Ethics integrity and_the_military_profession_lesson-2-3_the_three_moral_philosophies_v.brésil-2016-03.8

THE THREE CLASSIC MORAL PHILOSOPHIES
RIO, BRAZILIAN NAVAL ACADEMY
MARC IMBEAULT
DEAN OF RESEARCH
ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE SAINT-JEAN
CANADIAN DEFENCE ACADEMY
ETHICS AND THE MILITARY PROFESSION
© All rights reserved – Marc Imbeault

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Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean
Royal Military College Saint-Jean
http://www.cmrsj-rmcsj.forces.gc.ca/

Summary
4
• Introduction: Moral Dilemmas and Overview of
the three moral philosophies
1. Teleological System
2. Deontological System
3. Virtue Ethics
• Conclusion: Three Complimentary Approaches

Introduction
1. MORAL DILEMMAS

Dilemma : A situation in which it is very
difficult to decide what to do, because all
the choices seem equally good or equally
bad; a moral dilemma.
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Longman Dictionary

Two propositions
Contrary
Contradictory
Obligation to choose
+ time factor

Moral Dilemma
« What must I do? »
We must attempt to find the best solution
(or the least bad one).

Conflict between values
Valid moral values and principles may enter
into conflict.
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Judged independently, they are acceptable

2016-11-26 The Three Moral Philosophies 11
Moral Dilemmas are at the source
of erroneous moral judgements.
Decisions taken
quickly
Situations
of stress

Dilemma + Stress ≈ Errors

The Profession of Arms (POA)
The POA confronts you with moral
dilemmas.
Impossible to avoid a decision.
Necessary to make the best decision
possible.

The Urgency to Decide
Confusion in combat;
No time to debate.
Much advance thought and care should be
given to morally delicate cases.

Justifications
Defend actions after
the fact..
Justifications.
15

Analytical components of Moral dilemmas
Two Values (or principles) are in conflict.
Judged independently, they are acceptable.
Some harm will come from our decision.
There is really a choice.
We are free to choose.
A choice must be made!
16

Reason Clearly
Choose values and moral principles that can guide
us during emergency.
This will help us face a moral dilemma.
Provide reasons for the choice.

Introduction
2. OVERVIEW OF THE THREE MORAL PHILOSOPHIES

Immanuel Kant
1721-1804
Aristotle
-385-322
John Stuart Mill
1806-1873
Schools of Thought
Teleological Deontological Aretaic or virtue ethics

The Three Perspectives
1. Teleological system : telos = end
◦the action is right based on its consequences.
2. Deontological system : deon = obligation, duty
◦the action is what is right.
3. Aretaic or virtue ethics : arete* = virtue or excellence
◦being good through habit.
* "that which is good."
21

Three classic moral philosophies
Being Action Action
You can use all of them!

1. Teleological Systems
UTILITARIANISM OF JEREMY BENTHAM AND JOHN
STUART MILL

1.1. Jeremy Bentham
ACT UTILITARIANISM
1748-1832

The mummified corpse of Jeremy
Bentham is conserved in the Library
of the University College of London.

Bentham: basic ideas
Two things dominate the
destiny of human beings:
pleasure and pain.
26

Bentham : basic ideas
Bentham believed the moral rightness or
wrongness of an action to be a function of
the amount of pleasure or pain that it
produced.

Bentham: basic ideas
Utility Principle:
“Greatest happiness for the greatest
number of individuals.”
Unique principle of morality.

Bentham
Calculated research of pleasure
Arithmetic of pleasure “felicific calculus” or
“utility calculus”.
It could determine the moral status of any
considered act.
Government
Criminal law
29

1.2. John Stuart Mill
RULE UTILITARIANISM
1806-1873

Mill’s Education
James Mill, father of J.-S. Mill, was a proponent of
utilitarianism.
Author of an History of India
James Mill imposes a strict regime on his son.
Intellectual discipline.
“thinking machine”
James Mill (1773-1836)

Intellectual Crisis (1822-1826)
“I was in a dull state of nerves, […] unsusceptible to
enjoyment or pleasurable excitement; one of those
moods when what is pleasure at other times,
becomes insipid or indifferent […]. I seemed to
have nothing left to live for.”
Autobiography
Growing awareness of the inadequacies of his father utilitarianism.

