Ethics for A-Level

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Contents

PREFACE			1
	1.	Exam Specification Details	1
	2.	Book Structure	1
	References		2

INTRODUCTION			3
	1.	Philosophy, Ethics and Thinking	3
	2.	Respecting Ethics	3
	3.	The A-Level Student	4
	4.	Doing Ethics Well: Legality versus Morality	5
	5.	Doing Ethics Well: Prudential Reasons versus Moral Reasons	5
	6.	Doing Ethics Well: Prescriptive versus Descriptive Claims	6
	7.	Doing Ethics Well: Thought-Experiments	6
	8.	Doing Ethics Well: Understanding Disagreement	7
	Summary		7
	Questions and Tasks		8
	References		8

PART I	NORMATIVE ETHICS

CHAPTER 1	UTILITARIANISM		11
	1.	Utilitarianism: An Introduction	11
	2.	Hedonism	11
	3.	Nozick’s Experience Machine	12
	4.	The Foundations of Bentham’s Utilitarianism	13
	5.	The Structure of Bentham’s Utilitarianism	14
	6.	Hedonic Calculus	15
	7.	Problems with Bentham’s Utilitarianism	16
	8.	Mill’s Utilitarian Proof	20
	9.	Mill’s Qualitative Utilitarianism	21
	10.	Mill’s Rule Utilitarianism versus Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism	22
	11.	Strong versus Weak Rule Utilitarianism	23
	12.	Comparing the Classical Utilitarians	24
	13.	Non-Hedonistic Contemporary Utilitarianism: Peter Singer and Preference Utilitarianism	24
	Summary		26
	Common Student Mistakes		26
	Issues to Consider		26
	Key Terminology		27
	References		28

CHAPTER 2	KANTIAN ETHICS		31
	1.	An Introduction to Kantian Ethics	31
	2.	Some Key Ideas	32
	3.	Acting for the Sake of Duty and Acting in Accordance with Duty	33
	4.	Categorical and Hypothetical Imperatives	34
	5.	The First Formulation of the Categorical Imperative	36
	6.	Perfect and Imperfect Duties	37
	7.	Second Formulation of the Categorical Imperative	38
	8.	The Third Formulation of the Categorical Imperative and Summary	38
	9.	Kant on Suicide	39
	10.	Problems and Responses: Conflicting Duties	42
	11.	Problems and Responses: The Role of Intuitions	43
	12.	Problem and Responses: Categorical Imperatives and Etiquette	43
	13.	Problems and Responses: The Domain of Morality	44
	Summary		45
	Common Student Mistakes		45
	Issues to Consider		45
	Key Terminology		46
	References		47

CHAPTER 3	ARISTOTELIAN VIRTUE ETHICS		49
	1.	Aristotelian Virtue Ethics Introduction	49
	2.	The Function Argument	49
	3.	Aristotelian Goodness	50
	4.	Eudaimonia and Virtue	51
	5.	Developing the Virtues	54
	6.	Practical Wisdom (Phronesis)	55
	7.	Voluntary Actions, Involuntary Actions and Moral Responsibility	56
	8.	Objection: Unclear Guidance	58
	9.	Objection: Clashing Virtues	59
	10.	Objection: Circularity	59
	11.	Objection: Contribution to Eudaimonia	59
	12.	Moral Good and Individual Good	61
	Summary		62
	Common Student Mistakes		62
	Issues to Consider		62
	Key Terminology		63
	References		63

CHAPTER 4	AQUINAS’S NATURAL LAW THEORY		65
	1.	Introduction to Aquinas	65
	2.	Motivating Natural Law Theory: The Euthyphro Dilemma and Divine Command Theory	65
	3.	Natural Law Theory	66
	4.	Summary of Aquinas’s Natural Law Theory	70
	5.	Putting this into Practice: The Doctrine of Double Effect (DDE)	70
	6.	Some Thoughts about Natural Law Theory	73
	Summary		75
	Common Student Mistakes		75
	Issues to Consider		75
	Key Terminology		76
	References		77

CHAPTER 5	FLETCHER’S SITUATION ETHICS		79
	1.	Situation Ethics Introduction	79
	2.	Fletcher’s Overall Framework	80
	3.	The Four Working Principles of Situationism	81
	4.	How to Work out What to Do: Conscience as a Verb not a Noun	83
	5.	The Six Propositions of Situation Ethics	83
	6.	Problems with Fletcher’s Situationism	86
	Summary		88
	Common Student Mistakes		88
	Issues to Consider		88
	Key Terminology		89
	References		89

