Engineer ethics essay
Overview & Objectives
1. The language of morality
2. What is ethics?
3. The Drowning Child and Trolley Problem
4. “Ethics 101”
The Language of Morality Different kinds of “Ought” claims Morality vs Self-interest
Ethics and prudence do not always coincide
Even though ethical behaviour is often in someone’s self-interest, ethical behaviour is not the same as self- interest or prudence
The Language of Morality Different kinds of “Ought” claims Morality vs Law
The law is not the sole source of rules, standards, and values
• What’s legally required is not necessarily ethically required
• Illegal activities are not necessarily unethical
◦ Do not conflate morality with legality
Ethics
Ethics is about how we ought to behave. And why.
Ethics is a part of everyday life
• Ethics applies to all people, in all places, at all the time (there’s no such thing as a ‘ethics-free zone’)
Ethical insights can range from the trivial to the profound
• Sometimes morality is straightforward, other times it can be very complicated
The Drowning Child Testing our moral intuitions: Part 1
On the way to your University ethics class you notice a child apparently drowning in a pond. Efforts to save the child will result in ruining your new clothes and fancy shoes. It will also mean you miss class. Do you have an obligation to rescue them?
• What moral obligations do we have to others? • What is most important to our assessment of the ethical situation:
the agent? the act? the outcome?
• Is there an “expanding circle” of moral obligation?
THE TROLLEY PROBLEM
The Trolley Problem Testing our moral intuitions: Part 2
Imagine a runaway train
• It’s rushing along a track towards a group of 4 innocent people, who are stuck on the track
• You are standing by a lever, if you pull the lever, it will divert the train onto a different track where 1 person is stuck
Should you pull the lever?
The Trolley Problem
Imagine a runaway train
• It’s rushing along a track towards a group of 4 innocent people, who are stuck on the track
• On a bridge over the track is a fat man, who, if you push him onto the line, will stop the train. He dies, but you save five lives.
Should you push him?
The Trolley Problem
What’s the right thing to do here? A Utilitarian response
Pull the lever!! Better to sacrifice the 1 so that the 5 can live
A Deontological response
Don’t do it!! It’s categorically wrong to ever treat people merely as means and not ends in themselves
Virtue Ethics response
Do whatever the virtuous person would do!
The Trolley Problem What’s the right thing to do here?
These ethical theories are traditionally distinct in theoretical terms, but as we’ll see, in practice we often base our decisions on a combination of factors
• Crucially, as ethical theories, they guide our actions and provide explanation for right action
• They aim to: • be non-arbitrary, • be properly compelling, • add consistency and clarity to our moral reasoning
The Trolley Problem What use are these fanciful hypothetical thought experiments? • They highlight how even our strongest intuitions about
what is the right thing to do are often less than consistent across variable situations
• They show that while morality can be quite straightforward, it is in fact often more complicated than initial appearances might suggest
• They bring out philosophically important distinctions that are applicable at both the theoretical and the practical levels
Summing up: Ethics 101 Ethics is concerned with what ought to happen, and why • Normative ethics: Attempts to provide a general theory
that tells us how we ought to live.
• Applied ethics: Applying normative ethical theories to specific issues (practical ethics).
• In normative ethics there are (broadly speaking) 3 morally interesting factors:
• The agent (approx. Virtue ethics) • The act itself (approx. Deontology) • The consequences (approx.
Utilitarianism/Consequentialism)
Summing up: Ethics 101 • Virtue Ethics: Moral character: Behave in a manner that
exhibits certain characteristics, such as generosity, compassion, etc.
• What kind of person would do this? • Deontology: Rule based ethics: certain acts are
intrinsically right or wrong.
• E.g. We must never kill another person, regardless of the consequences
• Consequentialism: Ethical calculations are based on the outcome alone.
• Act to bring about the best consequences, to maximise happiness. The end justifies the means.