Chapter 1 Ethics and the Examined Life Copyright © 2019 W. W. Norton & Company Ethics • Also called “moral philosophy” • The philosophical study of morality What Does “Doing Ethics” Mean? • Deliberating about the rightness or wrongness of actions • Judging the goodness of your character or intentions • Examining the soundness of your moral outlook when it conflicts with that of others • Examining your own and other people's moral outlook • Questioning whether your moral decision making rests on coherent supporting considerations Morality • Beliefs concerning right and wrong • These beliefs can include: o Judgments o Values o Rules o Principles o Theories • Morality helps o Guide our actions o Define our values o Give us reasons for being the persons we are The Questions of Ethics – 1 • What is the greatest good? • What goals should I pursue in life? • What virtues should I cultivate? The Questions of Ethics – 2 • What duties should I fulfill? • What value should I put on human life? • How important is it to pursue the common good, do justice, and respect rights? The Risks of Not Doing Ethics Risks: • Loss of personal freedom • Incomplete, confused, or mistaken responses • Stunted intellectual and moral growth • Although perhaps embodying an uncritically embraced morality, one will be incapable of defending one's beliefs by rational argument against criticisms Of course, “[e]thics does not give us a royal road to moral truth. Instead, it shows us how to ask critical questions about morality and systematically seek answers supported by good reasons." Divisions of Ethics – 1 Descriptive ethics: the scientific study of moral beliefs and practices • Its aim is to describe and explain how people actually behave and think when dealing with moral issues and concepts. Philosophical divisions of ethics: Philosophers distinguish three major divisions in ethics, each one representing a different way to approach the subject. 1. Normative ethics 2. Metaethics 3. Applied ethics Divisions of Ethics – 2 1. Normative ethics • The study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide actions • Purpose: to try to establish the soundness of moral norms • Questions include “Is happiness the greatest good in life?” and “Should the rightness of actions be judged by their consequences?” Divisions of Ethics – 3 2. Metaethics • Study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs • Purpose: to question assumptions that inform normative ethics • Questions such as “On what grounds can a moral principle be justified?” and “Is there such a thing as moral truth?” Divisions of Ethics – 4 3. Applied ethics • Application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases • Purpose: In applied ethics we study the results derived from applying a moral principle or theory to specific circumstances. The purpose of the exercise is to learn something important about either the moral charact ...

1. Chapter 1
Ethics and the Examined Life
Copyright © 2019 W. W. Norton & Company
Ethics
• Also called “moral philosophy”
• The philosophical study of morality
What Does “Doing Ethics” Mean?
• Deliberating about the rightness or wrongness of actions
• Judging the goodness of your character or intentions
• Examining the soundness of your moral outlook when it
conflicts with that of others
• Examining your own and other people's moral outlook
• Questioning whether your moral decision making rests on
coherent supporting considerations
Morality
• Beliefs concerning right and wrong

2. • These beliefs can include:
o Judgments
o Values
o Rules
o Principles
o Theories
• Morality helps
o Guide our actions
o Define our values
o Give us reasons for being the persons we are
The Questions of Ethics – 1
• What is the greatest good?
• What goals should I pursue in life?
• What virtues should I cultivate?
The Questions of Ethics – 2
• What duties should I fulfill?
• What value should I put on human life?
• How important is it to pursue the common good, do justice,
and respect rights?
The Risks of Not Doing Ethics
Risks:
• Loss of personal freedom

3. • Incomplete, confused, or mistaken responses
• Stunted intellectual and moral growth
• Although perhaps embodying an uncritically embraced
morality, one will be incapable of defending one's beliefs by
rational argument against criticisms
Of course, “[e]thics does not give us a royal road to moral truth.
Instead, it shows us how to ask critical questions about morality
and systematically seek answers supported by good reasons."
Divisions of Ethics – 1
Descriptive ethics: the scientific study of moral beliefs and
practices
• Its aim is to describe and explain how people actually behave
and think when dealing with moral issues and concepts.
Philosophical divisions of ethics: Philosophers distinguish
three major divisions in ethics, each one representing a different
way to approach the subject.
1. Normative ethics
2. Metaethics
3. Applied ethics
Divisions of Ethics – 2
1. Normative ethics
• The study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide
actions

