4.7: The Cheat Sheet- Rules of Thumb in Applied Ethics
- Page ID
- 25724
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)
\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)
\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)The following tables summarize the theories considered in this textbook. The first includes the traditional theories and the second encapsulates the contemporary theories built to respond to cultural relativism.
| Name | Guidance for ethical action | Focus of our efforts | Typical questions asked in the effort to fulfill obligations | Conception of the person implied by the theory | Strengths and weaknesses | Type of theory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duty | Learn the basic duties to ourselves and others, and obey them. | The duties. |
|
We are rational actors. | Gives clear guidance in many situations but is inflexible in the face of special cases. | Nonconsequentialist |
| Fairness | Treat people identically unless they differ in ways relevant to the situation. (Treat equals equally and unequals unequally.) | Resist prejudice and personal feelings. | Does everyone get an equal chance? (If they don’t, how are the differences justified?) | We are rational actors. | Promises egalitarianism, but can be difficult to implement in complex reality. | Nonconsequentialist |
| Kant | Learn the basic duties to ourselves and others, and obey them. | The categorical imperative in two articulations: actions must be universalizable and treat others as ends and never as means. |
|
We are rational actors. | Gives clear guidance in many situations but is inflexible, especially in the face of special cases. | Nonconsequentialist |
| Rights theory | Maximize freedom. | Learn the individual’s basic rights, live them, and respect others’ right to live them. | Does doing what I want impinge on the basic freedoms of others? | We are distinguished by the possession of dignity. | Allows individuality, but does little to resolve conflicts between individuals. | Nonconsequentialist |
| Egoism | Increase my well-being and happiness. | Learn about my desires and welfare, and serve them | What makes me happy over the long term? How can I get that? | We are driven toward pleasure and away from pain. | Good for me in the short term, but might not help us live together as a society. | Consequentialist |
| Altruism | Increase the well-being and happiness of others. | Learn about others’ desires and welfare, and serve them. | What makes others happy over the long term? How can I help them get that? | We are driven toward pleasure and away from pain. | Others benefit, but it may be difficult to justify devaluing yourself. | Consequentialist |
| Utilitarianism | Increase the well-being and happiness of everyone collectively. | Learn about the desires and welfare of everyone, understood as an aggregate, and serve them. | What brings the greatest happiness and good to the greatest number over the long term? How can I help us get that? | We are driven toward pleasure and away from pain. | The general welfare is served, but injustices at the individual level may persist. | Consequentialist |
| Guidance for ethical action | Focus of our efforts | Typical questions asked in the effort to fulfill obligations | Strengths and weaknesses | Reaction to cultural relativism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eternal return of the same | Be myself. | Think through the eternal return. | Would I do this if it had to be repeated in the same life, which recurred forever? | Maximizes individual authenticity but provides no specific recommendations for action. | Abandons morality altogether. |
| Cultural ethics | Follow local customs and practices. | Learn local customs and practices. | What do the locals do? | Helps you fit in but allows little hope for ethical improvement. | Accepts the proposal that moral rules are just a particular community’s beliefs. |
| Virtue ethics | Develop good moral character. | Learn and practice the virtues. | Am I acting with integrity and in accordance with values learned? | Allows flexibility but provides little specific guidance. | Tries to protect against cultural relativism by developing an adoptable but consistently moral character. |
| Discourse ethics | Produce solutions to moral dilemmas. | Talk it out: use rational conversation to reach a peaceful, consensual agreement. | What do you think? How about this possibility? | Provides a broad range of possible solutions but every conflict must be addressed from scratch. | Replaces a culture’s moral rules with the attempt to fabricate new rules to function in specific situations. |
| Ethics of care | Nurture and protect immediate relationships. | Respond to the needs of those nearest us. | Which solution preserves healthy and harmonious relationships among those involved? | Humanizes morality but risks tribalism. | Replaces a culture’s moral rules with loyalty to those whose lives touch our own. |