PART II	METAETHICS

CHAPTER 6	METAETHICAL THEORIES		93
	1.	Metaethics: Introduction	93
	2.	The Value of Metaethics	94
	3.	Cognitivism versus Non-Cognitivism	95
	4.	Realism versus Anti-Realism	98
	5.	The Metaethical Map	99
	6.	Cognitivist and Realist Theory One: Naturalism	100
	7.	Objections to Naturalism	102
	8.	Cognitivist and Realist Theory Two: Non-Naturalism	104
	9.	Objections to Intuitionism	105
	10.	Cognitivist and Anti-Realist Theory One: Moral Error Theory	106
	11.	Objections to Moral Error Theory	110
	12.	Non-Cognitivism	111
	13.	Non-Cognitivist and Anti-Realist Theory One: Emotivism	112
	14.	Objections to Emotivism	113
	15.	Non-Cognitivist and Anti-Realist Theory Two: Prescriptivism	115
	16.	Objections to Prescriptivism	115
	Summary		116
	Common Student Mistakes		117
	Issues to Consider		117
	Key Terminology		118
	References		119

PART III	APPLIED ETHICS

CHAPTER 7	EUTHANASIA		123
	1.	Euthanasia Introduction	123
	2.	Key Terms	123
	3.	Case One: Persistent Vegetative State	125
	4.	Case Two: Incurable and Terminal Illness	125
	5.	Pro-Euthanasia: Argument One	126
	6.	Pro-Euthanasia: Argument Two	128
	7.	Pro-Euthanasia: Argument Three	130
	8.	Anti-Euthanasia: Argument One	132
	9.	Anti-Euthanasia: Argument Two	132
	10.	Anti-Euthanasia: Argument Three	133
	11.	Anti-Euthanasia: Argument Four	135
	12.	Allowing versus Doing	136
	Summary		138
	Common Student Mistakes		138
	Issues to Consider		139
	Key Terminology		139
	References		140

CHAPTER 8	BUSINESS ETHICS		143
	1.	Introduction to Business Ethics	143
	2.	Employers and Employees	145
	3.	Businesses and Customers	147
	4.	A Business and the Environment	149
	5.	Business and Globalization	151
	Summary		152
	Common Student Mistakes		153
	Issues to Consider		153
	Key Terminology		154
	References		154

CHAPTER 9	CONSCIENCE		157
	1.	Introduction	157
	2.	The History of Conscience	158
	3.	Aquinas on Conscience	160
	4.	Freud and the Conscience	161
	5.	Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory	163
	Summary		165
	Common Student Mistakes		165
	Issues to Consider		166
	Key Terminology		166
	References		167

CHAPTER 10	SEXUAL ETHICS		169
	1.	Philosophy of Sex Introduction	169
	2.	What Is It to “Have Sex”?	170
	3.	Natural Law and Sex	171
	4.	Kant and Sex	173
	5.	Sex and Utilitarianism	175
	6.	Sex and the Virtue Theory	176
	Summary		178
	Common Student Mistakes		178
	Issues to Consider		179
	Key Terminology		179
	References		180

CHAPTER 11	STEALING		183
	1.	Stealing: Introduction	183
	2.	Defining Stealing	183
	3.	Kantian Ethics on Stealing	184
	4.	Act and Preference Utilitarianism on Stealing	187
	5.	Rule Utilitarianism on Stealing	190
	6.	Virtue Ethics on Stealing	191
	7.	Metaethics and Stealing	193
	Summary		195
	Common Student Mistakes		195
	Issues to Consider		195
	Key Terminology		196
	References		196

CHAPTER 12	SIMULATED KILLING		199
	1.	Introduction	199
	2.	Utilitarianism and Simulated Killing	201
	3.	The Kantian and the Virtue Ethics Approach	203
	4.	Films and Plays	203
	5.	The Paradox of Tragedy (or More Correctly the Paradox of “Negative Emotions”)	204
	Summary		205
	Common Student Mistakes		206
	Issues to Consider		206
	Key Terminology		207
	References		207

CHAPTER 13	TELLING LIES		209
	1.	Introduction	209
	2.	What Is It to Lie?	209
	3.	Utilitarianism	211
	4.	The Kantian and Lying	213
	5.	Some Final Thoughts about the Political Context	214
	Summary		214
	Common Student Mistakes		215
	Issues to Consider		215
	Key Terminology		216
	References		216

CHAPTER 14	EATING ANIMALS		219
	1.	Eating Animals Introduction	219
	2.	Justifying Meat Eating	219
	3.	Act Utilitarianism	221
	4.	Challenges to Bentham	223
	5.	Utilitarian Reasons for Eating Animals	224
	6.	Kantian Ethics and Eating Animals	226
	7.	Virtue Ethics and Eating Animals	227
	8.	Cora Diamond	229
	Summary		232
	Common Student Mistakes		232
	Issues to Consider		233
	Key Terminology		233
	References		234

GLOSSARY			235