Ethical Frameworks
Utilitarianism: The reason for saying certain actions are right and others are wrong is that this contributes to the enhancement of happiness.
Five step Procedure
1. Determine the possible alternative actions in the situation.
2. Determine whose hppiness or suffering will be affected for each person in each alternative situation.
3. Estimate how much happiness or suffering each person will accrue in each alternative situation.
4. Add up the results for each alternative.
5. Apply the Utilitarian Principle, which is that the right action in this situation is the alternative with the highest total.
The principle of equality is important in this system. According to Jeremy Bentham, the founder of Utilitarianism, “Each to count for one and none for more than one.” How does one qualify as an individual worthy of consideration? The capacity to suffer and/or experience enjoyment is the only defensible boundary of concern for the interests of others.
The basic principle of equality does not require equal or identical treatment; it requires equal consideration. Equal consideration for different beings may lead to different treatment and different rights.
Prominent Figures: Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Henry Sidgwick, Peter Singer, Tom Regan.
(Sources: On Ethics by Marshall Missner and Animal Liberation by Peter Singer)
Categorical Imperative: A system of ethics developed by Immanuel Kant based on reason, universality and consistency.
Process:
1. Consider an act you are thinking of performing.
2. Consider the reason you have for performing this act.
3. Universalize this reason. That means, ask if it is possible for everyone to act from this same reason.
4. If it is possible, the act is right; if it is not possible, the act is wrong.
(Source: On Ethics by Marshall Missner)
Relativism: Roots in the Greek Sophists who claimed, “Man is the measure of all things.” This means that man can create various views about what is right and wrong, but all these views are human creations and not discoveries about reality. As a result, ethical choices are a matter of preferences and not attempts to align the action to a greater truth. As a contrast, an ethical realist believes there is a correct answer to some moral questions; the relativist believes there is never one correct answer.
(Source: On Ethics by Marshall Missner)
Tibetan Buddhism: An ethical system based on compassion, community and happiness. The Dalai Lama says that the compelling question of life is “How am I to be happy?” He believes the answer to this question calls for us to turn away from our modern preoccupation of the self and to turn toward the wider community with whom we are all connected an to conduct which recognizes others’ interests alongside of our own. He calls for not a political, religious or economic revolution, but a spiritual revolution.
Happiness means inner peace, and inner peace is established through the effort to develop concern for others. Developing inner peace, on which lasting happiness and, therefore, meaningful happiness is dependant, is like is like any other task in life: we have to identify its causes and conditions and then diligently set about cultivating them. One important elements which determines whether an act is ethical or not is its effect on others’ experience or expectations of happiness. An act which harms or does violence to this is potentially an unethical act.
At the base of this system is the concept of dependant origination. According to this, we can understand how things and events come to be in there different ways.
1. The principle of cause and effect whereby all things and events arise in dependence on a complex web of interrelated causes and conditions, is invoked.
2. A mutual dependence exists between parts and whole.
3. All phenomena can be understood to be dependently originated because, when we analyze them, we find that, ultimately, they lack independent identity.
Because our every action has a universal dimension, a potential impact on others’ happiness, ethics are necessary as a means to ensure that we do not harm others. Genuine happiness consists in those spiritual qualities of love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, humility, and so on. It is these which provide happiness both for ourselves and others.
(Source: Ethics for a New Millennium by the Dalai Lama)
Ethics of Religion
The ethical position is determined by what God says to be ethical or moral behavior, i.e., in scripture. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount are most often considered the foundation. Problems can arise due to the ambiguity and multiple interpretations of many of these passages.
Regarding animals, many Christians take the early passages of Genesis as indicators of how animals should be treated. Humans are placed in “dominion” over animals, and given the power to name them. One interpretation of “dominion” has generated a coherent Christian notion of “stewardship” of the earth and its creatures, while another interpretation--that the earth and its animals have been created only for our use and pleasure--has allowed for gross exploitation.
Sources: Missner, The Bible
Ethics of Virtue
The Greek philosopher Aristotle created a highly acclaimed approach to ethics with his notion of the “virtuous life.” For Aristotle, the various virtues, such as honesty, integrity, moderation, compassion, humility, loyalty, perseverance, self-control, tolerance, etc. led to a life of eudiamonea, which translates to “flourishing.” In other words, the good and virtuous life is a flourishing one, where the human is fulfilling his/her potential. The virtues will allow the individual to attain this state; the vices will lead the individual to extremes of character and behavior, therefore lacking in moderation and self-control. In this ethical approach, character is therefore far more important than behavior.
(Source: Missner)
The Ethics of Care and Responsibility
This approach began as a descriptive study, rather than a prescription for behavior. Carol Gilligan examined the decision-marking process women undertook when faced with unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. Should they abort or carry the baby to term? Using numerous surveys and discussions with women from all walks of life, Gilligan found these women most often used an ethics of “care,” where “women’s judgements are tied to feelings of empathy and compassion and are concerned with the resolution of real as opposed to hypothetical dilemmas” (69). This ethical approach focuses far less on “rights and rules” (73) and much more on specific relationships and the individual’s responsibilities within that relationship. Rather than depending on generalized or universal laws, decisions are based on the context of a particular situation.
(Sources: Carol Gilligan’s In a Different Voice)