4. • Purpose: to try to establish the soundness of moral norms
• Questions include “Is happiness the greatest good in life?”
and “Should the rightness of actions be judged by their
consequences?”
Divisions of Ethics – 3
2. Metaethics
• Study of the meaning and logical structure of moral
beliefs
• Purpose: to question assumptions that inform normative
ethics
• Questions such as “On what grounds can a moral
principle be justified?” and “Is there such a thing as
moral truth?”
Divisions of Ethics – 4
3. Applied ethics
• Application of moral norms to specific moral issues or
cases
• Purpose: In applied ethics we study the results derived
from applying a moral principle or theory to specific
circumstances. The purpose of the exercise is to learn
something important about either the moral
characteristics of the situation or the adequacy of the

5. moral norms.
• Considers questions such as “Is physician-assisted
suicide morally permissible?” and “Is the consumption of
animal flesh morally wrong?”
Values and Obligation
Obligation: what is a duty, or what one should or ought to do
Kinds of value
• Moral value: reference to a person as good in the moral
sense
• Nonmoral value: other uses of "good" that hold no moral
sense (e.g., a good work of art)
• Extrinsically valuable: instrumentally valuable, or valuable
as a means to something else
• Intrinsically valuable: valuable in themselves because of
what they are, without being a means to something else
The Elements of Ethics – 1
• The preeminence of reason: Ethics involves, even requires,
critical reasoning.
• The universal perspective: Logic requires that moral
judgments follow the principle of universalizability—the idea
that a moral statement that applies in one situation must

6. apply in all other situations that are relevantly similar.
The Elements of Ethics – 2
• The principle of impartiality: The welfare and interests of
each
individual should be given the same weight as those of all
others.
• The dominance of moral norms: When moral norms conflict
with nonmoral norms, moral considerations usually win.
Religion and Morality – 1
Believers need moral reasoning.
Many religious commandments and edicts on ethical issues are
at best ambiguous, and at times contradictory. Only by doing
ethics—thinking critically about the situation—can religious
believers interpret religious directives and try to apply general
rules to specific cases.
Religion and Morality – 2
Some typical examples of moral conflicts:
• Adherents of one religion may disagree with adherents of
another.
• Believers within a religious tradition may disagree with one
another.

7. • Believers sometimes disagree with their religious leaders on
moral issues.
• Sincere devotees in a religious tradition may wonder if its
moral teachings make sense.
Religion and Morality – 3
• Intelligent resolution of conflicts among moral claims can be
achieved only by applying a neutral standard.
• Moral philosophy—the practice of doing ethics—provides
that neutral standard in the form of critical thinking, well -
made arguments, and careful analysis.
Religion and Morality – 4
Ethics enables productive discourse.
Only with a common set of ethical concepts and agreed-upon
procedures for deciding issues and making judgments can
people from different religious traditions (or people from no
religious tradition) talk fruitfully about moral issues.
The Rules of Fruitful and Moral Discourse
1. Moral positions should be explained.
2. Claims should be supported by reasons.
3. Reasoning should be judged by common rational standards.

8. Divine Command Theory – 1
• Right actions are those willed by God.
• Both religious and nonreligious thinkers accept it.
• Religious and nonreligious critics reject it.
o The Euthyphro dilemma: Is an action morally right because
God wills it to be so, or does God will it to be so because i t is
morally right?
Divine Command Theory – 2
Criticism of the theory:
1. If actions are right only because God wills them, then many
evil actions would be right if God willed them (God’s
commands would be without reason, or arbitrary).
2. But, many philosophers claim, God’s commands cannot be
arbitrary.
3. Therefore, actions are not right only because God wills them
(divine command theory is false).
Credits
This concludes the PowerPoint slide set for Chapter 1
Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning and Contemporary Issues
Fifth Edition (2019) by Lewis Vaughn.

9. Copyright © 2019 W. W. Norton & Company
Chapter 1 EthicsWhat Does “Doing Ethics”
Mean?MoralityThe Questions of Ethics – 1 The Questions of
Ethics – 2 The Risks of Not Doing Ethics Divisions of
Ethics – 1 Divisions of Ethics – 2 Divisions of Ethics – 3
Divisions of Ethics – 4 Values and ObligationThe Elements of
Ethics – 1 The Elements of Ethics – 2 Religion and Morality – 1
Religion and Morality – 2 Religion and Morality – 3 Religion
and Morality – 4 The Rules of Fruitful and Moral
DiscourseDivine Command Theory – 1 Divine Command Theory
– 2 Credits
Historical Concepts and Theories of Leadership
LDRS 302
“everything rises and falls on leadership.”
“Everything rises and falls with leadership.”
Learning Activity:
Take some time right now to think about some leaders you know
and write down in point form some of the demands that you
think they carry.
What are some expectations that people (or you) place on them?
Leadership Is All About Trust

