Introduction To Ethical Thought Lecture Notes PDF

Introduction to Ethical Thought Iain Munro  Key Frameworks i. Virtue Ethics (Aristotle, Plato) ii. Respect/Rights (Kant) iii. Utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill) iv. Genealogy (Nietzsche, Foucault) v. Exis...

Introduction to Ethical Thought Iain Munro  Key Frameworks i. Virtue Ethics (Aristotle, Plato) ii. Respect/Rights (Kant) iii. Utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill) iv. Genealogy (Nietzsche, Foucault) v. Existentialist Ethics (Sartre, De Beauvoir) vi. CSR and Corporate Sovereignty 1. Virtue Ethics  Virtue Ethics Aristotle’s “Nichomachean Ethics” Excellence of Character Question “How can one lead a good life?” Question “What kind of people lead good lives?” Moral community and friendship, the virtue without which no other virtue is possible – “another self”  Virtue Ethics Also: Courage, Justice, Temperance, Liberality, Honesty, etc Mean between two extremes, e.g. Lack Virtuous Mean Excess Corwardice Courage Foolhardiness The Virtues  The Virtues Today? Alasdair MacIntyre (1981) “After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory” Management = Manipulation Virtues today: courage, honesty, justice “narrative unity of life” - telos “internal goods” vs “external goods” Pleonexia: Vice becomes virtue (over-ambition)  2. Kant The Moral Law The Categorical Imperative Categorical – necessity, imperative command The Enlightenment- replace religious dogma and revelation with science and reason Pure reason can provide the grounds for morality General Procedure – The Universal Law “There is only a single categorical imperative and it is thus: act only according to that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.”  The Moral Law 1st Formulation - form (Law of Nature) “So act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a universal law of nature.” 2nd Formulation – matter (End-in-itself) “So act that you use humanity, in your own person as well as in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means.” 3rd Formulation - completeness (Kingdom of Ends) “All maxims as proceeding from our own making of law ought to harmonise with a possible kingdom of ends as a kingdom of nature.”  20th Century Neo-Kantianism John Rawls “A Theory of Justice” Test decision using the “Veil of Ignorance” Would you act in the same way if you did not know which of the affected stakeholders you were?  3. Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill Reforms (Child labour, women’s rights, welfare, animal rights, criminal reforms) “The greatest good for the greatest number” (J. Bentham) Felicific Calculus Balance of pleasure over pain  The Greatest Good Bentham’s Felicific Calculus: Variables of pleasure/pain: Its intensity. Its duration. Its certainty or uncertainty. Its propinquity or remoteness. Its fecundity. Its purity. Its extent (number of people)  Measurement Issues J.S. Mill: Qualitatively different pleasures “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.” Bernard Williams - is pleasure = happiness? Which theory is the right one? MacIntyre (1981) argues that different moral theories are “incommensurable” There is no meta position to judge which moral theory is “correct” The consequence is that conflicts tend to be resolved by power rather than by reason Interval  4. Genealogy Nietzsche “Genealogy of morality” Morality as the “sign language of the emotions” Moral history = debt (ought/owe) “…. the real problems of morality … come into view only if we compare many moralities” (Beyond Good and Evil) “That which is done out of love takes place beyond good and evil” The “self-overcoming man” - transvaluation of values Influential on literature, philosophy, social theory Wilde, Mann, Musil, Kafka - Weber, Foucault, Deleuze...  5. Existentialist ethics in philosophy and literature e.g. Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Nietzsche, Wilde, Sartre, De Beauvoir, Camus, Arendt  5. Existentialist Ethics Ethical values are without any transcendental ground, ethics is culturally contingent Existence is absurd and meaningless: “If God is dead then everything is permitted” The self is irreducibly free Ethics of authenticity: the self created by one's own decisions and actions  Existentialist Dilemmas Your ethical choices do not have a right answer - they define the kind of person you are E.g. Sartre: decision to fight one's country or to care for one's family? “Bad faith” - denying one's freedom, one's choices Business Ethics?  Business Ethics and CSR Corporate Social Responsibility Triple Bottom Line (economic, legal, environmental) Archie B. Carroll: Stakeholders and stockholders Responsibilities: Economic, Legal, Ethical, Philanthropic Milton Friedman: Profit!!!  Business Ethics and Moral Conflicts at Work HBR (1977) Survey of 5000 mangers in U.S. (1,227 respondents) 4/7 Managers reported experiencing moral conflicts at work Most moral conflicts are with one’s boss Signing false reports, misinforming clients and stakeholders, overlooking wrongdoing of friends 2/3 of respondents reported the existence of “everyday business practices” they considered to be unethical  Everyday Moral Issues Managers tend not to discuss big issues on social responsibility: Almost half (46%) of our respondents agree with the assertion that ‘the meaning of social responsibility is so vague as to render it essentially unworkable as a guide to corporate policy and decisions.’ (p.69)  Moral Muteness of Managers Bird and Waters (1989) Managers are reluctant to use moral language to describe their actions Perceived threat to harmony, efficiency and power  Corporate codes of ethics Check the Institute of Business Ethics website for examples of codes: http://www.ibe.org.uk/examples.html 90% of FTSE 100 have a code- but only 43% of FTSE 250 businesses do CONCERNS ABOUT ETHICAL STANDARDS IN BUSINESS ARE GROWING Sixty percent of people don't trust business leaders to tell the truth. Research recently released by the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) shows that issues of responsibility, integrity and honesty are the main things the public want British business to address. The top three areas of concern were Executive Pay (38%), Discrimination (36%) and Environmental Responsibility (33%).  Ethics and Corporate Power Business ethics justifies massive corporate power - “corporate sovereignty” (Rhodes, 2016)  Democratic Business Ethics “Democratic business ethics” based on civil society - consumer rights, human rights, environmental rights, unions… Democratic Business Ethics and Dissensus Democratic reform comes about through dissensus, protest and activism (Rhodes et al., 2020), e.g. Women’s rights and LGBT rights (#Metoo, Suffragettes, Stonewall) Environmental activism (Greenpeace, Green Party, Extinction Rebellion) Human rights activism (e.g. Civil Rights movement Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch) Supply chain reform (Clean Clothes, Fair Trade) Corporate and government whistleblowers …..  Summary Key theories i. Virtue Ethics (Aristotle, Plato) ii. Respect/Duties/Rights (Kant) iii. Utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill) iv. Genealogy (Nietzsche, Foucault) v. Existentialist Ethics (De Beauvoir, Sartre) vi. CSR and Corporate Sovereignty  References Bird, F. B., & Waters, J. A. (1989). The Moral Muteness of Managers. California Management Review, 32(1), 73–88. Cressey, D and Moore, C (1983) Managerial Values and Corporate Codes of Ethics. California Management Review, 25(4), 53-77. MacIntyre, A. (1981) After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, Duckworth Rhodes, C (2016) Democratic Business Ethics: Volkswagen's Emissions Scandal and the Disruption of Corporate Sovereignty. Organization Studies, 37(10), 1501-1518. Rhodes, C, Munro, I, Thanem, T and Pullen, A (2020) Dissensus! Radical Democracy and Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 164(4), 627-632. Soeken, K and Soeken, D (1987) A Survey of Whistleblowers: their stressors and coping strategies. Laurel Maryland: Association of Mental Health Specialties. Waters, J (1986) Everyday Moral Issues Experienced by Managers. Journal of Business Ethics, 5(5), 373-384. Winfield, M. (1990) Minding Your Own Business: self-regulation and whistleblowing in British companies. London: Social Audit.