UNIT 5 NORMATIVE ETHICAL THEORIES USED IN DECISION-MAKING

1. THE NORMS OF MORALITY ACCODRING TO SCHOLASTIC PHILOSOPHY AND TRADITIONAL ETHICS

NORMS

Ethical Principles, Rules, Policies

JUDGEMENT
HUMAN
CONDUCT

HUMAN
CONDUCT

NORMS OF MORALITY

 Conscience
 Natural law
 Eternal law

Conscience

 Traditional ethics considers conscience as proximate norm or morality

 It is defined as practical judgment of reason deciding upon an individual act as good and to be
followed or as evil as therefore MUST be avoided.

TYPES OF CONSCIENCE

1. Antecedent conscience – judgment before action is done.

2. Consequent conscience – judgment after an act is done.
3. True conscience – a conscience that judge things truly as they are.
4. Erroneous conscience - judges things in distorted manner.
5. Certain conscience – judges based from legality.
6. Doubtful conscience – not certain about moral judgment.
7. Scrupulous conscience – one that sees wrong even when there is none.
8. Lax conscience – fails to see wrong even when there is wrong.

Natural Law

 Traditional ethics considers this as the remote norm or morality

 Reflects what the thing is in accordance with its nature
 St. Thomas Aquinas believes that the purpose id always “good”
 “A good act is what befits the nature of man; a bad act is one that does not befits man’s nature”

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 THE OLD MAN AND THE SCORPION

Once there was a very old man who used to meditate early every morning under a large
tree on the bank of the Ganges River in India. One morning, having finished his meditation,
the old man opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the strong current of
the river. As the scorpion pulled closer to the tree, it got caught in the long roots that
branched out far into the river. The scorpion struggled frantically to pull itself but got more
entangled in the complex network of the tree roots.

When the old man saw this, he immediately stretched himself into the extended roots and
reached out to rescue the drowning scorpion. But as soon as he touched it, the animal
jerked and stung him wildly. Instinctively, the old man withdrew his hand, but then, after
having regained his balance, he once again stretched himself out along the roots to save
the scorpion. But every time the man came within reached, the scorpion stung him so
badly with its poisonous tail that his hands became swollen and bloody and his face
distorted by pain.

At that moment a passer-by saw the old man stretched on the roots struggling with the
scorpion and shouted “Hey, stupid old man, what is wrong with you? Only a fool risks his
life for such an ugly, useless creature. Don’t you know that you may kill yourself trying to
save that ungrateful animal?”

Slowly the old man turned his head, and looking calmly at the stranger’s eyes, he said:
“Friend, because it is the nature of the scorpion to sting, why should I give up my own
nature to save?”

Source: Benigno P. Beltran, SVD, Journey into Solitude, 1986

Eternal Law

 Traditional ethics considers eternal law or the divine law as the ultimate norm of morality
 It is the plan of God in creating the universe and assigning each creature a specific purpose
 “The divine wisdom directing all actions and movements” – St. Thomas Aquinas
 “The divine reason or will of God commanding the natural order of things be preserved and
forbidding that it be disturbed” – St. Augustine

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2. Kantian Ethics (Immanuel Kant)

Professor of Mathematics,
Sciences, Logic and
Metaphysics
Born: April 22, 1724
Died: February 12, 1804

“We must do good because

……………………….……………..”

Kant’s Moral Rationalism

 All truths and all knowledge are derived from human reason
 Reasons command and we must obey
 His work is cited as one of the most strand of ethical theory
o Theory of Conduct
o Theory of Obligation

For Kant morality is:

 A priori
 Universal
 Absolute
 Immutable

Kant’s Categorical Imperative

 The Formula of Universal Law: “Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can
at the same time will that it becomes a universal law.”
 The Formula of Humanity: “Act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the
person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means.”
 The Formula of Autonomy: “We should so act that we may think of ourselves as legislating
universal laws through our maxims.”

