1) Read Chapter 3 in the required textbook about the different ethical theories. Then accessthis article:Ethics investigation substantiates complaint against Olympia Fields trustee who served as chief of staff to state Sen. Michael Hastings
DAILY SOUTHTOWNJAN 19, 2020https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/ct-sta-hastings-senate-ethics-investigation-st-0119-20200118-ol3tdq7qcbdmhjildwkeldpuk4-story.html
QUESTION 1: What is an ethical theory that you can apply from Chapter 3 for this case? Why?
QUESTION 2: What ethical action would you have done if you had been in the shoes of Senator Michael Hastings that would have made the situation better by offering a solution for him and his office and for Cassandra Matz?
Slide 1 Chapter 3 Ethical Theories © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Utilitarianism • Teleological theories hold that the rightness of actions is determined by – The amount of good consequences they produce • Actions are justified on teleological theories by – Virtue of the end they achieve © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Utilitarianism • Deontological theories hold that – We have a duty to perform certain acts because • Of the nature of these actions of the rules from which they follow • Not because of the benefit to ourselves or others © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Principle of Utility • Classical utilitarianism states an action is right if and only if – It produces the greatest balance of pleasure over pain for everyone • The four theses of utilitarianism are: – Consequentialism, hedonism, maximalism, and universalism © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Act and Rule Utilitarianism • Act-Utilitarianism states an action is right if and only if it – Produces the greatest balance of pleasure over pain for everyone • Is a simpler theory and provides an easily understood decision procedure. © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Act and Rule Utilitarianism • Rule Utilitarianism states an action is right if and only if it – Conforms to a set of rules • Acceptance of which would produce the greatest balance of pleasure over pain for everyone • Gives firmer ground to the rules of morality. © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Problems With Calculating Utility • Some actions produce more pleasure for us than others. • It is easy to rank actions in order of the pleasure they give us. • It is impossible to accurately measure how much pleasure they give us. © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Universalizability Principle • Principle of Universalizability – If act is right/wrong for one person then • It is right/wrong for all other relevantly similar persons in similar circumstances • As a matter of logic, we must be consistent in the judgments we make. © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Virtue in Business • Virtue ethics could be applied to business directly by holding that – The virtues of a good businessperson are the same as those of a good person © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Natural Rights • Natural Rights – Belong to all persons purely by virtue of their being human • Are characterized by two main features: – Universality – Unconditionality © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Nature and Value of Justice • Aristotle distinguished three kinds of justice: 1. Distributive- the distribution of benefits and burdens 2. Compensatory-compensating persons for wrongs done to them 3. Retributive -punishment of wrongdoers © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Rawls’s Egalitarian Theory • Difference Principle – An unequal distribution is justified if • Everyone would be better off with the inequality than without it • Principle of Equal Opportunity – Careers should be open to all on the basis of talent and that’s all © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nozick’s Entitlement Theory • Nozick believes any acceptable principle of justice must be nonpatterned – Any pattern of distribution can be achieved and maintained only by • violating the right to liberty. • Upholding the right to liberty upsets any particular pattern of justice. © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nozick’s Three Principles • Nozick’s Three Principles – Principle of just transfer – Principle of just original acquisition – Principle of rectification, • This principle is necessary because holdings can be unjustly appropriated by force or fraud