Forms of Moral Reasoning

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Forms of Moral Reasoning

• Ethics in Management
• Business Administration
• The University of Winnipeg

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Three Fundamental Questionsof Philosophy

• What is the Universe?
• How do we relate to the Universe?
• What should we do?
• This is the subject of Ethics from a
  philosophical perspective

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What are Ethics

• Customary and prescribed communal living
  standards, broadly considered to be good, i.e.
  what we should do
• But this begs the questions
• standards about what?
• what determines / defines good?
• is there more than one valid answer to the above?

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Forms of Moral Reasoning

• Approaches for considering the ethical merit of
  an action
• Principles
• Consequences
• Purposes
• Traditional, Charismatic, Consensual
• Subjective

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Principled Reasoning

• Rules for ethical behaviour
• Focus on means, not end results
• Equally applicable to all

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Examples of Principles

• The Golden Rule Do unto others as you would
  have others do unto you.
• United Nations declaration of Human Rights
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Freedom of speech, gender equality

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Importance ofPrincipled Reasoning

• Guards against inappropriate means to even
  desirable ends
• Broadly generalizable by definition can be
  compelling across a wide range of people and
  situations

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Challenges ofPrincipled Reasoning

• Principles must be kept very general in order to
  be widely accepted
• Sometimes difficult to apply principles to
  specific actions / situations
• Better at proscribing actions (what we shouldnt
  do) than showing what we should
• Are independent of consequences

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Mr. Mrs. Isador Strauss
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Consequential Reasoning

• Actions are ethical or not depending on the net
  of benefits minus costs of their future
  consequences.
• These consequences can be both positive and
  negative, and of various natures

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Examples ofConsequential Reasoning

• Ends justify the means
• Cost / benefit analysis
• Utilitarianism
• The greatest good for the greatest number
• Ethical egoism
• Whats in it for me?

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Importance ofConsequential Reasoning

• Practical keeps us in touch with reality and
  with the fact that our actions will have
  consequences
• Easy to understand, discuss good basis for
  communicating rationales to others

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Challenges ofConsequential Reasoning

• Consequences for whom?
• Consequences over what time frame?
• In the long run, we are all dead.
• How do we net positive consequences of one type
  with negative consequences of a totally different
  nature?
• Consequences are uncertain

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Purposive Reasoning

• Actions are ethical or not depending on their
  relationship to the fundamental purpose (What
  are we here for, why do we exist?) of the entity
  taking them or context in which they will take
  place.
• This is the hardest concept in the course!

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An example ofPurposive Reasoning

• Should the Business Administration department
  offer university credit courses on how to use SAP
  programs?
• (SAP is the world's largest business software
  company)

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An example ofPurposive Reasoning

• Should the Business Administration department
  offer university credit courses on how to use SAP
  programs?
• What is the purpose of a university?
• To prepare people for employment?
• To develop peoples intellect?

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Importance ofPurposive Reasoning

• Keeps us focused on whats really important
  avoids the distraction of the specific situation.

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Challenges ofPurposive Reasoning

• Difficult to ascertain and achieve consensus
  about fundamental purpose (especially once a
  particular action is being contemplated).
• Difficult to determine which entitys / contexts
  purpose is the relevant one.
• Relating an action to purpose can be highly
  subject to interpretation.

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Checks and Balances

• Purposive Reasoning
• Keeps us on track towards worthwhile ends
• Principled Reasoning
• Keeps us on the straight and narrow
• Consequential Reasoning
• Keeps us in touch with reality, and the fact that
  our actions will have consequences.

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Traditional Reasoning

• Looking to past practice, precedent, history for
  guidance as to what is ethical
• Case law based on precedent

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Importance / Drawbacksof Traditional Reasoning

• Provides stability, continuity for society, and
  thereby builds community.
• BUT
• Is a force against change
• May reinforce outdated concepts, power
  relationships, practices

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Charismatic Reasoning

• Deferring to a charismatic authority figure (e.g.
  the Pope) or text (e.g. the Koran)

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Importance / Drawbacksof Charismatic Reasoning

• Reinforces sense of community, builds commitment
  to a cause
• BUT
• Deals in absolutes, doesnt allow for debate
• Is subject to abuse

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Consensual Reasoning

• Ethical actions are those to which all affected
  parties agree, based upon full information and
  free debate.
• Basis for democracy
• Even good decisions should not be forced on
  people

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Importance / Drawbacksof Consensual Reasoning

• Is situation specific, not abstract
• Can lead to better decisions through multiple
  inputs, checks and balances.
• BUT
• Often difficult to achieve consensus
• Is subject to politicization

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Subjective Reasoning

• Acting on personal conscience, based on personal
  integrity and commitments.
• Ethics from within no one can impose ethics

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Importance / Drawbacksof Subjective Reasoning

• Emphasizes our inescapable responsibility for our
  actions.
• Can be extremely motivating.
• BUT
• Difficult to communicate to others
• No basis for group / organization action

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Subjective Reasoning

• This above all
• To thine own self be true,
• And then it must follow, as the night the day
• Thou canst not be false to any man.
• William Shakespeare,
• Hamlet Act I, Scene III

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Forms of Moral Reasoning

• Approaches for considering the ethical merit of
  an action
• Principles
• Consequential
• Purposive
• Traditional, Charismatic, Consensual
• Subjective
• These concepts are key to the course.