10. “What do you think is required of a leader?”
The ability to recruit people to an idea or a project.
The ability to plan ahead.
The ability to manage conflict.
The ability to hire and fire well.
The ability to gel people into a high-performing team.
The ability to see beyond the day’s crisis.
The ability to think and plan broadly – to understand all the
implications of a decision.
Strong political skills to cope with conflicting ideas and desires
of the people they lead.
To help others do better work.
“What do you think is required of a leader?”
What was noticeably missing was:
A leader must be ethical.
Administrative challenges:
planning ahead

11. defining the organization’s objectives or goals,
establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals,
planning to integrate and coordinate activities,
what must be done and how it is to be done.
Administrative challenges:
Administering people has become much more complex in the
past century.
ethically,
responsibly,
humanely.
Legal processes must be followed,
practices must be refined.
Early Influencers – Ancient Jewish
Moses; called to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt into the
promised land. Became a great leader and administrator.
Joseph:demonstrates great planning by establishing a 14 year
national plan.
Nehemiah; classic story of planning and putting the plan to
work.
David; military leadership and kingship.
Solomon; gifted leader, administrator and king.
ANCIENT EGYPT
Great Pyramid of Cheops
(AKA The Great Pyramid of Giza)
13 Acres
2.3 million stone blocks, each weighing approximately 2.5 tons

12. and consists of limestone and granite
over 100,000 men
Approximately 20 years
Egypt: Ramesses II (1303 BC – 1213 BC)
Known as the greatest pharaoh of ancient Egypt, said to have
started the New Kingdom in which Egypt conquered
surrounding kingdoms and expanded their power
Built many cities including the new capital city of Pi-Ramesses
Built many temples and monuments
Known throughout modern culture from poems such as
Ozymandias (Shelley) and portrayals of the ancient Jews under
the Egyptian slavery.
BABYLONIA
Iraq
59 miles S/W of Bagdad
Code of Hammurabi (1790 BC)
Minimum wage
Control
Responsibility
The most significant contribution to manage ment thought from
Babylon is probably the Code of Hammurabi
BABYLONIA
Iraq
59 miles S/W of Bagdad
Code of Hammurabi (1790 BC)

13. Minimum wage
Control
Responsibility
The most significant contribution to management thought from
Babylon is probably the Code of Hammurabi
Nebuchadnezzar (605-562BC)
Part of the offshoot of the Assyrian empire that became Babylon
Conquered much of the middle east including the lands of
modern day Iraq, ancient Israel, ancient Eygpt
Focused on educating conquered people through assimilation
CHINA
Sun Tzu (544-496BC):
Military general/strategist/philosopher.
Authored “The Art of War”(philosophy of war).
Focused on alternatives to war such as strategies, spying,
making alliances etc…
GREECE
“how do we live the good life? How do we nurture our souls?”
Socretes
470 BC - 399 BC

14. GREECE
Student of Socrates
He believed that the best way to organize society was to divide
its members up into three main groups:
Farmers, artisans and traders who supply the economic needs of
the community
Military Guardians
Philosopher Guardians
Plato
425 BC - 348 BC
GREECE
Aristotle was a contemporary of Plato, although younger. He
argued that rather than the academy, the foundation for a good
community was the household. He had a hierarchy of positions
in the household:
Husband and wife
Parents and children
Master and slave
Aristotle
384 BC - 322 BC
Monarchy or Tyranny (the rule of one)
Aristocracy or Oligarchy (the rule of the few)
Polity or Democracy (the rule of the many)
Rome
Had a distinguished career in the Roman Empire He first
distinguished himself in the military and then later as a
statesman.
repaired the aqueducts,

15. cleansed the sewers,
prevented private persons drawing off public water for their
own use,
ordered the demolition of houses which encroached on the
public way,
built the first basilica in the Forum near the *Curia.
Cato the Elder
234 BC - 139 BC
*The Roman Curia comprises the administrative institutions of
the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of
the Catholic Church are conducted
Political Structures
Ecclesia* was the official term for the lawful democratic
assembly of the Greek self-governing city-state.
Traditionally comprised two bodies.
The smaller of the two was called “the council,”
the larger, including all the adult male citizens of the city was
described simply as “the people.”
*The term Ecclesia (sometimes Ekklesia) is commonly used in
the New Testament for Church
Rome: Julius Caesar (100-55BC)
Roman General with a history of military successes.
Entered Rome as a conquering leader
Took power from the senate and made himself emperor of Rome
to be worshipped and obeyed
Murdered in the senate my Brutus and several other senators
because of his overreach for power and authority
Rome: Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43BC)