Personnal
Psychological
Intellectual
Assertion of
independence

Madam Taylor
Published in 1869
J.S. Mill met Harriet Taylor
in 1830.
He weds Harriet in 1851.

Liberalism and Utilitarianism
System of Logic, 1843
Principles of Political Economy, 1848
On Liberty, 1859
Utilitarianism, 1863

From Bentham
An act is good if we can reasonably expect it to produce the
most possible good and the less harm to the largest number.
The consequence of the act is more important than its
intrinsic nature.
36

Difference with Bentham
It is always better to be an unsatisfied
human than a satisfied pig !
Distinction between J.-S. Mill and
Bentham:
types of pleasure, physical and intellectual

Difference with Bentham
The primary principal – or principle of utility – is the
source of secondary moral principles.
Actions judged in function of secondary principles:
don’t lie, don’t cheat, etc.
39

Rule utilitarianism
Experience shows that these rules were
established in the best interest of the
greatest number.
Recourse to principle of utility only in case of moral dilemma.

Example of a Dilemma
 charity (good principle)
 self-preservation (another good principle).
I must determine if feeding myself or feeding someone
in need will produce the most happiness for the most
individuals.

1.3.
UTILITARIAN DECISION MAKING

Decision Making
One must
first:
Determine probable
outcomes, good and
bad, of each possible
action .
Calculate the precise
utility or the precise
good of each option.
Then:
Select the course of
action, which achieves
the greatest good or
greatest net utility.
43

Decision Making
Utilitarianism offers a
unique and simple moral
principle.
An absolute system capable
of providing a potential
answer in each situation.
44

Strength
Utilitarianism echoes the impression that
we have that morality must be at the
service of the human being.

Difficulties
Can justify any type of action.
Inflict harm on a small number for
the happiness of the larger number.
The evaluation of superlatives is
often problematic.

A weakness of utilitarianism
resides in its acceptance of the
idea that it is only the ends that
count and not the means.

Difficulties
Utilitarianism does not provide a methodology for
deciding the priority to be given to a term relative
to the other when they appear to conflict.
Greatest happiness or Greatest number.

Quotations

2. Deontological System
KANTIAN FORMALISM AND MORAL DUTY

Introduction
KANT IN THE ENLIGHTENMENT

References
Imbeault, M., Rochon, S. et al. Philosophie 3 Éthique et
Politique, Beauchemin, 2008.
Paillé, Yvon, éditeur, Philosophie. Éthique et politique,
Éducalivres (HRW), 1999.
Jaspers, Karl, « Kant », Les grands philosophes, Gallimard,
1953.
Philonenko, Alexis, « Introduction », Fondements de la
métaphysique des mœurs, J. Vrin, 1980

References
Critique of Pure Reason, 1781
Dreams of a Spirit-Seer, 1766
Metaphysics of Morals, 1785
Critique of Practical Reason, 1788
Right to Lie, 1797

Biographical Elements
Studies in Königsberg (Prussia), now Kaliningrad (Russia).
Works as a tutor.
Professor from 1770.
Respect for authority and independent thinking.
Considered by many as the most influential thinker of all
time.

Königsberg
Kaliningrad

Themes
Rapid Transformation of
I8th.C. ideas.
Progress lends to the belief
of peace and imminent
prosperity.
Optimism.

Condorcet
Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of
the Human Spirit, 1795
Perhaps the most influential formulation of the
idea of progress ever written.
Marquis de Condorcet (1743-1794)

Condorcet
Condorcet argued that the progress of the natural sciences
must be followed by progress in the moral and political
sciences;
that expanding knowledge in the natural and social
sciences would lead to an ever more just world of
individual freedom, material affluence, and moral
compassion.

