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Chapter Two
Decision Making in Value Issues
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
“Am I Sure It Is My Job to Handle This?”
• Review the case – does the new person have an obligation?
• Decision making formats require you to ask yourself:– What are the facts?– What values are at stake?– What options are available to me?
• Evaluate options and select the best one
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Examining Value Issues
• Consequence-oriented:– The right answer would maximize some good– Utilitarianism
• Duty-oriented:– Consequences are essentially irrelevant;
rightness or wrongness are inherent in the act itself
– Kantian ethics
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Examining Value Issues (continued)
• Virtue ethics– Emphasis is not consequences nor
reasoning to a universal truth, but rather the character of the actor or the duty associated with the role
– Aretaic ethics
• Divine command ethics – Right answer in a finite set of rules set
forth by a divine or exemplary being
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Consequence-Oriented Theories
• Utilitarianism– Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill– No appeal to an absolute authority or
principle; the only test of rival solutions lies in the consequences
– The good resides in the promotion of happiness, or the greatest net increase of pleasure over pain
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Utilitarianism
• Act utilitarianism:– “Pig philosophy” problem
• Equal consideration of interest
– “Hedonic calculus” problem
• Rule utilitarianism:– Right action conforms to a rule that has
been validated by the principle of utility
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Consequence-Oriented Reasoning
1. Describe the problem
2. List solutions
3. Compare solutions with UTILITY
• Work the problem of Mr. Jimenez: case study: Act Utilitarianism
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Criticisms of Utilitarianism
• Impossible to calculate all possible consequences
• Used to sanction unfairness
• Lack of sensitivity to special duties
• Lack of respect for persons
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Criticisms of Utilitarianism (continued)
• May allow unacceptable intervention in private lives of individuals
• If followed, may recommend solutions that conflict with personal belief
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Kantian Ethics
• Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)– Humans are rational beings– Morality is derived from rationality; our
obligations are grounded not in our nature or in circumstances but in pure reason
– Reason provides the guide to universal principles that can be applied to all people, at all times, in all situations
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Kantian Ethics (continued)
• Categorical imperatives:– Universal application– Unconditionality– Demanding an action
• An action is either right or wrong; it cannot be both
• Example maxim for health care providers: “We must always treat others as ends and not as means only”
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Duty-Oriented Reasoning
Describe problem List Solutions Compare Solutions with Principles
Possible findings
One Compliant Alternative
Several CompliantAlternatives
Compliant/ConflictingPrinciples
Correct AnswerSelect Among Choices
Rank Principles
Select Choice Work case study: Duty-Oriented Reasoning
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Criticisms of Duty-Oriented Reasoning
• Exceptionless nature – too rigid for real life
• Morality not derived from reason alone
• Disregard of consequences
• Question of concern for nonhumans
• Multiple solutions of equal merit possible
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Virtue Ethics
• Aretaic ethics: – Taken from Greek arete, which means
excellence or virtue
• Big question:– “Is it the action or the character of the
agent acting that is the heart of the matter?”
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Virtue Ethics (continued)
• Virtue ethics: – Emphasis placed on heart of the moral
agent, not the particular action
• If an individual lives a life of good moral character and develops ethical habits – ethical response to a problem expected
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Virtue Ethics (continued)
• The question is not “what shall I do?” in a particular situation, but rather, “how shall I live?”
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Virtue Ethics (continued)
• Modern formulation of virtue ethics:– Each profession has set of virtues that
practitioners can adopt in practice – When personal habits, they come
forward when questions arise
• The question: “What would a good (fill in specialty) do in this situation?”
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Reasoning with Virtue Ethics
1. Describe problem
2. List solutions
3. Compare solutions with professional traditions
4. Correct answer
• Review case study: Virtue Ethics: Saints and Sinners
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Criticisms of Virtue Ethics
• Does not provide specific direction for problems
• New problems may require new solutions not covered by traditional practice
• Relying on tradition may not allow respect for individual choice or use of reason
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Criticisms of Virtue Ethics (continued)
• Humans may attempt to respond to several different role demands at same time
• Results may not maximize happiness
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Divine Command Ethics
• Big Idea:– Divine or exemplary being has set down
a finite set of rules by which one can gain guidance when making ethical decisions
• Specific reference to divine scripture such as the Ten Commandments
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Divine Command Ethics (continued)
• General evaluation of actions based on a model of perfection
• WWJD – if you are Christian, what would Jesus do?
• In a similar fashion Muslims and Buddhists turn to the life and example of Muhammad and Siddhartha Gautama
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Reasoning by Divine Command
1. Describe problem
2. List solutions
3. Find appropriate scriptural reference
4. Follow scriptural admonition
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Criticisms of Divine Command Ethics
• Belief in divine or exemplary beings can be questioned by non-believers
• Scriptures do not cover all possible cases that require moral decisions
• Seeming exceptionless nature
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Criticisms of Divine Command Ethics (continued)
• Euthyphro problem
• Recently several beheadings were justified in the name of God; they believed God told them to do this
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Key Concepts
• Several theoretical positions for solving ethical dilemmas:– Consequence– Duty– Virtue– Divine command
• Review the illustrations for each position in the chapter and solve a problem using the system
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Key Concepts (continued)
• Act utilitarianism: – Purest form of utilitarian reasoning,
each act evaluated for pleasure attained, pain avoided
• Rule utilitarianism:– Develops rules for action based on
previous validation by principle of utility
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Key Concepts (continued)
• Equal consideration of interest important concept to keep utilitarianism from becoming a purely self-serving form of reasoning
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Key Concepts (continued)
• Kant proposed duty-oriented system: morality based on rationality, not experience
• Consequences essentially irrelevant
• Universal truths create obligations for actions, binding for all people, for all times, in all situations
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Key Concepts (continued)
• The primary focus for virtue ethics is the heart of the moral agent
• Virtues can be formed as habits, which in times of question become our choice of action
• Even in virtue, the ancient Greeks counseled moderation and the golden mean
Copyright ©2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Key Concepts (continued)
• Divine command ethics – Source of divine guidance or exemplary
being:• Ten Commandments (Christians and Jews)• Eight-Fold Path (Buddhists)
– Problem of nonbelievers – Euthyphro problem