Philosophical paper
iucasmingfc3
Ethicsweekonetaping2.ppt
WEEK ONE
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- Syllabus
- What is Morality?
- The problem of definition
- Reason and Impartiality
- The Minimum Conception of Morality
- Cultural Relativism
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We are discussing no small matter, but how we ought to live.
SOCRATES, IN PLATO'S REPUBLIC (ca. 390 B.C.)
Moral philosophy is the attempt to achieve a systematic understanding of the nature of morality and what it requires of us, in Socrates's words, of "how we ought to live," and why.
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- A simple, uncontroversial definition of what morality is turns out to be impossible
- There are many rival theories
- This should make us cautious, but it need not paralyze us.
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- We will begin by examining some moral controversies, all having to do with handicapped children. The conflicting nature of morality emerge from our discussion.
- Theresa Ann Campo Pearson
- Jodie and Mary
- Tracy Lattimer
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- Opening the doors to other people to decide who should live and who should die
- Where will we draw the line?
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- When the future is unknown, it can be difficult to determine whether such an argument is sound
- This kind of argument is easy to abuse
- No matter how implausible your prediction is, no one can prove you wrong
- This method can be used to oppose almost anything
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- Moral judgments must be backed by good reasons
- Morality requires the impartial consideration of each individual's interests
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- The morally right thing to do, in any circumstance, is whatever there are the best reasons for doing.
- Moral judgments are different from expressions of personal taste
- If something is morally wrong and reasons are sound, other people must acknowledge their force
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- The Requirement of Impartiality
Almost every important theory of morality includes the idea of impartiality
there are no privileged persons
We must acknowledge that other people‘s welfare is just as important as our own
We must not be arbitrary in dealing with people
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Criteria that all successful schools of thought must meet. Two tenets:
Reason
Impartiality
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- Is concerned impartially with the interests of everyone affected by what he or she does
- Carefully sifts facts and examines their implications
- Accepts principles of conduct only after scrutinizing them to make sure they are sound
- Is willing to "listen to reason” even when it means that prior convictions may have to be revised
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CULTURAL RELATIVISM
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- Different Cultures Have Different Moral Codes
Conceptions of right and wrong differ from culture to culture.
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- 1. Different societies have different moral codes.
- 2. The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society.
- 3.There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one society's code as better than another's.
- 4. The moral code of our own society has no special status.
- 5. It is mere arrogance for us to judge the conduct of other peoples.
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- But what if the norms of a society favor intolerance?
- Cultural Relativism holds that the norms of a culture reign supreme within the bounds of the culture itself.
- But what constitutes the boundary of a culture?
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- (1) The Greeks believed it was wrong to eat the dead, whereas the Callatians believed it was right to eat the dead
- (2) Eating the dead is neither objectively right nor objectively wrong.
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(1) Different cultures have different moral codes
(2) Therefore, there is no objective "truth" in morality.
Does the conclusion does follow from the premise?
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- We could no longer say that the customs of other societies are morally inferior to our own.
- We could decide whether our actions are right or wrong just by consulting the standards of our society.
- The idea of moral progress is called into doubt.
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- Cultural Relativism forbids us from criticizing the codes of other societies; it also stops us from criticizing our own.
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- Many thinkers reject Cultural Relativism as implausible because:
- It does make sense to condemn some practices
- It makes sense to think that our own society has made some moral progress, and may still be in need of reform
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- Cultural Relativism comes from the observation that cultures differ dramatically
- It is easy to overstate the differences
- Our beliefs differ, but do our morals?
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- How could a group survive that did not value its young?
- Imagine what it would be like for a society to place no value on truth telling
- Could a society exist in which there was no prohibition on murder?
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- There are some moral rules that all societies must have in common, because those rules are necessary for society to exist
- We find these rules in force in all viable cultures
- Cultures may differ in what they regard as legitimate exceptions to the rules
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- Fauziya Kassindja
- Nigerian woman sentenced to be stoned to death for having sex out of wedlock in 2002
- 2005 Australian woman sentenced to 20 years in prison for smuggling 9 pounds of marijuana into Indonesia
- 2007 a Saudi Arabian woman was gang-raped; during investigation, police discovered she had extramarital sex . Sentenced to 90 lashes; she complained to the judge, increased the sentence to 200 lashes.
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- Does the practice promote or hinder the welfare of the people whose lives are affected by it?
- Is there is an alternative set of social arrangements that would do a better job of promoting their welfare.
- If there is, we may conclude that the existing practice is deficient.
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- People are rightly hesitant to criticize other cultures; They might see tolerance as a virtue
- But there is nothing in the nature of tolerance that requires us to say that all beliefs, all religions, and all social practices are equally admirable.
- If we did not think that some were better than others, there would be nothing for us to tolerate.
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Cultural Relativism warns about the danger of assuming that preferences are based on some absolute rational standard; many are not.
Keeping open mind. Our feelings are not necessarily perceptions of the truth-they may be the result of cultural conditioning.
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