Normative Ethics: Consequentialism & Deontology

• Normative ethics establishes norms and standards of moral conduct to guide behavior effectively.
• Normative moral theory provides a systematized account of morality, addressing key questions for guiding moral conduct.
• Morality can be understood through consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics.

Consequentialism

• Consequentialism determines the moral rightness of an action based on its outcome or consequences.
• An action is morally right if it produces the greatest good, such as happiness or general welfare.

Deontology

• Deontology, derived from "deon" (duty), uses duties or rules to determine the rightness of an action.
• An action is right when it conforms to the correct rule or duty, such as "it is always wrong to lie."

Virtue Ethics

• Virtue ethics focuses on character and the development of virtuous habits or traits.
• Right action flows from right character, according to virtue ethicists.
• Moral conduct is distinguished by the criterion used for determining it, whether consequences, duty, or character.
• Decisions are based on the likely consequences of actions, weighing costs and benefits.
• An action is right when it produces the greatest good for everyone, assessing consequences to maximize good for all impacted.

Utilitarianism

• Utilitarianism, associated with Jeremy Bentham, posits that "that which brings pleasure is Good; that which causes pain is Bad."
• The ends justify the means if an act ultimately brings pleasure or happiness, making it ethical.
• The goodness or badness of an act is only known when the ultimate consequences are revealed.
• Hedonism, the belief that pleasure is the most important pursuit, is closely related.

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) and Utilitarianism

• John Stuart Mill's "Utilitarianism" presents a consequentialist approach.
• Usefulness is defined as something that promotes happiness or pleasure.
• There is a moral obligation to choose the action that produces the most happiness.

The Principle of Utility

• "Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness."
• Utility in economics is the amount of enjoyment a consumer gets from a good or service.
• Moral conduct maximizes the good (or produces the most value).
• Spiritual, intellectual, and cultural pleasures are more valuable than mere physical pleasures.
• The most ethical choice is the one that produces the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people.
• A difficulty in utilitarianism is deciding how much personal liberty to sacrifice for the good of the people.
• Utilitarianism seeks the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people, potentially through total conformity.
• Happiness is defined as pleasure and the absence of pain.
• Pleasure differs in quality and quantity; pleasures rooted in higher faculties are weighted more heavily than baser ones.
• Achieving goals and ends, such as virtuous living, contributes to happiness.
• Utilitarianism stems from "natural" sentiments originating from humans' social nature.
• People internalize utilitarian standards as morally binding.
• Happiness is the sole basis of morality, with all other desires being means to or part of happiness.
• The sentiment of justice is based on utility, rights exist because they are necessary for human happiness.
• One criticism is that it may not adequately protect individual rights.
• Happiness is more complex than can be reflected by utilitarian theory.
• The connection exists between justice and utility with happiness as the foundation of justice.

Trolley Problems (Utility vs. Deon)

• The trolley problem illustrates the conflict between utility and deontology.

Scenario 1

• Five people are tied to a trolley track, can you pull a lever to divert the trolley to a side track, saving five but killing one.
• A utilitarian approach would switch to save as many lives as possible, even if it kills one.

Scenario 2

• There is no switch, but a giant man is on footbridge, would pushing him fatally fall on the track, stopping the trolley and saving the five tied-up souls
• "Don't Switch and Don't Push" are morally equivalent to "Switch and Push".

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) and Deontology

• Immanuel Kant is a key figure in modern philosophy and the first to advance a deontological approach.
• Kant significantly influenced contemporary aesthetics, political philosophy, and ethics.

Good Will

• Preferring merely conditional value, such as beneficial outcomes, over the only thing that has unconditional value, good will.
• A good will is good in itself, not because of its effects or accomplishments.
• Performing an action as a duty, without external influence, contributes to the goodness of one's will.
• Kantian deontology is a moral theory that denies morality is solely about consequences.
• Kant's ethics are grounded in a view of persons as self-conscious, reasons-responsive, autonomous, rational creatures deserving of respect.
• The Categorical Imperative is the fundamental ethical rule from which all particular rules derive.
• Contrasted with hypothetical imperatives, which are rules to follow only if we have certain desires.

The Categorical Imperative

• The "first formulation" (universal law) is based on the idea of a maxim, a principle for acting to achieve a goal.
• "Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law."
• The basic idea is: it's wrong to make a special exception to some rule for yourself.
• The "second formulation" (humanity) states: "Act in such a way that you treat humanity, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end."
• People should never be merely used; they must be respected as ends.
• Using people as “mere means” involves disrespect by treating them as objects.
• The "second formulation" of the Categorical Imperative helps justify the trolley problem. 1st experiment: Flipping the switch kills someone, it is an unintended consequence of our attempt to save five lives and not using the person.
• Pushing the giant-man in front of the train does use.
• To apply the "first formulation," determine which rules are followed, such as, 'I will kill to save lives,' which may not be universalizable.
• One criticism is that if you were lying it always involves disrespecting someones rationality if the murderer asks you where someone is (presumably, to murder him), it would be wrong to lie to the murderer about where that person is.
• A Kantian deontology has two options, insist that lying to the murderer is wrong, or back off from Kant's strict deontology and go to a more moderate one, according to which it's okay, in extreme cases, to break the rules.
• Kantian ethics emphasize the fundamental importance of respect and rationality in ethical lives with theoretical and practical challenges.