Condorcet
And that social evils are the result of ignorance and
error rather than an inevitable consequence of
human nature.
 PROGRESS IN SCIENCE  PROGRESS IN MORALLITY 

Aufklärung
Kant understood “Aufklärung”
as the “coming of age” of humanity.
“Enlightenment is man's emergence from his
self-incurred immaturity”. Kant

Auklärung
Kant understands the majority of people to be
content to follow the guiding institutions of society,
such as the Church and the Monarchy, and unable
to throw off the yoke of their immaturity due to a
lack of resolution to be autonomous.
‘Argue as much as you like, but obey’
Freedom of expression

The French Revolution
Enthusiasm from the French Revolution.
It is legitimate that a people attempt to create
their own law.
Horrified by the atrocities of the “Terror”.
Robespierre

Execution of Louis XVI, 21 January 1793

2.1. Kant’s Philosophy
THE CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON

Progress of Science
Kant attempts to formulate a new theory of
knowledge.
A solid scientific foundation for philosophy.

The Critique of Pure Reason
Limitations of knowledge.
Perspective of the knowledgeable subject.
The subject is at the center of the process of
knowledge.
He provides the framework for how to interpret
the object.

Absolute Imperative
A new center of reflection
The subject has a role comparable to
the sun in the solar system.
Kritik der reinen Vernunft

Objects turn
around the
subject and
are known
through it.
Copernican
revolution in
philosophy.

Kantian ethics is also “subjectivist”
“There is nothing it is possible to think of
anywhere in the world, or indeed anything at
all outside it, that can be held to be good
without limitation, excepting only a GOOD
WILL.”
Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten

The Postulate of Freedom
Morality is
unthinkable
without the
premise of
freedom.
Without this
premise, it is
difficult to
conceive that
we can be
responsible for
what arrives…
Postulate: Suggest the existence, fact, or truth as a basis for reasoning, discussion or belief.

2.2. The categorical imperative
THE MORAL LAW

Imperative
Longman Dictionary
Something that must be done urgently.
An idea or belief that has a strong influence on people, making them
behave in a particular way.
An imperative verb is one that expresses an order, such as stand up.

Basic Ideas
Hypothetical
Imperative
Categorical
Imperative
Kant distinguishes several types of imperatives.
We will discuss two here:

Basic Ideas
The hypothetical imperatives are expressed as
follows:
« If you want to get result A, then do B ».
Such imperative takes the form of an equation
between a means and an end and therefore
(following Kant) has no moral force.

Imperatives
General Form of the Hypothetical Imperative :
if x occurs, it is probable that y occurs
In this case « y » can be a good.
Good food promotes health !

Imperatives
The Categorical Imperative is expressed in the
following manner : « Do A », that is to say, do
what reason tells you what is good to do.
The Categorical Imperative shape our moral rules.

Kant’s perspective
Remember:
It is the intrinsic nature of the act which
establishes if it is morally good or bad.
Not the consequences…

Imperatives
When the requirement is absolute, it is stated
categorically.
The Categorical Imperative has takes the following
form:
You must do x.
(You should always tell the truth.)

Imperatives
The categorical imperative is an intuitive,
immediate and absolute injunction as all rational
people understand by virtue of their rationality.
For a soldier:
« You must obey legitimate orders. »
Moral law is expressed in the form of a categorical imperative.

Imperatives
The
Hypothetical
Imperative is
relative
The Categorical
Imperative is
absolute
You must do x
(There is no relation)
If x occurs, it is probable
that y occurs
(“x” is related to “y”)

The Categorical Imperative or Moral law
• The most general formulation of the Categorical Imperative (CI),
or the moral law formally termed says :
“Act in such a way that the maxim or principle
derivable from your behaviour would stand as a
universal law. If you can’t consistently will that
everyone perform the same type of action then
that action is morally wrong.”
Grundwork of the Metaphysic of Moral

Formulations
CI (abridged)
Your action must be based on a principle that
you may want to make universal.

