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The
The
The
The
religious answer
Socratic Answer
Existentialist Answer
Rationalist Split-Level answer
Monotheistic/Abrahamic
Judeo-Christian-Muslim
The good is good for you
Judgement day
Hindu/Buddhism
What goes around comes around
Laws of Karma
Issues with religion
Very difficult to prove any religion is real.
No religion seems to have sufficient evidence to win over a large
number of rational people.
Socrates
The good is good for you. Psychological damage for those who win by
being immoral, not for those who deal with suffering or failure to be
moral.
Problem with this?
This seems to presuppose that we care about morality in the first
place.
Some people really dont care.
Others go after moral behavior because the effect it has on them.
Look at pg. 21
Victim Blaming people rationalize doing something immoral by
shifting moral obligation.
I did what I did because you made me do it.
The girl was raped due to what she was wearing.
Socratic Reply
Sooner or later the self deceived immoralist will be found out. If he is
not, he will eventually succumb to his disease due to his immoral way.
Existentialism Background
2. Morality and self interest are closely, but not necessarily, allied
3. Moral life will most likely result in best life ( look at this slide later)
Psychological Egotism (find this definition)
First order reflection: what should I do in this situation
Second-order reflection: how should I live in my life
Just because something is self- interested doesnt mean that the
individual is the only one who benefits.
Split Level answer
We are social, we need each other
Just looked at four responses to the question is the good, good for
you?
Row Boat pg. 23
Pojman
Defends the fourth response
Long term overall self-interest is the logical starting point for ethics,
but not the ending point. Being altruistic and just, even when it may
not immediately profit you, is in your overall self interest because such
behavior, if generally negaged in by others, will likely reverberate
through the whole of society and will produce the most overall welfare.
So it is in all of our intersts to build a society that is deeply moral. Pg
24
Who is Ayn Rand?
Philsopher/Writer
Moved to the U.S. from communist Russia. Didnt like communism,
maybe due to her family being well of up until the communist
revolution. She decided that the government overseeing economics
was bad.
Objectivist ethics, the actor must benefit from the action.
Selfishness is a virtue
Altruism is a vice (look up this definition)
To accept altruism, the first concern is not how to live life, but how to
sacrifice it.
Altruism erodes mens capacity to grasp the value of an individual life.
(Check this slide)
Paradox of egoism
In order to reach the goal of egoism one must give up egoism and
become (to some extent) an altruist, the very antithesis of egoism.
Why act morally always
Escaping the paradox
If it is reasonable to do act A, then we should do it ( check this slide)
Character
Check these slides
Quasi Moralist
Not completely immoral, but confine theirmoral lives to their family
and friends. Not really worthwhile
Evolution and Altruism
Check this out
Birds 3 types of birds suckers, cheaters and grudgers
Check concluding slide as well