Philosophy 2030 Class #2

1. Philosophy 2030 Class #2 Title: Introduction to Ethics Instructor: Paul Dickey E-mail Address: pdickey2@mccneb.edu • Assignment Due Today: • 1) Syllabus Quiz • 2) “Write your story down” • Assignment for Next Week • Nina Rosenstand, The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics, 7thEdition, 2013. • Chapter 8, pp. 391-400. 406-412 • Chapter 9, pp. 450-458 • Portfolio Project #1

2. · In your portfolio, you will include briefly written stories/narratives of “what happened,” judgments and choices you or others made and your reasons for the choice, appropriate you-tube videos, cartoons, and song-lyrics, or whatever relevant “artifacts” you wish. Student Portfolios: Portfolio Guidelines for Introduction to Ethics P2030 Students will create a folder (either electronically or hardcopy as you choose) and place periodic assignments into that folder . (Please note: Your own assessments do not influence your grade on the assignment, but must be completed as part of your portfolio experience and evaluation in this class.)

3. You did WHAT??? In 2-3 paragraphs each, describe two actions that you took in the last week that you consider was an ethical choice you made. Select one action in which you believe you “did the right thing.” Select a second action in which you may not have done the right thing. Try to describe what guiding moral principle you would use to evaluate why one act was good and the other perhaps bad. What were the consequences of your actions? Student Portfolios: Assignment #1

4. The Fundamental Principle of Critical Thinking is The Nature of an Argument • Making a claim is stating a belief or opinion -- the conclusion • An argument is presented when you give a reason or reasons that the claim is true. -- the premise(s) • Thus, an argument consists of two parts, and one part (the premise or premises) is/are the reason(s) for thinking that the conclusion is true.

5. How Do Premises Support Factual vs. Normative Conclusions? In regard to evaluating support for factual vs. normative Conclusions, I would suggest the following two tips to keep in mind 1) Only factual premises support factual conclusions. That is, if the conclusion is factual (or descriptive), ALL premises must be factual. 2) A normative premise is always needed to support a normative conclusion. That is, if the conclusion is normative (or prescriptive), there must be at least one normative premise. Of course, there may or may not be factual premises!

6. Now, can we get back on topic? • Discussion – • What is Ethics or Morality anyway? • Are Ethical questions factual or normative? • If normative, are all normative questions moral questions? What about “What is a good story?”

7. So, what makes some normative questions moral questions? • Is it because they are ask questions about what is appropriate human conduct • or what is moral? • Well, perhaps, …..

8. What is Morality? Dr. Paul Bloom, Yale

9. Ethics is typically discussed in three ways: • Meta-ethics: the study of where ethical notions came from and what they mean; “What do we mean by good? Virtue? What is “Doing the right thing?” • Normative ethics: the search for a principle (or principles) that guide or regulate human conduct— that tell us what is right or wrong. “What should we do to be good?" • Applied ethics: study of specific problems or issues by using the ideas in normative ethics and based on meta-ethics definitions. “Is abortion moral?"

10. Why study Ethics?Everyone is engaged in ethical thought at most times in their lives, knowingly or otherwise. It is mistaken to suppose that philosophers have a monopoly on deep ethical ideas while the rest of us bumble along, blissfully unaware of the importance of the questions we suggested above. A glance at the newspapers, television, internet, as well as novels, films, plays, together with conversations on every street corner or in public houses and cafés, shows that each day we are confronted with ethical problems and have to make ethical decisions.

11. Can Philosophy Help?We'll try to see how a philosophical treatment can aid us in this endeavor that cannot be avoided. How well do our ideas hold up to scrutiny? Are they based on sound assumptions, or could we think otherwise? Are we applying them correctly, or as best we could? Perhaps most importantly, are there alternatives we have not yet considered? The guidelines of critical thinking and logic are the rules of the road.

12. What about our emotions? Our feelings? Do they help us to have insight into morality? Or do they just get in the way?Traditionally, philosophical inquiry often suggests we check our feelings at the door, reminding us that our feelings do not help us to confirm that something is true. That can only be done by evidence, it is often said. Can it really be relevant to the question whether God exists, how I “feel” about it?