Formulations
CI
« I ought never to conduct myself except so that I could
also will that my maxim become a universal law »
Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals

Formulations
The two other well known
formulations are :
The principle of Finality (PF)
The principle of Autonomy
(PA)

The Principle of Finality
PF
Every human being has dignity and intrinsic value; so
one must always treat others, whatever the
circumstances, as an end and never as simply a
means.

The Principle of Finality
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The Autonomy Principle
PA
The principle of autonomy affirms that the
rational being does not need an external
authority to determine the nature of moral laws.

The Autonomy Principle
PA
The Autonomy Principle stipulates that all
rational beings should autonomously come
to the same conclusions in moral matters.

2016-11-26 The Three Moral Philosophies © All Rights
reserved – Marc imbeault
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2.3.
DEONTOLOGICAL DECISION MAKING

Decision Making Rules
Using deontological principles in decision
making.
Taken together, the three formulations of the
Categorical Imperative, CI, PF, PA, contain the rules
of ethical decisions.
97

Deontological Decision Making Rules
Identify the
different actions
possible :
Ignore the possible
results of the
possible actions;
Determine if each
action is compatible
with CI, PF, and PA;
Choose the action
that is suitable.

Universal Principles
Deontology, as expressed by Kant, provides valid
universal moral principles that can be discovered
and experimented with by reason through the
three formulations of the Categorical Imperative.

Formal Law
Moral Law is formal:
It does not say what we must do here and
now.
Our action must be based on a principle that
one may want to generalize (universal).

Examples
Suicide : The
universalization of the
maxim means the self-
destruction of
humanity.
The universalization of
deceptive promises
abolish the notion of
promises itself.

There are no exceptions
« The Right to Lie », 1797
According to Benjamin Constant, the moral
principle that we must tell the truth cannot be
absolute, otherwise it would make life
impossible in society.

According to B. Constant :
It is not mandatory, to tell the truth
to those who could use it to do evil.
Benjamin Constant (1767-1830)

Kant’s answer:
Lying ruins the mutual trust relationship
foundational to societies.
The problem is not whether another person is
entitled to the truth, but if I have the right to lie.
The justification of the lie is based only on an
assumption.

The willingness to lie
The consequences of a lie are
independent of the willingness of the
person to lie.
But the decision to lie depends entirely
upon the person…
Objects (consequences): not under my control.
Subject (the one who decide) : the decision is my responsability.

The decision is my responsability
Objects (consequences): not under my control

Difficulties
1. Bringing our actions back to precise maxims is
not always easy.
2. Two moral laws can be in conflict in a concrete
situation. It is necessary to make a decision and we
cannot comply with both at the same time.

Clash of Values
3. Absolutism does not easily
resolve conflicts between
moral principles or values.
4. The application of the
deontological ethics system
can become very rigid.
108

Zidane decision and Referee decision in 2006 Football World Cup
"If you want my shirt, I will give to you afterwards“ said Zidane.
Materazzi then revealed that he replied, "Preferisco la …… di
tua sorella" (I would prefer your ….. of a sister), which resulted
in the head-butt.

Judgement
In fact, Kant withholds judgement.
Practical reason must determine for itself what
moral rule must prevail in each specific case.
Nothing can replace the exercise of
judgement.

