Philosophy PDF

Lesson 3: Moral Dilemmas Moral Dilemmas A conflict in which you have to choose between two or more actions and have moral reasons for choosing each action. Crucial features are: The agent is required to do each of two or more actions; ○ The agent can do each of the actions...

Lesson 3: Moral Dilemmas Moral Dilemmas A conflict in which you have to choose between two or more actions and have moral reasons for choosing each action. Crucial features are: The agent is required to do each of two or more actions; ○ The agent can do each of the actions; ○ But the agent cannot do both or all of the actions- the agent thus condemned to moral failure; no matter what he/she does, he/she will do something wrong (or fail to do something that one is ought to do). Examples of Moral Dilemmas Organization Seniors fail to “walk the talk” Leaders often have sense of entitlement Individuals following authority even when they are being asked to do something they feel is wrong Individuals have the need for closure, which can lead to conflict avoidance Defensive “logic” is prevalent Healthcare Services Sacrificing Killing Moral Dilemmas A conflict in which you have to choose between two or more actions and have moral reasons for choosing each action. It is also referred to as ethical dilemma. A "decision-making problem between two possible moral imperatives, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. It is sometimes called an ethical paradox in moral philosophy." - Oxford Dictionary Crucial Features Crucial features are: ○ The agent is required to do each of two or more actions; ○ The agent can do each of the actions; ○ But the agent cannot do both or all of the actions Situation where there is tension between moral values and duties that are more or less on equal footing. The decision-maker has to choose between a wrong and another wrong. The persons involved in the moral dilemma are in a deadlock. They find themselves in a "damn-if-you-do and damn-if you-don't" situation.  The agent thus condemned to moral failure; no matter what he/she does, he/she will do something wrong (or fail to do something that one is ought to do). How to decide on a Moral Dilemma? You have to decide based: on your best judgment or choose based on the principles of ○ lesser evil, ○ greater good, and ○ urgency What is a False Dilemma? is a situation where the decision-maker has a moral duty to do one thing right, but is tempted or under pressure to do something else. is a choice between a right and a wrong. Examples of False Dilemma The story from the Bible about King Herod. On his birthday, his stepdaughter, Salome danced so well in front of him and the guests at his party that he promised to give her anything she wanted. Salome consulted her mother about what she should wish for, and decided to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The king now had a choice between: honoring the promise to his stepdaughter, or honoring the life of John the Baptist Lesson 4: Foundation of Morality - Freedom Kant’s Morality and Freedom To act freely is to act autonomously. To act autonomously is to act according to the law I give myself. Whenever I act according to the laws of nature, demands of social convention, when I pursue pleasure and comfort, I am not acting freely. For Kant, acting freely (autonomously) and acting morally are on and the same thing. The capacity to act autonomously in this manner gives humans that special dignity that things and animals do not have. What is Categorical Imperative? are unconditional moral laws that apply universally, regardless of personal desires or goals. most well-known formulations: The Formula of Universal Law: Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law. ○ This means you should only act in ways that you would want everyone to act. For example, if you're considering lying, ask yourself if you would want lying to be a universal law. If not, then lying is not morally acceptable.  The Formula of Humanity: Treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end. ○ This principle emphasizes the intrinsic worth of each individual. It means you should treat people as valuable in their own right, not just as tools for achieving your own goals. The Formula of Autonomy: Act only so that your will can regard itself at the same time as making universal law through its maxims. ○ This focuses on respecting the autonomy and rationality of individuals and acting in ways that respect their capacity to make rational choices. The Role of Freedom in Morality There is no virtue in being temperate when you are being forced not to indulge. There is no virtue in being charitable when someone is forcing you to give up what is yours. Virtue can be guided by cultural traditions and social institutions, but it cannot be coerced. A virtuous man must also be a free man. Freedom: The foundation of Moral Act There is no virtue in being temperate when you are being forced not to indulge. There is no virtue in being charitable when someone is forcing you to give up what is yours. Virtue can be guided by cultural traditions and social institutions, but it cannot be coerced. A virtuous man must also be a free man. Lesson 5: How Culture Defines Moral Behavior There is no such thing as absolute freedom You were not free to choose whose parents you will be born, what language you will hear and learn first and the culture where you were born to. What is Culture? Derived from the Latin word “cultura” or “cultus” which means care or cultivation. Culture as cultivation implies that every human being is a potential member of his own social group. ○ He is endowed with certain innate qualities to make use. However, he cannot develop these inborn talents without other people. Edward Taylor, 1997 ○ It is the integrated pattern of human knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors. ○ This consists of language, ideas, customs, morals, laws, taboos, institutions, tools, techniques, and works of art, rituals and other capacities and habits acquired by a person as a member of society.” Brinkerhoff, 1989  ○ Culture is passed on to the next generation by learning not through the genes or heredity. Categories of Culture: ○ Nonmaterial Culture - consists of language, values, rules, knowledge, and meanings shared by members of society. ○ Material Culture - is the physical object that a society produces: tools, streets, homes and toys, to name a few." Sociologists defined culture as the entire way of life followed by people, and everything learned and shared by people in society. Landis (1992), culture is a complex set of learned and shared beliefs, customs, skills, habits, traditions, and knowledge common to the members of the society. Enculturation, Inculturation and Acculturation Cultures changes or evolves by enculturation, by inculturation and by acculturation. Enculturation J.M. Herskovits Margaret Mead ○ It is a process of learning from infancy till death, the components of life in one’s culture which include both the material and non-material culture. This learning takes place through example, direct teaching and in patterns of behavior. What is learned becomes one’s cognitive map, term of reference that directs one’s behavior. Inculturation Umoren, U.E. (1992) ○ refers to the "missiological process in which the Gospel is rooted in a particular culture and the latter is transformed by its introduction to Christianity." Pope John Paul II, 1985 (Redemptoris Mission, n. 52) ○ It is the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity and the insertion of Christianity in the various human cultures." The adaptation of Christian liturgy to a non Christian cultural background Acculturation It is the "cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from another culture." It is also explained as the merging of cultures as a result of prolonged contact." Examples: ○ Immigrants to the United States of America become acculturated to American life. ○ Refugees and indigenous peoples (LP) likewise adapt to the culture of the dominant majority. There are cultural practices that should be stopped because of the painful harm they do.  Examples: ○ Human sacrifice among the Aztecs in ancient Mexico. ○ Circumcision of women in Africa and India. ○ Cannibalism in Papua New Guinea. How Culture Shapes the Moral Agent? Culture definitely affects the way we evaluate and judge things. Culture has a very long-lasting hold on an individual.