16. Cicero was a lawyer, historian, philosopher and statesman
Tried to bring Rome back to an era of republic and away from
the dictatorship of Caesar
Wrote 90% of the remaining Latin texts that we have
His letters are credited with having inspired the renaissance of
the early 1400’s
Roman Colony
The Roman colonies and municipia adopted a hierarchy of
senior positions in civic leadership. Progression up this ladder
was highly valued.
offices were social distinctions
not a job-related hierarchy
“social hierarchy”
freeborn,
between the ages of 25 and 55,
a resident of the community,
have moral integrity,
be significantly wealthy
Roman Colony - Religious Leaders
A priest was an especially honorable role in the Roman system,
and such appointments were conferred on individuals in
response to their loyalty.
ranked in a hierarchy of importance
senior priests - responsible for a whole province.
priests were often locked in intense rivalries
Roman Colony - Religious Leaders
The lesson here is that significant wealth was a necessary

17. prerequisite for civic leadership.
leadership had a strong component of self-interest, where
honour and reputation were highly desired.
Such leaders enjoyed a high profile in their local communities.
The rise and fall of the Roman Empire
The rise and fall of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire covered the area occupied by the following
modern-day countries: England, Wales, France, Spain, Portugal,
Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Rumania,
Turkey, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, Israel, Lebanon, Tunisia
and parts of Germany, the Soviet Union, Morocco, Algeria,
Syria and Egypt.
Reflection/Discussion Question
In the Roman Colony, leaders, or members of the court, were to
be:
Local elites
Be freeborn
Between the ages of 22 – 55
Community resident
Moral integrity
From the members, two were chosen as unpaid chief magistrates
(Judges). They would have to “buy into” that position, but the
recognition was worth the financial output.
Does money alone influence others? Please explain how you
feel about this.

18. Leadership in the New Testament Era Jewish Communities
In Acts, we learn of Paul travelling around looking to preach in
Jewish Synagogues.
Usually got tossed out
Some believed his message and followed him
These Jews formed part of what was known as early
Christianity.
Leadership in the Jewish Synagague
The ancient Jewish synagogue was more than merely a religious
institution. It also served a number of important, and
educational functions., educational, court sessions and social
activities. It was concerned with the whole spectrum of
community needs and served much like a community centre.
Religious
Social,
Civic
Educational
Court Sessions
Archisynagogos - Greek title used by Jewish synagogue leaders
in most of the Roman Empire.
Leadership in New Testament Era Christian Communities
Corinth was a first-century Roman colony
Paul's letter to the church in Corinth:

19. “not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were
powerful, not many were of noble birth.”
I Corinthians 1:26
The Vatican
Known as the Vatican City. It is surrounded by Rome.
Most Popes live there but the current one has decided to live in
a much smaller cottage off-sight.
Pope will gather on his balcony and speak to the parishiners
below.
Today, they put out chairs for the service.
Still have walls around the Vatican.
The Vatican is its own city/country.
St Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)
Catholic monk, priest, theologian, and philosopher
Known for his Confessions, On Church Doctrine, and City of
God
Grace was essential to faith, belief in free will while also
developed the idea of original sin or the sinful nature of
mankind
St Benedict (480-543AD)
Developed the Benedictine Monastic order
Rule of Saint Benedict

20. Pope Benedict XVI (2009) said: "with his life and work St
Benedict exercised a fundamental influence on the development
of European civilization and culture“
Early Influencers – Middle Ages – 19th Century
Marco Polo
1254 AD – 1324 AD
The Renaissance
The Renaissance was a time of discovery, reaching out, and
exploration.
Born in Venice
Explorer
Traveled and left detailed notes of his explorations to China
Early Influencers – Middle Ages – 19th Century
Middle Ages are often referred to as Medieval Period or the
Dark Ages
While sometimes considered a period of little
technological/cultural advancement, there is ample evidence of
artistic, scientific, philosophical, and religious development and
growth
Referred to as the Dark Ages as a period of “unenlightenment”
under authoritarian despots, warlords, barons and kings.
Most of the lower classes were vassals of the king. They were
not slaves, but were often treated similarly
Lasted from the fall of Rome until the Renaissance and
Reformation of the late 1400’s