“[…] it is evident that the understanding is capable of being instructed by rules, but
that the judgement is a peculiar talent, which does not, and cannot require tuition,
but only exercise. This faculty is therefore the specific quality of the so-called mother
wit, the want of which no scholastic discipline can compensate.
For although education may furnish, and, as it were, engraft upon a limited
understanding rules borrowed from other minds, yet the power of employing these
rules correctly must belong to the pupil himself; and no rule which we can prescribe
to him with this purpose is, in the absence or deficiency of this gift of nature, secure
from misuse. A physician therefore, a judge or a statesman, may have in his head
many admirable pathological, juridical, or political rules, in a degree that may enable
him to be a profound teacher in his particular science, and yet in the application of
these rules he may very possibly blunder—either because he is wanting in natural
judgement (though not in understanding) and, whilst he can comprehend the general
in abstracto, cannot distinguish whether a particular case in concreto ought to rank
under the former; or because his faculty of judgement has not been sufficiently
exercised by examples and real practice.”
Critique of Pure Reason, « Of the Transcendental Faculty of judgement in General”.

A physician therefore, a judge [,an officer] or a statesman,
may have in his head many admirable pathological,
juridical, [military] or political rules, in a degree that may
enable him to be a profound teacher in his particular
science, and yet in the application of these rules he may
very possibly blunder—either because he is wanting in
natural judgement (though not in understanding) and,
whilst he can comprehend the general in abstracto, cannot
distinguish whether a particular case in concreto ought to
rank under the former; or because his faculty of judgement
has not been sufficiently exercised by examples and real
practice.

3.1.
LIFE AND WORKS OF ARISTOTLE

School of Athens was painted in the Vatican between 1509 and 1511 by Raphael. Plato (in
red and pointing the sky) and Aristotle (in blue and pointing the earth) are at the center.

Bibliography
Clozel, C.-M., Imbeault, M., Le discours philosophique, 1995.
McKeon, R., The Basic Works of Aristotle, Random House, New
York, 1968.
McKeon, R., Introduction to Aristotle, The Modern Library, New
York, 1947.
Daigle, J., Samson, L., Séguin, L., Philosophie 1 Raison Vérité
Bonheur, Chenelière Éducation, 2012.

Biography
Aristotle born 384 B.C.
Stagira
Often called "the philosopher."

Biography
His father, Nicomachus, was a phisycian.
Nicomachus dies while Aristotle is little.
Aristotle is raised by his adoptive father,
Proxenus of Atarneus.

Stagira, ancient city in Macedonia principally known for
being the birthplace of Aristotle.
Aegean Sea
GreeceIonian
Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Chalcidicee
Macedonia

Greece was cut up among
many islands, peninsulas and
mountain valleys. The
geography of Greece kept the
ancient Greek states divided
and also small. Yet all Greece
was united by the athletic
contests held every four years
at Olympia, and by the sacred
shrines at Delphi, where
Greeks from everywhere
came to consult the famous
oracle.
http://www.hyperhistory.com/
Aristotle was born in Stagira (-384)
founded the Lyceum in Athens (-335)
and died in Chalchis (-322).

Biography
Aristotle came to study in
Athens in 368 where he
remained for twenty years the
student of Plato at the Academy.
Plato (-428 -348) The execution of Socrates turned his politics. He created the
Academy, where he taught while writing and publishing his "dialogues".

Biography
After the death of Plato, he was invited to the
court of Hermias and therefore left Athens.
Aristotle married Hermias's niece, Pythia.

Biography
He then went to Assos, where he made
important Zoological observations.
He later traveled to Mytilene where he
continued his research in biology.

Assos
Mytilene

Biography
In 343 he becomes a teacher of
Alexander the Great.
The instruction of Alexander only lasted 3 years.
Aristotle does not return to Athens before 335.
125

Biography
In the twelve years that follow
Aristotle devotes himself to the
creation of the Lyceum.
He also establishes an extensive
research program.

The Lyceum
Speculative meditation on the origins of
root causes and first principles.
Taught all known academic disciplines:
at a higher level than his competitors.

Biography
It is from this time that the composition of most of
the books of Aristotle that we know.
After the death of Alexander he is accused of
« conspiring with the enemy » and of « impieties ».