3. The Machiavellian Principle (Niccolo Machiavelli)

Essayist, Dramatist,
Historian, Biographer, Writer
of novels and poems
Born: May 3, 1469
Died: June 21, 1527

“The end

……………………….……………..”

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Ethical Philosophy

 Rules and principles of effective political behavior

 Machiavelli’s principles were based from his negative perception about human nature and social
problems of his time

The Prince

 Machiavelli described his concept of a leader to be cruel, evil and deceiving person
 Sometime people have to do something not necessarily good to attain something good
 He mentioned on ways on how to deal a state with rotten people

“Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin
among the great number who are not good. Hence a prince who
wants to keep his authority must learn not to be good, and use that
knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires.”

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Leader Means End

“You must know, then, that there are two methods of fighting, the
one by law, the other by force; the first method is that of men, the
second of beasts; but as the first method is insufficient, one must
have recourse to the second.”

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4. Utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill

Utilitarian

 utile bonum or utilis

 Utilitarianism is considered the most important consequentialist
 “Do whatever produces the greatest good for the greatest number”
 Similar to Hedonism

JEREMY BENTHAM

Lawyer and Writer

Born: February 15, 1748
Died: June 6, 1832

“The greatest good is the

greatest pleasure of the
greatest number”

Utility

 Property of any object which tends to produce benefits, advantage, pleasure, good or
happiness.

Ethical Philosophy

 Consequences as result of an action and completely disregards the motives of an act.

 An action is considered right or wrong depending on the consequence.

JOHN STUART MILL

Lawyer, Political Economist,
and Writer
Born: May 20, 1806
Died: May 8, 1873

“Happiness is anything that is

pleasurable to the greater
number”

Ethical Philosophy

 Human beings pursue happiness naturally and avoids pain or sufferings

 An act that promotes happiness is moral and that which causes pain or suffering is immoral
 To the utilitarian, happiness is not merely the happiness of one person but the greater number
 Mill’s utilitarianism refers to mental pleasure when it defines happiness as pleasure because
man has faculties more elevated than those of animals

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Happiness

+ “Happiness is anything that is pleasurable to the greater number”

- “Happiness is the absence of pain”

Pleasure

 Physical
 Mental

5. Moral Positivism of Thomas Hobbes

Philosopher, Writer and

Consultant
Born: April 5, 1588
Died: December 4, 1679

“If men are not naturally in a

state of war, why do they
always carry arms and why do
they have keys to lock their
doors?”

Ethical Philosophy

 Thomas Hobbes believes that human beings are basically selfish creatures who would do
anything to improve their position
 People will act on their evil impulse when left alone
 The basis of all moral laws are the laws of the state – an action is good if it conforms with the
laws of the state and evil if it is forbidden by the state
 Government are created to protect people from their selfishness and evil
 “All mankind is in a perpetual and restless desire for power.. that stops only in death.”

6. Divine Command Ethics

 There is a divine being who has set down a finite series of rules that provides guidance to most,
if not all, moral decisions.
 A variant of divine command theory is a command theory based on non-divine but morally
exemplary individuals such as the Buddha.
 Provides a meaningful system for decision-making for believers
 Suitable for personal decision making, it appears somewhat problematic when one is required
to reason together with those of a different belief system and come to a decision that is
acceptable to all.

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7. Ethical Egoism of Ayn Rand

Philosopher and Writer

Born: February 2, 1905
Died: March 6, 1982

“The moral purpose of ma’s

life is the achievement of his
own happiness”

Ethical Egoism

 The promotion of one’s own good is in accordance with morality

 To look after his own self and to do what is in man’s self-interest, if necessary, to the exclusion
of what is in other people’s interest

Ethical Philosophy

 “My morality, the morality of reason, is contained in a single axiom: existence exists and in a
single choice: to live. The rest proceeds from these. To live man must possess three things as the
ruling values of his life: reason, purpose and self-esteem. Reason as his only tool for knowledge;
Purpose as his choice of the happiness which that tool must process to achieve; and self-esteem,
as his inviolate certainty that his mind is competent to think and this person id worthy of
happiness, which means: worthy of living. These three values imply and require all of a man’s
virtues...”
 Altruism is a tool of evil. ‘’

