Ethics Question #7
The Concise Guide Book addresses ethics almost in the same methods the Ethics one does.
Aristotle: We should do something because it's good- This is true, because when we take action to do something, it should be for the right reasons.
Kant: We should do it because it is our obligation- This pertains to what the book discusses about the positive and negative of taking a stand. If you follow what you feel is ethical, perhaps the company doesn't feel the same, and either fire you or repremand you. But, you feel it is your obligation to protect the company's integrity or the public it services.
Utilitarinaism: We should do it because it benefits the greater good - If Kant's theory doesn't seem as close to the book, then this one will do. If your ethical decision should benefit everyone, then it should be good. On the other hand, if you only had so much food for a multitude of people, you would have to consider "which groups of people should receive this food and would benefit most from it?" Healthy people? Children? Eldery?
Feminism/Caring: This one was particularly vague in our book, since what it covers is the writing process, not the emotional decision making. However, emotion does play a part, since you have to decide if what you write is harmful or offensive to the reader.
posted by Monica @ 10:27 PM
5 Comments:
Great analysis. I'm working on this right now, so this'll be a help. Thanks! :P
Nice job on this assignment. I like how you summarized each of the theories and then briefly explained them. In addition, I agree with you about the feminism/caring theory, and how it did not really apply to our book. I tried to focus more on the ethics of care part than the feminism part when I wrote my blog. However, I really like how you explained why the feminism/caring was not covered in our book. Good job!
Good job summing up the different theories.
Your example of how Kant and how his perspective deals with obligation got me thinking about honor. Maybe in his time honor meant more than it does now. To me, following through with your obligations = honor. Today honor doesn't amount to nearly as much. I guess that's bad, but then again if you are honorable you'll really stand out in the crowd! ;-)
Hi Monica,
Great job on consolidating communicating so much information. I think between the reading materials and the various class responses, we'll each gain a tight grasp on the differences and values of each perspective and pass a test with flying colors!
I think that Utilitarianism has a great idea, but this perspective does not always make answering ethics questions easy. Especially when it talks about who gets what food. Have you ever seen the movie “I Robot”? I think that this movie depends largely on this type of perspective. It also addresses the fact that using this perspective does not always make the right decision. Yet, it is still a good movie.
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