Biography
Prevent Athens from committing a second crime
against philosophy.
Aristotle takes refuge at Chalcis.
Il seems as well that he did not approve of
Alexander’s projects and conquests.
City vs Empires.

One
Some
Many
Monarchy Tyranny
Aristocracy Oligarchy
Polity
Constitutional
Government
Democracy
Classification of constitutions
Healthy Corrupt
Where the moral sense can be developed

System Founded Upon Virtues
Virtue Ethics attempts to
answer the question:
What must I
become?
The ultimate goal of
education is to produce
virtuous beings…

Being virtuous
Virtue Ethics seeks to educate individuals
according to an idealized sense of the
possibilities of human existence.
People who serve as models for others.


Being  Acting
An ethical system based on virtues emphasizes the
importance of living a good life and excellence.

Motivations
The system is defined by the motivations
of people and who they are rather than
what they do.

Aspiration
Ethics founded upon
virtues is thus an
ethic of aspiration as
opposed to an ethic
of duty or action.

Decision Making
Decision Making Rule:
Find a moral example and model
your life and your behavior on
that person or ideal type.

Decision Making
Faced with a dilemma, the question to
ask is:
"What is the ideal person would do in
this situation? "
Sérgio Vieira de MelloSpinoza

Good People
Virtue ethics also implies that
people who are good will do
good deeds.

Good People
This aspect is important for
military forces in a society.

Good People
Given the power available to the armed
forces and, therefore, the latent capacity of
the latter to destroy civil society for their
own purposes, should the society accept
the recruitment of immoral people ?
142

Good People
Given their role, the armed forces want to develop,
within their troops, traits such as:
 honesty,
 loyalty,
 courage,
 bravery,
 self-sacrifice and obedience,
and will do everything to create models with these traits.

The Virtuous Being
 Good motivations
 Control of emotions
 Not tempted to steal, lie or cheat
 Does good for the pleasure of doing good!
 Good character
 Good moral habits
144

Virtues according to Aristotle
Virtues are positive character traits.
We acquire them through training which then become
habit.
Act well spontaneously.
Abstract reasons ≠ exemplary people
Abstract principles do not build character.

Ethics and Politics
To be happy and lead a virtuous life
individuals need adequate social institutions.
“For the whole must of necessity be prior to the part“
Politics
It is impossible to exercise virtues in an unjust society.

The aim of the city is not just to avoid injustice
or for economic stability, but rather to allow
the possibility to live a good life, and to
perform beautiful acts.
Ethics and Politics
Ethics and Politics

"The political partnership must be regarded,
therefore, as being for the sake of noble actions,
not for the sake of living together.“
Politics

Virtues
The practice of virtues characterize
the moral and political lives of
people happy.

Virtues
The moral life resides in moderation in all things
Virtues are terms between two extremes.

For example, one can be frightened or bold, feel desire or anger
or pity, and experience pleasure and pain in general, either too
much or too little, and in both cases wrongly; whereas to feel
these feelings at the right time, on the right occasion, towards
the right people, for the right purpose and in the right manner, is
to feel the best amount of them, which is the mean amount—
and the best amount is of course the mark of virtue. And
similarly there can be excess, deficiency, and the due mean in
actions. Now feelings and actions are the objects with which
virtue is concerned; and in feelings and actions excess and
deficiency are errors, while the mean amount is praised, and
constitutes success; and to be praised and to be successful are
both marks of virtue.
Politics, (1106b)
Aristotle defined a virtue as a point between a deficiency and an excess of a trait.

No principles
No moral principles
Good education
Good habits
Self control
Courage
Character
Aristote (-384-322)

Leonidas at Thermopylae
is an 1814 painting by
Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825)
now on show at the Louvre.
It shows the Spartan king Leonidas
prior to the Battle of Thermopylae.

The Ideal Individual
Leonidas
King of Sparta
525 B.C.
480 B.C.

