Conventional Morality
 the system of widely accepted rules and principles, that
members of a culture or society use to govern their own
lives.
 the patterns of behavior to be found in the cultures,
their accepted ideas about right and wrong, and the
sorts of character traits that these cultures find
admirable.
 conventional morality can differ from society to society.
Critical Morality
 It refers to the moral standards that are independent of
conventional morality and can be used to critically evaluate its
merits.
 It is untainted by mistaken beliefs, irrationality, or popular
prejudices.
 does not have
 its origin in social agreements
Three core areas of moral philosophy
Value theory
 worth pursuing for its own sake?
Normative ethics
• Our fundamental moral duties?
 What makes right actions right?
Metaethics
 where moral values originate, what it means to say
something is right or good.
Moral philosophy is the study of what morality is
and what it requires of us.
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that
"involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts
of right and wrong behavior".
MORAL STARTING POINTS
 Neither the law nor tradition is immune from moral criticism.
 Everyone is morally fallible.
 Friendship is valuable
 We are not obligated to do the impossible.
 Children bear less moral responsibility than adults.
 Justice is a very important moral good.
Cultural Relativism- Morality differs in every society, and is a
- “We are discussing no small matter, but how we ought to
live.”
-Socrates, in Plato’s REPUBLIC (ca. 390b.c.)
- “Ethics is a code of values which guide our choices and
actions and determine the purpose and course of our
lives”
-AYN RAND
- “The achievement of his own happiness is man’s highest
moral purpose.”
-Ayn Rand,Ayn Rand
- “Morality is more important than laws, because law
depends on morality”
– EDMUND BURKS
- “In laws a man is guilty when he violets the rights of
others. In ethics he is guilty if e only thinks of doing so”
– IMMANUEL KANTS
- “Morality is doing right, no matter what you are told.
Religion is doing what you are told, no matter what is
right”
– H.L MENCKEN
- “The creed which accepts the Greatest Happiness
Principle holds that actions are Right as they tend to
promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the
reverse of happiness.”
- John Stuart Mill
Normative Systems
Law-The system of rules which a particular country or
community recognizes as regulating the actions of its
members and which it may enforce by the imposition of
penalties
Etiquette- The customary code of polite behavior in society or
among members of a particular profession or group.
Self-interest- It refers to a focus on the needs or desires of
one's self.
Tradition- A tradition is a belief or behavior passed
down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or
special significance with origins in the past.
The Divine Command Theory- The basic idea is that God
decides what is right and
wrong
 Atheists would not accept it, because they do not
believe that God exists.
Ethical Egoism- It claims that each person ought to pursue his
or her own self-interest exclusively
Psychological Egoism, by contrast, asserts that each person
convenient term for socially approved habits
Reason and Impartiality- Moral judgments must be backed by
good reasons; and second, morality requires the impartial
consideration of each individual’s interests.
Moral Reasoning- When we feel strongly about an issue, it is
tempting to assume that we just know what the truth is, without
even having to consider arguments on the other side.
- If we want to discover the truth,
- This is the essence of morality. The morally right
thing to do is always the thing best supported by the
arguments.
Jeremy Bentham- greatest total balance of happiness over
unhappiness, or of pleasure over suffering.
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), the legendary psychologist, was
diagnosed with oral cancer after a lifetime of cigar smoking.
Three of the greatest philosophers in 19th- century England:
– Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832),
– John Stuart Mill (1806–1873),
– and Henry Sidgwick (1838–1900)
Justice. Utilitarianism is incompatible with the ideal of justice.
Rights. Utilitarianism is at odds with the idea that people have
rights that may not be trampled on merely because one
anticipates good results.
Backward-Looking Reasons. Utilitarianism makes
the past irrelevant, and so it seems flawed
Harry S. Truman will always be remembered as the man who
made the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
Elizabeth Anscombe - “For men to choose to kill the innocent as
a means to their ends,” she wrote, “is always murder.”
Kant observed that the word ought to be often used non-
Morally: Kant called these “hypothetical imperatives” because
they tell us what to do provided that we have the relevant
desires.
The Categorical Imperative- Just as hypothetical “oughts” are
possible
because we have desires, categorical “ought’s” because we have
desires, categorical “ought’s”
are possible because we have reason are possible because we
have reason
does in fact pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively.
Kant’s Core Ideas (Kant’s Retributivism)
 Human beings have “an intrinsic worth” or “dignity” that
makes them valuable “above all price.
 Treat people “as an end” means, on the most superficial
level, treating them well.
Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) said that “all punishment is
mischief: all punishment in itself is evil.” Bentham had a point.
Punishment, by its punishment in itself is evil.”
Retributivism - is idea that punishment is justified as a way of
“paying back” the offender for his wicked deed. Those who
have committed aback” the offender for his wicked deed.
Those who have committed a crime deserve to be treated
badly.
The Theory and Its Attractions
 Only human beings have the sort of nature that enables
them to be moral agents. This capacity for rational
thought also seems to be the cornerstone of morality
 Moral agents—those who bear responsibility for their
actions, and who are fit for praise or blame—are those
who can control their behavior through reasoning.
 Morality depends on human nature.
 But it is important to remember that morality does
NOT depend on human opinion.
Three Conceptions of Human Nature
 The first possibility is that we are animals
by nature
 The second possibility is that human nature is the set of
traits that we have innately. Innate traits are ones we have
from birth.
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau was right, we are
innately angelic.
- Thomas Hobbes, He thought that
we are innately selfish, competitive, and
distrustful.
 The third conception of human nature says that our
nature is whatever traits we all share.
Natural Purposes- Human nature is what we are designed to
be and to do
Thomas Aquinas - God is our Intelligent Designer. When God
created us, He assigned us a specific set of purposes
Natural Purposes
Efficiency Model- Human beings can have a function or a
purpose, then, if we are more efficient than anything else
when it comes to certain
tasks.
Fitness Model- Since our natural purposes are survival and
Aristotle begins by asking “What is the good of procreation
man?” and his answer is “an activity of the soul man?” and his
answer is “an activity of the soul
in conformity with virtue.” in conformity with virtue

Ethical Egoism: Each person ought to do whatever will Each

person ought to do whatever will best promote his or her own
interests.

The Social Contract Theory: The right thing to do is to

follow the rules that rational, self-interested people would
agree to follow for their mutual benefit.
•Utilitarianism: One ought to do whatever will lead to the
most happiness.
•Kant’s theory: Our duty is to follow rules that we
accept as universal laws—that is, rules that we would be
willing for everyone to follow in all circumstances.

Aristotle said that a virtue is a trait of

character manifested in habitual action

Moral motivation. Virtue Ethics is appealing because provides a

natural and attractive account of moral motivation.

Doubts about the “ideal” of impartiality.

“But it is obvious that the values of women differ very often from
the values which have been made by the other sex; naturally, this
is so. Yet it is the masculine values that
prevail.”
-Virginia Woolf

Stage 1 - Obeying authority and avoiding punishment;

Stage 2 - Satisfying one’s own desires and letting others do the
same, through fair exchanges;
Stage 3 - Cultivating one’s relationships and performing the
duties of one’s social roles;
Stage 4 - Obeying the law and maintaining the welfare of the
group;
Stage 5 - Upholding the basic rights and values of one’s society;
Stage 6 - Abiding by abstract, universal moral principles.

Animals

Nel Noddings observes that our emotional responses

to humans are different from our responses to animals.