10/20/2014 BUSINESS ETHICS 2014-2015 Fourth and fifth lessons Gianfranco Rusconi ABOUT PAPER OF DONALDSON AND WEHRANE* • WHAT ABOUT IDEAS AND LIMITS OF: • CONSEQUENTIALISM/UTILITARIANISM, DEONTOLOGY AND VIRTUE ETHICS? • BASF CASE : BUILDING PLANT OR NOT? • *THESE SLIDES ARE NOT SYSTEMATICALLY REPEATING WHAT WAS BEEN DONE IN THE LESSONS/READING OF THE PAPER AND DO NOT SUBSTITUTE THE READING AND COMPREHESION OF THE PAPERS. 1
10/20/2014 SOME POINTS FROM DONALDSON AND WERHANE • CONSEQUENTIALISM: • A) ETHICAL EGOISM • B) UTILITARIANISM • WHAT IS UTILITY? PLEASURE.. GREATEST HAPPYNESS FOR THE GREATEST NUMBER (JSMILL).. GOOD IS ONLY PLEASURE? OR MAXIMIZING KNOWLWDGE, MORAL MATURITY, FRIENDSHIP? SCALE OF PREFERENCES? SOME POINTS: problems and issues • EACH PERSON COUNTS “ONE” • FUTURE GENERATIONS • INTENSITY OF PLEAUSURE (AND THE CONTRARY) • DICTATOR OF MAJORITY INTERESTS • SOME PLEASURE AND HAPPYNESS ARE QUALITATIVELY BETTER THAN OTHERS? • ACT AND RULE UTILITARIANISM 2
10/20/2014 SOME POINTS • CRITICS: • NOT RESPECTING JUSTICE • WHAT KIND OF GOODS MAXIMIZE? • OFTEN WE USE UTILITARIANISM IN ORDINARY LIFE, MA THERE IS THE PROBLEM OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PERSONS SOME POINTS • DEONTOLOGY: • A) KANTIAN • B) SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY • “TO FOCUS ON DUTY AND UNIVERSAL RULES TO DETERMINE RIGHTS ACTIONS” 3
10/20/2014 SOME POINTS KANTIANISM • • DUTY SELF EVIDENT TO MORAL CONSCIENCE • “CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE”: UNIVERSALITY OF PRINCIPLES OF ACTIONS; OTHER PERSONS HAVE AN INTRINSIC VALUE IN ITSELF, NEVER TO BE TREATED AS MEANS TO ACHIEVE ONE’S END. • LIMITS: RISK TO HAVE MORAL RIGIDY OF FANATICISM SOME POINTS THE CONTRACTARIAN ALTERNATIVE: a rational • person • JOHN LOCKE (18° century) : NATURAL RIGHTS state of nature …CONTRACTARIAN REASONING …RIGHTS INHERENT TO A PERSON’S NATURE (example: US Declaration of Independence) and inalienable • JOHN RAWLS (now) : reasonable position of a person implies a social contract done with a veil of ignorance about the future (dis)advantages for everyone (male or female, rich or poor…) that is implicitly subscriber of the social contract: 4
10/20/2014 GENERAL QUESTIONS FOR DEONTOGISTS- CONTRACTARIANS (both Kant and contractarian) • «IN THE MORAL VALUTION OF BUSINESS, ALL DEONTOLOGISTS – CONTRACTARIANS INCLUDED-WOULD ASK THE QUESTION SUCH AS THE FOLLOWING: • 1) ARE THE RULES FAIR TO EVERYONE? • 2) DO THE RULES HOLD UNIVERSALLY EVEN WITH THE PASSAGE OF TIME (MY NOTE: PROBLEM OF RELATIVISM AND OBJECTIVISM) • 3) IS EVERY PERSON TREATED WITH EQUAL RESPECT? LIMITS OF CONTRACTARIAN VIEW • CONTRACT IS IMPLICIT; • CAN THE CONTENTS CHANGE AND IF NOT WHAT IS THEIR ORIGIN? IT IS SUFFICIENT TO SPEAK ABOUT HUMAN RATIONALITY IN ORDER TO GIVE THEM SOUND FOUNDATIONS OF TRUTH? • CAN CUSTOMS OR OTHER BE THOUGHT AS UNIVERSAL ETHICAL VALUE? • HOW COULD WE DISCOVER THESE PRINCIPLES? • COULD BE ACCEPTED VALID EXCEPTIONS AND HOW IT COULD AGREE WITH THE DEONTOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 5
10/20/2014 CONSEQUENTIALISM AND DEONTOLOGY • THE PRINCIPLES GENERATED BY SOCIAL CONTRACT APPROACH COULD BE FITTING WITH SOME DECISIONS ON THE BASIS OF CONSEQUENTIALISM (DISCUSSION) VIRTUE Ethics and the case of Health is First Inc. • SOME PHILOSOPHERS CONSIDER THE TWO PREVIOUS APPROACHES AS «INCOMPLETE» • THE CASE OF MISTER JOHN • VIRTUE ETHICS APPROACH, ORIGINED BY Aristotle • 6
10/20/2014 VIRTUE ETHICS • MORE THAN RULES: IT IS IMPORTANT THE ROLE OF CHARACTER IN ETHICS • 1) HUMAN PERSON IS SOCIAL FOR NATURE • 2) DEVELOPING CERTAIN VIRTUES OR TRAITS OF CHARACTER (WISDOM, GENEROSITY, SELFRESTRAINT) : TO BE A GOOD MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY, CULTIVATION OF GOOD HABITS • 3) ETHICAL EXCELLENCE CONNECTED WITH SOCIAL EXCELLENCE OF MANAGERS NOT ONLY RESPECT OF SOME RULES CRITICS TO VIRTUE ETHICS • BY UTILITARIANS AND DEONTOLOGIANS: • «LACKS OF CLEAR-CUT RULES AND DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURES» 7
10/20/2014 DEEPENING • THESE PAPERS COULD IMPROVE YOUR KNOWLEDGE BUT NOT TO BE STUDIED COMPLETELY (LIKE IS MORE FOR THE PAPER OF DONALDSON AND WERHANE) 8
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