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Psychological Altruism:
Psychological altruism holds that human action is othercentered and other-motivated
We are other-oriented--much of what we do is for the
sake of others
Motives of Altruism: 1) to benefit the self (egoism), 2) to
benefit the other (altruism), 3) to benefit a group
(collectivism), 4) to uphold a moral principle (principlism)
Psychological egoism argues that no act of sharing,
helping, or sacrificing is truly altruistic, as the agent
receives an intrinsic reward--e.g. personal gratification
Challenge to Altruism:
According to ethical egoism and rational selfinterest theory, both people are being selfish-and thats fine!
Neither person is morally superior.
Challenge to Altruism:
Libertarians/Liberal Democrats
-Pro Gay Rights/Marriage
-Fiscal Discipline/Conservatism
Libertarians/Conservatives
-Balance Budgets
-Free Enterprise/Markets
-Pro Guns
-Social Tolerance
-Privatization
-Separation of Church/State
Objection #4: We are not really being taxed without our consent.
As citizens of a democracy, you have a voice in making the tax laws
to which you are subject.
Ethical Concepts:
Moral agents = Persons (competent persons) who can
have moral duties towards others and who can be held
accountable (or responsible) for their actions and
decisions.
Moral subjects = The class of beings who should be
taken into account in our moral assessments and
reflections. All moral agents have duties towards all
moral subjects, in the sense that all moral subjects
have moral status or standing.
Consequentialism:
The consequences of one's conduct are the basis for any
judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct
A morally right act (or omission from acting) is one that will
produce a good outcome or consequence
Plain Consequentialism: Of all the things a person might do
at any given moment, the morally right action is the one with
the best overall consequences.
Produces an important conclusion for ethical thinking: No
type of act is inherently wrong, not even murder; it depends on
the result of the act.
Act Consequentialism:
Looks at every single moral choice anew.
It teaches: A particular action is morally good only if it
produces more overall good than any alternative action.
Rule Consequentialism:
In practice, people don't assess the ethical consequences
of every single act because they don't have the time.
Instead they use ethical rules derived from considering
the general and historical consequences of particular
types of acts. That is called rule consequentialism.
E.G., according to rule consequentialism we consider
lying to be wrong because we know that, in general, lying
produces bad consequences.
Proponents argue it produces more good results over a long period of time
than act consequentialism
Pain
Pleasure
Transplant Case:
A brilliant transplant surgeon has five patients, each in need of a
different organ, each of whom will die without that organ.
Unfortunately, there are no organs available to perform any of
these five transplant operations. A healthy young traveler, just
passing through the city the doctor works in, comes in for a
routine checkup. In the course of doing the checkup, the doctor
discovers that his organs are compatible with all five of his
dying patients. Suppose further that if the young man were to
disappear, no one would suspect the doctor. Do you support the
morality of the doctor to kill that tourist and provide his healthy
organs to those five dying persons and save their lives?
Suppose you are buying ice cream for a party that ten people will attend. Your
only flavor options are chocolate and vanilla. Some of the people attending
like chocolate while others like vanilla. Lets also say you only have enough
money to buy one gallon of ice cream. As a utilitarian, you should choose the
flavor that will result in the most pleasure for the group as a whole. If seven
like chocolate and three like vanilla (and if all of them get the same amount of
pleasure from the flavor they like), then you should choose chocolate. This
will yield what Bentham, in a famous phrase, called the greatest happiness
for the greatest number. You should choose chocolate even if you are one of
the three people who enjoy vanilla more than chocolate. The utilitarian
method requires you to count everyones interests equally. You may not
weigh some peoples interestsincluding your ownmore heavily than
others. Similarly, if a government is choosing a policy, it should give equal
consideration to the well-being of all members of the society.
Quick jot: Can you think of any successful real world policies--political or
otherwise--that exercise the principle of utilitarianism?
social Security
Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and marketplace subsidies
defense and international security assistance
safety net programs
interest on the national debt
-property tax
animal control
police protection
local road maintenance
community centres
Sewers
emergency plans
safe building regulation
fire services
safe drinking water
Utilitarianism in Fiction: