September 28, 2004
Prisoner's Dilemma
You have just been arrested for committing a horrible crime. Arrested at the same time and for the same crime is your associate. You are both being interrogated separately and neither of you knows what the other is saying.
You and the other suspect both know that if neither of you confess, the case is weak and each of you will receive a minor sentence on lesser charges. In this case, the sentence is only 5 years in prison.
If you both confess, then you will be convicted of the crime and each will receive 20 years in prison.
If only one of you confess and testifies against the other, the one who did not cooperate will get life in prison and the one who confessed will go free.
What would you do? Would you confess? What is in your best interest? What is in your associate's best interests? What course of action would result in the least prison time for both of you?
Posted by seschmid at 10:58 AM | Comments (2)
September 24, 2004
Psychological Egoism
In Of Human Bondage, Somerset Maugham writes,
"You will find as you grow older that the first thing needful to make the world a tolerable place to live in is to recognize the inevitable selfishness of humanity. You demand unselfishness from others, which is a preposterous claim that they should sacrifice their desires to yours. Why should they? When you are reconciled to the fact that each is for himself in the world you will ask less from your fellows. They will not disappoint you, and you will look upon them more charitably. Men seek but one thing in life--their pleasure..." (229).
Do you agree with Maugham? Is this the best way to go through life? Might this be a good way to deal with others yet a bad motivation for one's actions?
Posted by seschmid at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)
September 19, 2004
Natural Law Theory and Kai
After last class, I decided I would spend a little more time on a possible alternative to the Divine Command Theory. As I wrote in the last blog posting, Aquinas thinks the solution is a Natural Law Theory. I'll spend some time discussing that approach in greater detail.
I'll also spend a couple of minutes on further problems for DCT.
Finally, we'll discuss Kai's Ethics Without God.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you read Kai:
Who is Kai arguing against and what position do they support?
Why do they think an ethics without God is problematic?
What kind of person and moral stance do they think will result from those who hold an ethics without God?
Do you find Kai's arguments convincing?
Posted by seschmid at 11:04 AM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2004
Aquinas and the Theory of Natural Law
As we discussed in class on Thursday, the Divine Command Theory leads to two equally undesirable consequences. First, if one thinks that what makes an action right or wrong is that God commands it to be such, then the theory results in God’s commands being arbitrary and God’s goodness being meaningless. Second, if one thinks that God commands a good action because it is good, then goodness and morality appear independent of God. As Aquinas did, one might find either option unacceptable.
Aquinas relates morality with religion in a different fashion. Aquinas endorses the Theory of Natural Law. It should be noted that Natural Law Theory is (or was) held by both secular and religious thinkers. The first element of Natural Law theory views the world as an ordered system with values and purposes an essential part of the laws of nature. For Christian thinkers, the values and purposes inherent in nature reflect God’s divine plan. Second, the theory views the laws of nature not only as describing how things are but how they ought to be. Morality, then, derives from the laws of nature. And finally, moral laws arising from the laws of nature are laws of reason, accessible through reason because God gave us that capacity. The right action, then, is one which has the force of reason behind it. Aquinas wrote, “To disparage the dictate of reason is equivalent to condemning the command of God” (Summa Theologica).
A consequence of the Theory of Natural Law is that morality is independent of religion. Religious beliefs and practices do not affect what is the best, or worst, course of action. With regard to religion, morality is neutral.
For more on Aquinas and Natural Law Theory, visit the Stanford Encyclopedia’s entry, The Natural Law Tradition in Ethics. Also, they have a biographical entry on Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Posted by seschmid at 09:30 AM | Comments (1)
September 14, 2004
Questions on Euthyphro
Euthyphro is a very wise man, or so he thinks. What is Socrates trying to learn from him?
What is Euthyphro's answer?
Does it really matter to Euthyphro’s answer whether we talk of many gods or one god?
Substitute for “piety” the word “just” or “good”. And for “impiety” substitute “unjust” or “bad”. Does this make the argument easier to understand?
Suppose God were to say it is permissible to torture babies for fun? Would torturing babies for fun really be permissible? How must Euthyphro answer this question?
Posted by seschmid at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)
September 10, 2004
Welcome to Ethics
Here is some important information for the upcoming class and semester.
In the future, I will use this blog page to post important announcements, syllabus changes, links to handouts, and links to web pages of interest.
For class on Monday, download the Arg. Worksheet II, located on the Notes and Handouts page on the class web site . In each of the arguments, find (i) the conclusion, (ii) the premises, and (iii) construct an argument.
Also, read the first six chapters of Weston's Rulebook.
You'll find the notes for Monday's class posted on the Notes and Handouts page.
Posted by seschmid at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2004
Welcome
Welcome to the UW-Rock County Ethics class blog. This blog page is intended for students enrolled in the Fall 2004, PHI 241 class.
The purpose of this page is to provide a place for class announcements, clarifications of lectures and assignments, and discussion of issues raised in and out of class. Students can comment on any of the postings or to any of the comments.
This is a great tool for learning more about Ethics and discussing ethical issues with your peers. I strongly suggest that one visit this blog page on a regular basis--preferably the day before each class so you are prepared for the next day's lecture and discussion.
Since I am new to the art of blogging, I suspect there will be a few hiccups to the site. If there are any questions about this blog page or how to use it, please contact me.
Posted by seschmid at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)