Ethical Theories

Parable of the Sadhu

Parable of the Sadhu

What would you have done? Are there any good solutions?

•How would we compare solutions?

What is the best way to decide the right course of action?

Rest: 4 stage model of EDM

Moral awareness

moral judgment

moral intent

moral behavior

3 C’s

Controlled Conscious Cognitive

A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors

thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what

the drug cost him to produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small

dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the

money, but he could only get together about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: "No, I discovered the drug and

I'm going to make money from it."

So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife.

Heinz Dilemma

Should Heinz have broken into the store to steal the drug

for his wife?

Why or why not?

Stages 1 & 2

Obedience•Heinz should not steal the medicine because he will

consequently be put in prison which will mean he is a bad person.

•Heinz should steal the medicine because it is only worth $200 and not how much the druggist wanted for it; Heinz had even offered to pay for it and was not stealing anything else.

Self-interest•Heinz should steal the medicine because he will be much

happier if he saves his wife, even if he will have to serve a prison sentence.

•Heinz should not steal the medicine because prison is an awful place, and he would probably languish over a jail cell more than his wife's death.

Stages 3 & 4

Conformity•Heinz should steal the medicine because his wife expects

it; he wants to be a good husband.•Heinz should not steal the drug because stealing is bad and

he is not a criminal; he tried to do everything he could without breaking the law, you cannot blame him.

Law-and-order•Heinz should not steal the medicine because the law

prohibits stealing, making it illegal.•Heinz should steal the drug for his wife but also take the

prescribed punishment for the crime as well as paying the druggist what he is owed. Criminals cannot just run around without regard for the law; actions have consequences.

Stages 5 & 6

Human rights•Heinz should steal the medicine because everyone has a

right to choose life, regardless of the law. •Heinz should not steal the medicine because the scientist

has a right to fair compensation. Even if his wife is sick, it does not make his actions right.

Universal human ethics•Heinz should steal the medicine, because saving a human

life is a more fundamental value than the property rights of another person.

•Heinz should not steal the medicine, because others may need the medicine just as badly, and their lives are equally significant.

Who cares about my stage?!

Your stage matters!

Problem-solving changes in your 20s-30s

Specific educational attempts to influence awareness

Behavior is influenced by moral perception and moral judgments

3 C’s

Controlled Conscious Cognitive

Can the 3 C’s explain everything?

Julie and Mark are brother and sister. They are traveling together in France on summer vacation from college. One night they are staying alone in

a cabin near the beach. They decided that it would be interesting and fun if they tried making

love. At the very least it would be a new experience for each of them. Julie was already

taking birth control, and Mark used a condom just to be safe. They both enjoy it, but decided not to

do it again. They keep that night as a special secret, which

makes them feel even closer.

Can this explain it?

Moral awareness

moral judgment

moral intent

moral behavior

Emotion

Cognition Judgment & Behavior

Decision-making

Often outside of our awareness The effect of “primes” in research

Moral stages don’t stop dilemmas from occurring…

Trolley problem

Ethical Dilemmas = Tension

Rules vs. resultsMeans vs. endsThe good vs. the rightPrinciple vs. practicalityThe needs of many vs. the rights of the few (or the one)

Ethical Lenses

The battle between rules, rights, relationships and reputation

T. L. Ceranic Business & Society (ETLW 302)

Rights/Responsibilities Lens (duties)

Emphasizes DUTY Consequences play a minor role

PlatoImmanuel Kant

Focuses on the ideals (whether through Nature or God) that we as people should seek.

Deontology

Relationship Lens (fair systems)

Seeks justice and to care for those less fortunate

•John Rawls

Deontology

Results Lens (goals)

Focuses on individual results, goals and what makes individuals happy.

Adam SmithJeremy BenthamJohn Stuart Mill

Utilitarianism/Teleological

Reputation Lens (virtues)

Focuses on what virtues are valued by the community and that those in positions of responsibility should cultivate. 

The What makes us responsible and virtuous citizens within our workplace/community?

AristotleAlisdair MacIntyre.

Utilitarian/Teleological Virtue ethics

Utilitarianism (GREY)

Advantages

Maximization of the good“Easy” decision processPopular

Disadvantages

MeasurementThe meansIndividual rights

Formalism (BLACK/WHITE)

Advantages

Protects the meansProtects individual rightsMorally more appealing

Disadvantages

InflexibleImpractical

T. L. Ceranic Business & Society (ETLW 302)

Student Privileges with Strings Attached

So what Lens are you?

Why is this important?

To understand how we make decisions To understand multiple positions To uncover biases To create powerful and effective responses To generate options To make ethical decisions

All individuals are morally autonomous beings with the power and right to choose their values,

but it does not follow that all choices and all value systems have an equal claim to be called

ethical.

When in Rome…

This makes ethics only a matter of opinion Denies that we can make rational or objective

ethical judgments No right or wrong

“Relative” harassment?

A male manager tells a female job applicant she will only be hired if she submits to his sexual advances.

The manager feels the behavior is fine and the woman feels it’s wrong.

According to the relativist:

•Each opinion is equally valid.•Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

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Organizational culture