ETH501 accompanying script to Powerpoint that EssaysGuru refused to complete
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ETMOD4SLP.pptxPresentation to Altria Group Inc. on Duty Ethics
Ray Putnam
Trident University International
3/14/2019
1
Elements of an Ethical Situation
There are 4 main elements of an ethical situation:
Moral Agent: The doer. The person to who blamed or praised is assigned
Action: What occurs as a result of an agent’s decision
Consequence: The result of a moral agent’s action
Recipient: the person affected by the decision of the moral agent
Elements of an Ethical Situation
Introduction to Duty Ethics
Are we good because we do good thing or do we do good things because we are good?
Introduction to Duty Ethics
According to Ethics of Duty, we are good because we do good things
The permissibility or impermissibility of an action is measured by the action that one takes.
This is different from utilitarianism which measures the morality of an act based on the consequences of one’s actions (Gray, & Schein, 2012)
This ethical theory was first formulated by Immanuel Kant
Deontology
Duty Ethic is also referred to as Deontology
This is the only moral theory that does not incorporate the idea of God
Other moral theories:
Divine Command theory: There is a deity that determines what is good and what is not good (By William of Ockham, St Augustine, and others)
Theory of Natural Law: Morality comes from humans because humans were made by God who placed morality inside them (By Thomas Aquinas)
Deontology
What is right and wrong is universal, regardless of one’s religion or lack thereof
For one to know what is right and wrong, all they need is reason and intellect
A moral agent must act in a way that uphold the moral principles determined by the action (Van Staveren, 2007)
Every rational human has a duty of care for others
Before making ethical decision, the moral agent must ask the two question:
What if everybody does this?
An I treating others as a mere means to an end?
Categorical Imperative
The theory of categorical imperative was advanced by Kant to explain the concept of Duty Ethics
Categorical Imperative
Categorical Imperatives are every human’s moral obligation
These are the moral commands a person has to follow regardless of their personal desire
These moral obligations come from pure reason; one does not need a deity for this
It does not matter whether one wants to be moral or not because moral obligations are binding to every rational human
Categorical Imperative
There are two main formulations for understanding Categorical Imperatives:
The Principle of Universalizability
The Principle of Humanity
The Principle of Universalizability
“Act only according to the maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction” (Kant, 2013).
Your actions should be based on rules
What is the maxim (rule) of your actions
Ask the question, “what am I doing and why am I doing it?”
Imagine a world in which everybody is acting in accordance to your rules
Try to universalize the principal of the act
You must will that everybody act in accordance to your principles
The Principle of Humanity
“Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end and never as a means” (Wood, 2017)
Always treat other humans as an end and never as means to an end
Respect the autonomy and dignity of any rational being
Humans are not mere object which only exist to me used by other, every human is their own end.
Humans have the autonomy and rationality to set their own goals and strive towards them
Categorical Imperative Summarized
Application of Duty Ethics in Altria Group Inc.
Altria Group Inc. is one of the America’s biggest producer and marketer of Tobacco
One of the major ethical concern about tobacco product is their negative impact on health
As much as nicotine in tobacco possess some health benefits, their negative impact on human life cannot be gainsaid
More than 1200 people die everyday, in America, just because of cigarette smoking
Application of Duty Ethics in Altria Group Inc.
According to the research by Strahan Et al. (2002), most people continue to smoke because they are not fully aware of the repercussions
It is, therefore, the moral duty of Altria to reveal to the public the danger of smoking
This ethical consideration can be evaluated using categorical imperative principles:
The Principle of Universalizability
The Principle of Humanity
Applying The Principle of Universalizability
The actions of Altria should be based on rules
The universal rules require that the producer should comprehensively explain the side effect of a product to the customers
If every producer does this, the customers all of the world will be safer hence the world will be a better place
Even the management of Altria would always want the producers of the products they buy to reveal the side effect
Altria, therefore, should provide a comprehensive explanation of the component and the effect of tobacco smoking
Applying The Principle of Humanity
Altria should always treat their customers as an end and not as a means to an end
Customers are rational and autonomous beings who are an end on their own
Altria, therefore, should not just use their customers as objects of accumulation profits by concealing the true repercussions of tobacco smoking
Altria has the duty to ensure that their customers are well aware of the effect of cigarette smoking, especially on their health
Conclusion
“Do unto other what you will what you will want others to do unto you”
“Treat fellow humans as an end but not as a means to an end”
References
Gray, K., & Schein, C. (2012). Two minds vs. two philosophies: Mind perception defines morality and dissolves the debate between deontology and utilitarianism. Review of Philosophy and Psychology, 3(3), 405-423.
Kant, I. (2013). Moral Law: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Routledge.
Strahan, E. J., White, K., Fong, G. T., Fabrigar, L. R., Zanna, M. P., & Cameron, R. (2002). Enhancing the effectiveness of tobacco package warning labels: a social psychological perspective. Tobacco control, 11(3), 183-190.
Van Staveren, I. (2007). Beyond utilitarianism and deontology: Ethics in economics. Review of Political Economy, 19(1), 21-35.
Wood, A. (2017). The final form of Kant’s practical philosophy. In Immanuel Kant (pp. 27-47). Routledge.