Difference between Egotist and Egoist

EGOTIST EGOIST
A person who has very high opinion of himself and A person who thinks in terms of his own advantage
whose language often consist of self praise – disregarding the interest of others
Someone who is self-centered or selfish, often A conceited person, always talking about himself
without realizing it
A person who is childishly concerned only with his Concerned with both his long term and short term
most myopic and immediate self interest goal

“You cannot say ‘I LOVE YOU’ if you cannot say the ‘I’.”

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8. Virtue Ethics: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle

Virtue Ethics

 Focuses on character of a person and the virtues he manifest

 The person reflects the appropriate moral virtue and integrity in making decision rather than
focus on reasons for doing the actions

SOCRATES

Philosopher
Born: 470
Died: 399BC

“No one commits an evil act

knowingly and doing wrong
arises out of ignorance”

Ethical Philosophy

1. Virtue (moral excellence) is identical with knowledge.

2. Vice (moral evil) is identical with ignorance (lack of moral knowledge).
3. No one commits an evil act knowingly and doing wrong arises out of ignorance.

PLATO

Philosopher
Born: 428 BCE
Died: 348 BCE

“Morality means waking up

the reason to its true
purpose. Reason must
control the appetite and
direct the will away from
sensuous pleasure”

Ethical Philosophy

 People are born intrinsically good; however, they make judgment through the irrational part of
the soul.
 People do not do evil act to harm themselves
Will dominates (vice/evil)

Ideal Setting REASON/ VIRTUOS ACT

Appetite dominates (vice/evil)

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ARISTOTLE

Philosopher, Professor
Born: 384 BCE
Died: 322 BCE

“Golden Mean Principles: to

be happy one must live life in
moderation”

Ethical Philosophy

 One must take the middle way or the mean of two extremes
 One must not only develop its mind but also its body
 Any extreme is a vice
 A person has a responsibility not only to himself but also to his surroundings

Extreme (vice/evil)

Ideal Setting REASON/ VIRTUOS ACT

Extreme (vice/evil)

TOO LITTLE TOO MUCH

FOOD

9. Pragmatism of Peirce, James and Dewey

Pragmatism

 The philosophy that attempts to clarify our ideas and to emphasize the practical usefulness of
ideas and beliefs as the criteria for truth.
 Pragmatism maintains the following assumptions:
o To be valid, all theories must be put into practice
o There must be a close connection between thinking and acting
o Ideas to be regarded as true must be useful
o For ideas to be significant there must be practical results

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CHARLES SANDERS PEIRCE

Scientist, Mathematician,
Philosopher and Professor
Born: September 10, 1939
Died: April 14, 1941

“If an idea is not useful in

solving a problem or bringing
about a desirable result, then
it does not have any
significance at all”

His Philosophy

 Focused his pragmatism on logic and science

 There must be connection between idea and action
 In the logical analysis of meanings – an idea that is useful in solving the difference between two
propositions is significant. For him, if an idea is not useful in solving a problem or bringing about
a desirable result, then it does not have any significance at all.

WILLIAM JAMES

Psychologist, Philosopher
and Professor
Born: January 11, 1842
Died: August 26, 1910

“An idea is only true if it does

what you want it to do”

His Philosophy

 James focused pragmatism in Psychology and religion

 Pragmatism is an inquiry into the practical meaning of events and issues
 An idea is only true if it does what you want it to do

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JOHN DEWEY

Psychologist, Philosopher
and Professor
Born:
Died:

“Nothing is more important

in the remaking of society
than education.”