13. But a noted contemporary philosopher Martha Nussbaum has noted that morality in addition to being rational is an emotional human response that thus cannot be understood without recognizing that. Inspired by Prof. Nussbaum, our textbook author is suggesting that Ethics should be studied in the context of stories, that is narrative that can address the total human and emotional experience of life above and beyond perhaps the simple, cold element of reason.

14. Is Morality objective? Every day people make moral claims that purport to describe an objective moral reality. Here are some examples of moral claims you might have heard someone say. • It is always wrong to lie. • The war in Iraq was clearly wrong. • Of course, it is good to help hurricane victims. • It is wrong for priests to sexually abuse children. On the face of it, this person would seem to be making claims that purport to describe some kind of objective moral reality. Can such a position be defended? But if not, is there no morality?

15. Is Morality a scam? But are we really just trying to force other people to conform to the behavior that we accept and desire? Morality is the best of all devices for leading mankind by the nose. …Friedrich Nietzsche

16. Is Morality obvious and we just need to have the courage to do the right thing? It is often suggested that we all pretty much know what is right and wrong and the issue of ETHICS and MORALITY is finding the will and resolve to ACT or behave correctly when perhaps it is “easier” to do something else.

17. THE FIRST PRINCIPLE : Making Good Moral Judgments is Hard! We often will not agree on what is right. The subjectivist may have had a point after all. Yes, moral judgments are controversial. Contrary to what you may have thought, determining what is right will often be the primary and difficult issue. The subjectivist may have been right at least on the issue that we may NEVER agree.

18. In this class, how will we deal with disagreements? • Try to work through areas of moral agreement. Find common ground. • Be humble. Recognize that at some point all of us make logical mistakes in our arguments. • Be aware when your (or others) interests are at stake. • Understand why someone might disagree with your view. • Be sure to take into account ALL the relevant facts and arguments. No “snap judgments.”

19. The Father of Western Philosophy • Socrates, 460-399 B. C. • Socrates' deserves credit for rigorous, ethical investigation. His conversations with his fellow Athenians are the first records we have of an individual, by careful reasoning, trying to discover the guiding principles of moral choices. • Socrates engaged himself in questioning students in an unending search for truth. He sought to get to the foundations of his students' and colleagues' views by asking continual questions until a contradiction was exposed, thus proving the fallacy of the initial assumption. • This became known as the Socratic Method, and may be Socrates' most enduring contribution to philosophy. “Teaching by Asking Instead of by Telling”

20. Socrates was both a real philosopher and the major character in Plato’s (his student’s) dialogues. Thus, it is not clear to what degree Socrates was a precursor to Plato’s ideas or was a mouthpiece for Plato to put forward his own views. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arBTipKocfY • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaIyBIUytR8 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKQ-ifC47Bo • Plato’s dialogues demonstrate that Socrates was in the profound pursuit of how one should live. • In The Apology, Socrates defends his way of life. He proclaims that his mission came from a divine commandment to seek wisdom. Thus, he questioned everyone he professed knowledge to find wisdom, only to find that the wisest man is he who knows he does not know. • Even in the face of death, Socrates proclaims he can act no differently. It is better to obey the gods than man. The unexamined life is not worth living. His pursuit of philosophy is following the instruction of the gods.

21. Plato’s Dialogues & the Socratic Search for How to Live • In the Crito, Socrates is awaiting execution in his prison. Crito suggests that for the benefit of his friends and family, Socrates should escape. “It is the opinion of all of your friends, Socrates.” • Socrates replies that in order to act on reason alone, Socrates asks Crito what is right and wrong and we must not follow the “morality of the many” but follow what is truly right. • Socrates further argues that what is the right way to live consists in obeying the state in which we have contracted to live. Thus, we must obey the laws of the society in which we live, even when those laws and actions are unjust.

22. Sherman Alexie, Smoke Screens Discussion