Roots of ethical decision making

1. Roots of ethical decision making Fred Wenstøp Fred Wenstøp

2. Teleological ethics Teleos = goal Consequential ethics David Hume (1711-76) Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) John Stuart Mill (1806-73) Utility theory Von Neumann, Morgenstern ‘40 Keeney, Raiffa 1976 Management by objectives Deontological ethics To deon = duty Should you help somebody in distress on the Sabbath if that means work? Matth.12,12 Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) Rule based management Max Weber (1864-1920) Normative theories of decision making Fred Wenstøp

3. David Hume (1711-76) • Reason cannot be the basis of morality • Reason can show us the best way to achieve our ends, but it cannot determine our ultimate desires • “‘Tis not contrary to reason to choose my total ruin, to prevent the least uneasiness of an Indian” • Beliefs are formed through cause-effect analysis • Hume’s law • There is a gulf between facts and values, between “is” and “ought” • Inherited Sympathy is one basis for morality Fred Wenstøp

4. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) • Duty based ethics • Rational action cannot be based on a single individual’s personal desires, but must be in accordance with something he can will to be a universal law • Actions posses moral worth only when we do our duty for its own sake, not because of its consequences • Kant’s categorical imperative • “So act that you treat humanity in your own person and in the person of everyone else always at the same time as an end and not merely as means” Fred Wenstøp

5. Utilitarianism: Bentham and Mill • Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) • Choose actions to maximise the sum of happiness over all people • Several dimensions of happiness: • Maximise: Intensity, durance, probability • Minimise: Time delay • The dimensions of happiness must be weighted • John Stuart Mill (1806-73) • The most influential utilitarian Fred Wenstøp

6. Von Neumann and Morgenstern • John von Neumann and Oscar Morgenstern • Formalisation of the theory of utility • Rationality defined as consistency through axioms • The principle of rationality as utility maximisation • One dimensional theory of utility Fred Wenstøp

7. Max Weber • Rule base Management • Logic of appropriateness • Obligation • Identity • Duty • Rules • People do what they believe they are supposed to do • Followers of standard rules • Organizational learning through rule building Fred Wenstøp

8. Keeney and Raiffa • Dichotomy between facts and values • Good decision analysis requires the separation between objective facts and subjective values • Multi-objective decision making • Formalisation of weighting • Value focused thinking Fred Wenstøp

9. Damasio: Origins of values Neocortex Prefrontal lobes Amygdala Stimulus Feelings Emotional response from the body Secondary emotions trigger Primary emotions trigger Fred Wenstøp