His Philosophy

 Instrumentalism & Experimentalism

 Based his ideas on evolution and believed that man can achieve moral progress and create an
ideal society through improvements in education
 Knowledge and practice are instruments of doing good
 School should reflect society
 Learning by doing

10. Christian Ethics

ETHICAL TEACHING OF JESUS CHRIST

 The moral paradigm used by our Lord Jesus Christ is similar to those of Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle – a personal call towards self-realization
 His teaching is so radical but fair because it addressed to every one whether he is a king, prince,
rich, or slave.

ETHICAL TEACHING OF ST. AUGUSTINE

 The focal point of St. Augustine’s imperative is God

 Love is the highest attribute of God it is the basis and central point of his moral teaching
 Augustine believed that God is the starting point and terminal point of everything
 God endowed man with free will, the will to choose between good and evil.

ETHICAL TEACHING OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

 Every agent acts for an end”

 Thomistic centered on the concept of Natural Law and Eternal Law
 As a whole, the Aristotelian virtues and super natural virtues, which are faith, hope and love,
will help man attain Beatific Vision.
 Socrates, Plate and Aristotle call man’s final or ultimate end of human action – happiness.

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11. The Ethical Teachings of Buddhism
 Founded by Siddharta Gautama, the Buddha
 Buddhism is referred to as a religion of Liberation.
 Ethics in Buddhism is an ethics born out of the realities of the pain of human life.
 It is an ethics which is intended to relieve all forms of human suffering.
 The world is bad, that it is the source of evil and of suffering of man.
 3 Jewels of Buddhism: Buddha, Sangha, Dharma
 3 characteristic of man: Suffering (dukkha), impersonality (anatta) and impermanence (anicca)
 Buddha’s doctrine of Middle Way which is intended for understanding, peace of mind, wisdom
and enlightenment
 4 Noble Truths:
1. Life is permeated by suffering. (Dukkha)
2. The origin of suffering is craving. (Tanha)
3. Suffering can be eliminated though the elimination of cravings.
4. The elimination of suffering is possible through the eightfold path.
 Eightfold Path of Buddhism
1. Right understanding.
2. Right thought.
3. Right speech.
4. Right action.
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

APPROACHES TO ETHICS

 Utilitarian Approach
 Rights Approach
 Fairness /Justice Approach
 Common good Approach
 Virtue Approach
 Best-Ratio Approach
 Black and White Approach
 Full potential Approach

MODELS FOR ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING

 Categorical Imperative
 Full Disclosure
 Doctrine of Mean
 Golden Rule
 Market Ethic
 Organization Ethic
 Equal Freedom
 Proportionality Ethic
 Profession Ethic

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TESTS OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR

 Morning-after Test

 Front-page Test

 Mirror Test

 Role reversal Test

 Commonsense Test

ETHICS AND THE MODERN WORLD

5 BOTTOMLINES OF THE FUTURE

 Economic Bottomline
 Human Bottomline
 Social Bottomline
 Environmental Bottomline
 Evolutionary Bottomline

Organizational structure touches on many issues related to ethics. Such as:

 Workers doing repetitive work

 Feeling of oppression in the exercise of authority
 The responsibilities heaped on the shoulders of the managers.
 Power tactics of employees to advance with their careers
 Health problems caused by unsafe working environment
 The absence of due process

4 FUNDAMENTAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

1. The principle of respect for autonomy

2. The principle of beneficence
3. The principle of nonmalevolence
4. The principle of justice

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ETHICAL DILEMMA

RIGHT WRONG

ETHICS AND CSR

BUSINESS

PROFIT

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FROM THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

1. THE ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL PERIOD

2. MERCANTILISM

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 3. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

4. AFTER THE DEPRESSION (1930’s TO PRESENT)

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORTS CSR

 Long-run self-interest
 Business resource
 Viability of business
 Public image
 Profit from social problems

ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE PRACTICE CSR

 Profit maximization
 Lack of social skills
 Lack of social accountability
 Higher product cost

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4 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITIES

Philanthropic
Responsibilities
(Good Corporate
Citizenship)

Ethical esponsibilities

Legal Responsibilities

Economic Responsibilities

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