the person making ethical decisions
• Agent-Centered Theories: more concerned with the overall ethical status of individuals

Consequentialist Theories

• The Right Approach: the best ethical action is the one that produces the best outcomes
• The Utility Approach: the right action is the one that produces the greatest good for the greatest number

The Problem-Solving Process

• 1. Problem Identification: technical facts, moral parameters, legal constraints, and relevant human values
• 2. Developing Alternative Courses of Action: identifying ethical principles, recognizing ethical assumptions, and determining additional emerging ethical problems
• 3. Selecting One Alternative Course of Action: justifying the selection and defending it on ethical grounds
• 4. Evaluating the Outcome: reflecting on the consequences of the chosen action

Other Ethical Theories

• The Rights Approach: protects the ethical rights of those affected by the action, emphasizing dignity and respect for human rights
• The Fairness or Justice Approach: treats all people equally, based on principles of justice and fairness
• The Divine Command Approach: sees what is right as what God commands, based on the idea that God's will is the definition of ethics
• The Virtue Approach: argues that ethical actions should be consistent with ideal human virtues, focusing on the character of the person rather than the action itself
• The Feminist Approach: emphasizes the importance of the experiences of women and other marginalized groups in ethical deliberation, prioritizing care and compassion over justice and fairness