War against the Persians
Conflicts between
the Persian Empire and the Greeks
Revolt against the despotism of Darius

Athens

159
Revolt against Darius
Athens Persian Influence

The Persians
Athens comes to the aid of the Ionians.
Darius decides to punish the Greeks.
The Persians camped on the plain of
Marathon, 32 kilometer from Athens!
Darius King of the Persians
550-486

The Persians
The Athenians destroy the army of Artaphernes.
Darius was furious and prepared a gigantic
army.
His son, Xerxes, undertook to complete the
work of his father around -480.
Xerxes 519-465

The Persians
The Army arrives at
Themopylae.
Resistance of Leonidas
and his Royal Guard.

Xerxes came to the passage of
Thermopylae to the head of
prodigious strength: about 250,000
men, perhaps even up to 1,000,000.
Herodotus speaks of three million,
"Here against three million men once
fought four thousand men from the
Peloponnese. "
Thermopylae
Pass

Thermopylae
Under the Command of Leonidas
five thousand men defended the
pass from the Persians.

[…] the Spartan Dieneces is said to have exhibited the greatest
courage of all. They say that he made the following speech before
they joined battle with the Medes: he had learned from a Trachinian
that there were so many of the barbarians that when they shot their
missiles, the sun was hidden by the multitude of their arrows.
He was not at all disturbed by this and made light of the multitude of
the Medes, saying that their Trachinian foreigner brought them good
news. If the Medes hid the sun, they could fight them in the shade
instead of in the sun. This saying and others like it, they claim,
Dieneces the Lacedaemonian left behind as a memorial.
Herodotus, History of the Persian War

The legend
The Spartans
never capitulate.
Tell them in Lacedaimon, passer-by
That here, obedient to their word, we lie

Spartan woman giving her son his shield

3.4.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF VIRTUE ETHICS

Motivation
Motivation can engender
exceptional individual examples.
The right people will act
properly
Importance of the selection of
soldiers.

US Marines
Example of the US Marines Corps:
“Honor, courage and commitment are the values
that guide us”.
 Affirmation of who they are.
 Of what they want to be.
 The type of people they want to attract.
Powerful expression of virtue ethics.

Semper Fidelis distinguishes the Marine Corps bond from any other. It
goes beyond teamwork—it is a brotherhood that can always be
counted on. Latin for "always faithful," Semper Fidelis became the
Marine Corps motto in 1883. It guides Marines to remain faithful to
the mission at hand, to each other, to the Corps and to country, no
matter what. Becoming a Marine is a transformation that cannot be
undone, and Semper Fidelis is a permanent reminder of that. Once
made, a Marine will forever live by the ethics and values of the Corps.
In addition to Semper Fidelis, Marine Corps Officers also embrace the
phrase Ductus Exemplo, "to lead by example," the motto of Officer
Candidates School (OCS). Instructors look for candidates who display
self-reliance, discipline and responsibility. Desire and motivation to
lead Marines are deciding factors in an officer's success.
Marines Web site (August 2014)

Military Virtues
Development of honesty
Loyalty
Courage
Bravery
Self-sacrifice and obedience

Medals
The provision of medals is a
manifestation of virtue
ethics.
It creates a model for
behaviour.
The Victoria Cross, instituted
1856 by Queen Victoria, is
the Commonwealth's
premier military decoration
for gallantry. It is awarded in
recognition of the most
exceptional bravery
displayed in the presence of
the enemy.

Medals
The provision of valour and bravery medals constitutes
a specific manifestation of virtue ethics.
Even if the award recognizes the action, in reality it
creates a model of behaviour for others.
175
Brigadier-General Paul Triquet (1910 - 1980)
was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria
Cross.

Becoming Virtuous…
These strong points of Virtue Ethics allow it to
overcome the principal weaknesses of the doctrine.
How can we acquire virtue ?
« I become virtuous by committing virtuous acts. »

Becoming Virtuous
We find ourselves before a vicious circle
which reveals itself to be highly unsatisfying
to establish objective precepts of virtue
ethics.

