Theories of Ethics and Social Responsibility: Asian and Western Perspectives 06/14/22 Bonifacio G. Train, Jr. 1 Chan, Gary and George TL Shenoy (2009). Ethics and social responsibility: asian and western perspectives. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education (Asia).
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Theories of Ethics and Social Responsibility: Asian and Western Perspectives
04/17/23 Bonifacio G. Train, Jr. 1
Chan, Gary and George TL Shenoy (2009). Ethics and social responsibility: asian and western perspectives. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education (Asia).
http://www.thinkingshop.com/AIP/ethics/images/lectures/Mill_utilitarian%20intro_1.jpeg04/17/23 3Bonifacio G. Train, Jr.
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Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
• based on consequences and outcomes
• General Principle: an action is right and ought to be performed insofar as it leads to overall happiness or benefits, as opposed to pain or costs.
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Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
• “If I do this, what will be the impact on myself/others/society?”
• A moral actor makes a decision to act or desist from acting based on what he perceives or predicts to be the consequences which will ensue from the act or omission.
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Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
• Based on the actual consequences flowing from an action, it is in practice largely dependent on the moral actor’s prediction of the likely consequences.
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John Stuart Mill (1806-73)
• Actions are ‘right’ in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, ‘wrong’ as they tend to produce the reverse of hapiness.
• ‘Hapiness’ – pleasure, absence of pain, • ‘unhapiness’ – pain and privation of pleasure
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John Stuart Mill (1806-73)
• Good is equated with happiness• People desire happiness/good as an end in
itself• Pleasure: virtues, health, music – means to
happiness, it is possible for them also to be part of the end (e.g. for those who love and desire virtue)
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John Stuart Mill (1806-73)
• Lying:
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John Stuart Mill (1806-73)
• Lying (cheating): weakens the trustworthiness of human assertions and inhibits the the development of civilisation. Generally, it is wrong except in specific circumstances (such as withholding facts to save an individual from grievous harm).
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Jeremy Bentham
• Right action is based on the happiness and value of the particular action
• Pleasure is an intrinsic good in itself• hedonism
• Ethics does not rest on the actual consequences arising from the intended action or the summation of pleasure and pain based on empiricism, senses and inclinations
The shopkeeper does not overcharge an inexperienced customer but instead fixes a general price for every customer. Although the shopkeeper acts in conformity with duty (i.e. in accordance with the principle of honesty), Kant suggests that if the shopkeeper is motivated by personal advantages or self-interest, then he is not acting from duty. Thus, the action would be unethical from the Kantian perspective.
• The Principle of Universality essentially reminds us that there should not be double standards in the determination of ethical conduct. That is, the ethical maxim which one adopts for himself should similarly be applied to others.
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“Act in a way that is consistent with what you would want as a universal law, and at the same time, treat people as ends, and a means only.”
The principle of universality
• A Chinese employer hires new staff. He desires to hire only employees who belong to his ethnic group, notwithstanding the company’s location in a multiethnic community and the eligible candidates from various ethnic groups.
• The Principle of Humanity based on human dignity. Humans as rational beings are persons who exist as ends in themselves. This is contrasted with physical objects such as tools which are used merely as a means to achieve certain ends or purpose.
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“Act in a way that is consistent with what you would want as a universal law, and at the same time, treat people as ends, and a means only.”
The principle of humanity
Downsizing: • How does one reconcile the decision to make
an employee redundant with the Principle of Humanity?
• Is it possible to argue that the provision of a sufficiently long period of notice and a reasonable severance package demonstrate respect for the employee?
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Kantian Ethics
• Lying (cheating): is wrong without admitting any exceptions at all
1. Recall Mill’s position on lying. What is the difference between the Millian and Kantian approaches? Provide a very specific scenario that happens in workplaces.
2. Is Kant’s universal law based on ethnic discrimination self-defeating or contrary to reason? Why so?
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THEORIES OF JUTICE
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Three theories of justice• The Aristotelean conception of justice• John Rawls’ justice as fairness• Robert Nozick and the entitlement theory
• “Just” means lawful and fair• Jusice is complete virtue and that which leads
to someone else’s good, not merely oneself.
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Aristotelean conception of justice
Three forms of justice1.Distributive justice – the benefits and
advantages accruing to one person as compared to another within the society.
“justice is regarded as a means and is based on the proportional ratios of values. This involves distribution of goods in accordance with the right proportions.”