Philosophy Week 3: Ethics Overview

Week 3 Review

• Deontological Ethics focuses on moral duty and using the categorical imperative as a principle of morality.
• Utilitarianism seeks to maximize happiness/utility and minimize pain through the principle of utility.
• In Deontological Ethics, consequences of actions do not bear on moral worthiness.
• In Utilitarianism, personal inclinations and motivations behind the action are not relevant in judging ethical conduct.

Virtue Ethics

• Virtue ethics, inspired by Aristotle, is concerned with the sort of person we should become to live a good life.
• Becoming a good person is the “imperative”.
• Ethical knowledge involves wisdom and judgment that cannot be expressed in an absolute rule.
• Virtue ethics emphasizes the social dimension of human life/community over conflict.
• The key ethical question is: what character traits should I acquire?

What are Virtues?

• Virtues are personal qualities or traits of character shown through habitual action, which make us excellent people.
• Virtues can be:
  • Natural qualities (intelligence, strength)
  • Learned or acquired qualities
  • Qualities relating to temperament
  • Religious qualities
  • Qualities of character
• The repetition of virtuous actions causes a person to develop a virtuous character, which in turn becomes the source of that person’s virtuous actions.
• One receives guidance on virtues through parents, teachers, and laws.

Examples of Virtues

• Benevolence, Fairness, Loyalty, Civility, Friendliness, Reasonableness, Compassion, Generosity, Self-Confidence, Conscientiousness, Honesty, Self-Discipline, Courage, Justice, Tolerance
• Virtues promote human flourishing and well-being, while vices hinder that flourishing.

Golden Mean

• Flourishing arises from virtuous activity.
• In decision-making, we should aim to find the mean (middle/moderate path) between excess and deficiency to act rightly.
• There are different “correct ways” of living for different people.
• These “correct ways” can be discovered through trial and error.
• Aristotle’s virtue ethics are relativistic because the right thing to do in any situation may not be the same for different people.

Practical Wisdom

• People with practical wisdom can effectively deliberate about what is good for their life as a whole, rather than just what is expedient.
• Wise people know how to achieve a particular end and understand which ends are worth achieving.
• They are able to make judgments based on experience and knowledge of the world,
• They understand the complexity of human life and are able to apply their wisdom to specific situations.

Race and Racism

• “Race” is a social construction, not a biological reality.
• The idea of “race” assigns natural characteristics derived from physical appearance (including color of skin) and culture (including ethnicity, language, religion, etc.) or both.
• Race-making is a process of “othering”; historically rooted in state/colonial practices of classification and used as a way to structure oppression.

Clarifying Concepts

• Racism is a hierarchy of superiority/inferiority along the line of the human.
• Racism is produced and reproduced by the institutions of the colonial-capitalist system.
• Those classified as above the line of the human have their humanity recognized and enjoy access to rights, material resources, and social recognition.
• The humanity of those “below the line of the human” is questioned and are denied rights, material resources and recognition.

Systemic Racism

• Systemic racism in the criminal justice system refers to formal and informal interactions between the criminal justice system and racialized people that may lead to their disproportionate entry into the system.
• The police express not only the moral ideals of their profession but also of the broader community.
• When police are negligent or abuse power, it undermines the legitimacy of law enforcement institutions and the state as a whole.

System Racism in Canada’s CJ System

• African-Canadians make up 3% of the population but account for 10% of the federal prison population.
• African-Canadian inmates are more susceptible to the use of force and segregation while in custody.
• A House of Commons Committee acknowledges the pervasive nature of systemic racism in policing in Canada.
• A United Nations report also concluded that racial discrimination in policing exists in Canada.

Class Exercise

• Evaluate capital punishment/the death penalty using utilitarian ethics.

Deontological Ethics v. Utilitarianism v. Virtue Ethics in Summary

• Deontological Ethics: Focuses on moral duty and following the categorical imperative. Asks “what ought I to do/how should I act?”
• Utilitarianism: Seeks to maximize happiness and utility. Asks “what will be the impact of what I do?”
• Virtue Ethics: Focuses on living a good life through virtuous behavior. Asks “what kind of person should I be?”

This quiz reviews key concepts in ethics, covering deontological ethics, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics. It discusses the principles underlying moral duties, happiness maximization, and the development of personal virtues according to Aristotle. Test your understanding of these ethical frameworks and their implications for personal character development.