Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Philosophy and ethics

Understanding Sympathy

1. Earthquake in China vs. Pinky

2. Using imagination to understand someone else’s pain

3. Challenge of 'blind' sympathy

Adam Smith described sympathy as an automatic reaction. Whenever we see people in pain, we cringe. Whenever we see people happy, we cannot help but smile. Through our own faculties and senses, we attempt to imagine what it is like to feel another person’s life with our own. But the sympathy we feel for others is limited by their relative closeness. We tend to sympathize with those closer to us in a single moment than a multitude of people we have never met. Smith uses the example of an earthquake in China against the threat of a severed finger. Although people claim the loss of a finger is nothing to... Continue reading "Understanding Sympathy and Economic Perspectives" »

Gruber 12.7: Mandates vs. Direct Public Provision

Why does the government mandate individuals to purchase their own insurance in some cases—such as automobile liability insurance—but directly provide insurance to people in other situations—such as health insurance?

According to Gruber, there are five primary reasons why the government intervenes in the insurance market:

• Adverse selection
• Externalities
• Administrative costs
• Redistribution
• Paternalism

Adverse Selection and Market Stability

Adverse selection occurs when insured individuals know more about their risk level than the insurer does. This asymmetry might cause those most likely to experience an adverse outcome to select insurance, leading the insurer to lose money if they offer coverage.... Continue reading "Government Intervention in Insurance Markets" »

First, a common objection to utilitarianism is that it prioritizes maximizing happiness without considering minority perspectives or moral implications, leading to unfair outcomes. For example, many believe there is no moral obligation to refrain from driving gas-powered cars for leisure. This perceived lack of moral obligation stems from the belief that maximizing happiness for the majority, even if it's for leisure and has detrimental future consequences, is justifiable.

Second, there's a disconnect between the benefits enjoyed by present generations and the costs imposed on future ones. People today often prioritize immediate happiness without considering the long-term environmental costs. A potential solution is to implement measures that... Continue reading "Utilitarianism and Climate Change: A Critical Analysis" »

Stakeholder View Complexity

What do you think?

Stakeholder view is more complex. “Business ethics must clarify the notion of a legitimate interest in a company and the related notion of a justified stake in it. We must ask, then, what ethical responsibilities managers have, to whom and to what strength. The idea of multiple constituencies helps us focus on this question, but there remains much to say to clarify it.” (Audi, page 29).

Case Studies on Business Constituencies

On Monday, we are going to view a PBS Frontline documentary, “Life and Death in Assisted Living Care” (2013). The focus of the documentary is a Seattle-based chain of assisted living care centers called Emeritus. [BTW: “Emeritus” is a Latin term which, applied to a... Continue reading "Business Ethics: Stakeholder Interests and Responsibilities" »

Essentials of Business and Professional Ethics

1. Ethical Responsibilities of a Business

   • To the general public: Avoiding adverse effects on public health, the environment, and philanthropic efforts.
   • To customers: Ensuring informed choices, the right to be heard, and customer safety.
   • To the workforce: Providing a safe workplace, preventing harassment and discrimination, ensuring equal opportunity, and offering a chance for a quality life.
   • To investors: Practicing good accounting, and providing an accurate portrayal of the firm's financial resources and conditions.

Basis for Ethical Business Organizations

1. Ethical Awareness

   Implementing a code of conduct for all employees and managers.

2. Ethical Reasoning

   Providing ethics education for employees and managers.

Professional Ethics: To What and to Whom?

A professional’s ethical responsibility is to what and to whom? Physicians follow the Hippocratic oath to “do no harm.” Journalists are compelled by their profession to follow the ideal to be “honest, fair, and courageous” in “gathering, reporting, and interpreting information.” What about educators or accountants? Accountants are called upon to “be objective, avoid conflicts of interest, and to report clearly and accurately.” The ethical code of teachers instructs them not to indoctrinate.

The Journalist's Perspective

I am quoting Weston and also calling upon my own life experience in covering this topic in more detail. I would be happy to give equal time to physicians and accountants,... Continue reading "Professional Ethics and the Integrity of Journalism" »

The Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was triggered by Martin Luther's response to the actions of Pope Leo X. The Pope initiated a project in 1517 to rebuild St. Peter's Church, a significant undertaking as tradition holds that Saint Peter is buried beneath it. However, the project faced financial constraints, leading to the sale of indulgences.

This practice, allowing individuals to purportedly shorten their time in purgatory through monetary contributions, deeply troubled Luther. He was particularly disturbed by the notion that salvation could be purchased. Luther felt burdened by the perceived sinfulness of humanity and the idea that wealth could erase sins. Consequently, he composed 95 theses, which were sent to the local... Continue reading "The Protestant Reformation: Origins and Impact" »

The Social Sciences

The social sciences

The activity of thinkers, researchers, and social scientists, mainly during the last three centuries, encompasses the totality of knowledge about humans in society.

The production of social thought, in particular from the 19^th century, gave the social sciences an enormous boost and helped establish them as an alternative for scientific explanations of social phenomena, which was of great interest to humanity.

Sociology

Sociology

Sociology was born as a scientific discipline in the 19^th century in France, in an age of intense intellectual work commonly called the Enlightenment.

Auguste Comte was the first to utilize the term sociology (1822).

Social Physics

Social physics

The term “social physics” reflects an... Continue reading "Social Sciences: Sociology, Economics, Political Science, History" »

Approaches to Determining Ethical Obligation

"It is to the great and fundamental principles of society and civilization—to the common usage universally consented to, and mutually and reciprocally maintained—to the unceasing circulation of interest, which, passing through its million channels, invigorates the whole mass of civilized man—it is to these things, infinitely more than to anything which even the best instituted government can perform, that the safety and prosperity of the individual and of the whole depends."Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man, "Applying Principle to Practice, Chapter One—Of Society and Civilization."

Common Sense Ethical Principles

The following list of prima facie ethical obligations (common sense ethical principles)... Continue reading "Ethical Obligations and Decision-Making" »