One must ask
oneself how
to become
virtuous?
« I become
virtuous by
doing
virtuous
things »
« I find a
model and I
attempt to
imitate it. »

Acquisition of Virtues
Moral virtues are precious, there is not, however:
no clues as to how to acquire these virtues.
No precise line of conduct in practical situations
involving ethical dilemmas.
In addition, virtues change with the times.

Objectivity
A system founded upon values is not universal.
However, we should not reject the system.
If it is possible to reach an agreement on the
meaning and the operation of a particular
virtue, then the system becomes a powerful
tool for establishing ethical standards.

Conclusion
THREE COMPLIMENTARY APPROACHES

182
1724 ● 1804 -384 ● -322 1806 ● 1873
Immanuel Kant Aristotle John Stuart Mill
Morality of Duty
Deontology
Virtue Ethics Morality of Utility
TeleologyAspiration
Act Being Act
What must I do ? What must I become ? What are the consequences of my action ?

Telling the Truth
Example of a difficult question :
Do we always need to tell the truth?
Possible response : “yes”
We expect others to affirm what is right.
It is a question of confidence.

Lying
However, we know that others can
sometimes lie to us and that sometimes we
may also lie!
Are there particular circumstances that can
exist where lying could be acceptable, even
necessary?

Lying
Exceptional Situation;
In case of emergency;
With a major significance;
For a good cause.

Lying
Four cases:
1. Pierre cheated on his girlfriend and does not
want to suffer her wrath or make her feel pain in
telling her the truth.
Does Pierre have a morally valid reason to lie?

Lying
2. The police are asking Paul where Alfred is, and
Paul knows that he is wanted for a crime that he
believes de did not do.
Could Paul lie to the police or simply hide the truth so as
to not betray his friend?

Lying
3. Same situation, but transposed within a dictatorial
regime where the police are searching for Alfred to
interrogate him over his political activities.
Could Paul morally justify a lie in arguing that he wants to protect
his friend from the abuses of a dictatorial regime?

Lying
4. A soldier is captured and in the hands of the
enemy, who ask to provide information in order
to surprise attack other members of his unit.
Could the soldier morally justify the fact of not telling
the truth, so as not to compromise the safety of his
comrades ?
189

Exceptions
In all cases, it is question of exceptionally
infringing upon a moral rule for the goal of
avoiding more serious harm.
Is this really the case?
Has this become habitual?

The Three Ethics
Let’s examine this in light of the three moral
philosophical approaches:
Deontological,
Utilitarian,
Virtue Ethics.

Lying is Wrong
Deontological Approach
It is necessary to always tell the truth: there are no exceptions.
Consequences of an action do not count : They are but
suppositions whereas the wrong act of lying is a certitude.
It is the goodwill that motivates the action that is most
important.
Nevertheless, if you judge that there is another moral rule that
should be apply in this particular situation your decision could
be different.

Consequentialism
Utilitarian approach
You should not tell the truth if the foreseen
consequences are too harmful.
The consequences of our actions are important : it is
in light of them that we must evaluate the value of our
moral actions.
Conclusion: calculate!

Becoming a liar
Virtue Ethics Approach:
Interested in what we want to become.
Lying is perhaps not always wrong, but it risks becoming a habit.
It must therefore be avoided so as not to become a liar !
Inversely, to tell the truth, is a virtue, it must be practiced.

Let us imagine that someone requires our help : « A utilitarian will point
to the fact that the consequences of doing so will maximize well-
being, a deontologist to the fact that, in doing so the agent will be
acting in accordance with a moral rule such as “Do unto others as
you would be done by” and a virtue ethicist to the fact that
helping the person would be charitable or benevolent.. »
Rosalind Hursthouse, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Virtue Ethics.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/
Differences Between the Three Approaches :

Ethics integrity and_the_military_profession_lesson-2-3_the_three_moral_philosophies_v.brésil-2016-03.8

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