21. Middle Ages: Charlemange (748-814 AD)
United the Frankish kingdoms under one rule
Hoped to create a new enlightenment and restore the glory of
the Roman Empire (Often called the Carolingian Renaissance)
Worked with the Pope in Rome and was crowned emperor of the
New Holy Roman Empire
Developed code of laws,
Missi Dominici – Lords Messangers to spread the law and
ensure fair treatment of all people
Middle Ages – William The Conqueror (1028-1087)
French King conquers much of England
Provides universal protection against viking invaders
Brings French language, culture, cuisine, art, and law to
England
Seen as one of the founders of Feudalism, imposing a feudal
contract where he gave land to his loyal subjects in exchange
for their Fealty
Early Influencers
He lauded the behaviour of past rulers, especially Cesare
Borgia, who was infamous for his poisonings, betrayals, and
cruelty.
Authored the book “The Prince” Farmers, artisans and traders
who supply the economic needs of the community

22. learn how not to be good,
use this knowledge or not to use it according to necessity
Ruthless
Nicolo Machiavelli
1429 AD – 1527 AD
Queen Elisabeth I (1533-1603)
Created stability in England after her father’s chaotic reign
Strong female leadership in a position that had always been
male dominated
Created moderate laws that provided religious tolerance for
Catholics and protestants alike
Shattered the Spanish Armada and permitted exploration and
conquest of new lands in the Americas
Francis Bacon 1561 –1626AD
Philosopher, Lawyer, Lord Chancellor of England
The father of empiricism or the scientific method through the
use of inductive reasoning and observation he created a
framework for modern science
Legal advisor to Queen Elisabeth I
Thomas Hobbes (1588 –1679AD)
Father of modern political philosophy
Leviathan – Logical reasoning in all writings where a premise
was followed by evidential reasoning even in social sciences
Justification of government is the need for strong morality to
prevent chaos and the destructive nature of man.
The passions that incline men to peace are: fear of death; desire

23. of such things as are necessary to commodious living; and a
hope by their industry to obtain them. And reason suggesteth
convenient articles of peace upon which men may be drawn to
agreement
John Locke (1632 –1704AD)
Enlightenment philosopher dedicated to the idea of empiricism
in research
Political theory of Social Contract where government is given
authority by the people
First Liberalists-Natural Rights, Equality under the law,
freedom from oppression
Two Treaties of Government – The justification of the rights of
mankind and the rejection of patriarchal authoritarianism
Immanuel Kant (1724 –1804AD)
Father of post-modern philosophy
Reality and experience is unique to the individual
Tried to understand the idea of universal morality when all
experience life differently
Every object has perspective, even the tree that falls in the
forest
Universal democracy will bring peace and understanding
Fredrich Nietzsche (1844 –1900AD)
German philosopher
Nihilism – life is meaningless so enjoy it
Relativism – Truth is relative to one’s perspective
Famous for saying God is Dead, in reference to the loss of a
universal morality that society previously held under the

24. church. With the loss of the authority of the church and a
consistant understanding of morality/truth, it became relative to
each person’s perspective and thus inconsistant
Early Influencers - Scotland
The “real price of everything… is the toil and trouble of
acquiring it”, thereby explaining that other costs besides wages
affect the price of a commodity
father of modern economics
pin factory
The division of labour
Adam Smith
1723 AD – 1790 AD
Early Influencers - Germany
Marx lived during the peak of the Industrial Revolution (1750-
1890), specifically during what’s been called the Second
Industrial Revolution
Class division between:
Proletarians – those who must sell their labour, (have nots)
Bourgeois – those who buy the labour. (haves)
wrote Communist Manifesto - The goal was to have an
economic system that does not allow for the roles required in
the capitalistic division of labour as described by Adam Smith.
Predicted that the labourers would overthrow the greedy
capitalists
Karl Marx

25. 1818 AD – 1883 AD
Next week in LDRS 302
Groups?
Classical Management Theory (Part 1)
Fayol’s Administrative Theory
Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy
Week 2 Forum (DUE Before next class)
This week please respond to 2 people’s forum posts from last
week.
I will do a quick review of what a substantial post is.
Make sure you are adding to the discussion not just
summarizing