Assignments Days Late Penalty MYDIN Sed or PARENTS One - 10% e-2096 more - Assignment- tment to 5% LECTURE Theories of Ethics Introduction Different people are likely to behave differently when faced with the same ethical situation. This is because of their divergent ethical orientations. An individual's ethical orientation is responsible for his ethical response. This is why it is necessary to understand ethical theories. Objectives At the end of this unit, you should be able to: Define and give examples of teleological ethical theory Define and identify examples of deontological ethical theory Identify all the other ethical theories subsumed under the teleological and deontological ethical theories. Ethical Theories Theories are ways of explaining phenomena. Theories of ethics are ways of explaining ethical orientations. Okunna (1995:9) points out that ethical theories generally attempt to do one or a combination of the following: explain, describe, prescribe or predict ethical behaviour or standards. They are explanatory when they give reasons why humans take whatever moral decisions in their dealing with others. They are descriptive when they tell us the nature of ethics in general. They are prescriptive when they stipulate how people should behave in certain ethical situations. They are predictive if they indicate how people are likely to behave under certain ethical situations. ++ Ethical theories can be divided into two main classifications: 1. Teleological (or consequentialism) and 2. Deontological (or non-consequentialism) Within each of these groups there exist several clear-cut ethical schools of thought. Let's now consider each school and its subgroups. Teleological ethical theory or consequentialism This is concerned with the result of the action. An action is considered as good if it produces good results. Hence those who subscribe to this ethical orientation are called consequentialists. Within the teleological school there are three subgroups. They are: utilitarianism, egoism and pragmatism. > The ethical utilitarians believe that people should act in the best interest of everyone concerned. Their catch-phrase is the greatest good for the greatest number". Their cons passion is the good of the majority, rather than the interest of a single individual. This COM 403 Media Ethics appear all right on the surface. But, according to Pasqua et. al., (1990: 259), the problem may arise as to the acceptable assessment of what constitutes the greatest number. > The ethical egoists, on their part, believe that people should act in their own self interest. Even among ethical egoists, there are two subgroups, the universal egoists and the personal egoists. The universal egoists simply believe that each person should act in his own best interest, while the personal egoists believe that each person should speak for himself as to what he wants. > Ethical Pragmatism is the third subgroup under the teleological school. It insists that that which works in real life is the right thing to do. In other words, for pragmatists, truth is what works in the real life of human behaviour. Pasqua et al (ibid: 260) describe pragmatism as the ethical theory with a pure American origin. A proponent of "pragmatism of instrumentalism". John Dewey counsels that the individual is required to tackle the problems of an ever-changing world with an adaptable set of standards necessary to cope with changing situations". Dewey does not agree with "extreme rationalism and extreme empiricism" as the key to the solution of problems. However, journalism professor and authority on media ethics, John Merrill, warns that pragmatism should have its limits. The fact that something works does not necessarily make it good. For example, a pragmatic journalist could use dishonest persuasion on a highly vulnerable and trusting audience, on the mere justification that the method works. But this could be dangerous. Self-Assessment Exercise Discuss the disadvantages of propaganda in the light of John Merrill's warning on pragmatism. dys Late Pena Une - 10% Two - 15% Three - 20% Four or more - Assier Lecture 4: Ethical Theories uses rules to know the right from wrong Deontological Ethics or Non-Consequentialism This ethical school maintains that a good action should not depend on the result or consequences, but rather on its intrinsic value, hence the adherents of the theory are called non consequentialists. Pasqua et. Al (ibid) identify three variants of the deontological ethical school of thought. They are divine command theory, Kant's duty ethics and natural law theory. Let's now consider their explanations one by one. > Divine Command This theory maintains that whatever God commands is right, since God is infinitely good and infallible. Conversely, whatever God forbids is wrong. This way of reasoning is all right with those who believe in God. Not to the unbelievers. To the unbelievers, this is a very subjective way of reasoning. And they ask the following question: is something right or wrong because it is God's command, or does God only command or forbid it because it is already right or wrong? > Kant's Duty Ethics An advocate of deontological ethics, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), formulated the duty ethics, now named after him. He maintains that a good man is one who habitually acts rightly, and that a right action is that which is done from a sense of duty. In other words, duty ethics calls on people to act from a sense of obligation. And this obligation springs from reason rather than experience. Thus a moral principle will not depend on empirical data and will be binding on everyone. This is what Kant calls the Categorical Imperative. A good action, according to Kant, is not good because it produces result, but rather because it is a moral action done from a sense of duty to the moral law. > Natural Law Theory Natural law ethical theory derives from the dictates of reason. Its adherents do not have to believe in God, but believers and unbelievers alike can converge on an ethical middle ground based of reason. According to Pasqua et. al.(ibid: 261), most great national and international documents of the 20th Century, such as the United Nations charter, are based on natural law ethical theory. Also, most of the rights now enjoyed universally by individuals and the media derive from natural law. John Hospers, a contemporary philosopher divides these basic rights into six. They are: 1. Right to life 2. Right to property 3. Freedom of expression 4. Welfare rights
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