Lecture 13A: Ethics & Rights (1)

Core Idea 1: Consequences can determine the difference between right and wrong

Core Idea 2: Rights can be used to decide if an action is right or wrong

Ethics:

  • A set of moral principles that are accepted by an individual or a social group .
  • A moral philosophy which examines the moral choices that people make, what they are based on an d how they may be justified.

Consequentialism: when an action is judged right or wrong based on the type of outcome produced.

  • the right action is the one that generates the best consequences for the world and vice versa.

Limitations:
1) Difficult to measure what is good & bad

  • Lack perfect information at the time of decision making.
  1. Inadequate theory of morality
  • e.g. kill one person to save 5 others? (individual morality)

Application: USE YOUR EVALUATION STRATEGIES

  • Long term gains vs Short term costs
  • Majority needs vs Minority needs
  • For the greater good

Rights: having a corresponding duty or obligation to respect a right, either through non-interference or provision of such rights from being carried out.

Types of rights

Fundamental rights:

  • right to life, right to bodily integrity, right to liberty and movement (basic conditions to control their direction of life)
  • rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (gives individuals the freedom to determine how to best lead their lives → giving their lives a meaning)

Political and civil rights:

  • right to freedom of expression and demonstration, right to vote and participate in free and fair elections (serve as a check on the power of state, preventing arbitrary and unjust infringement on the more fundamental rights)

Rights are never absolute & can be overridden

Conditions

  1. When overwhelmingly important human interest are at stake
  1. When the exercise of rights violates another person's rights

Case Study that violates rights: Female Genital Mutilation
According to WHO, the procedure involved the intentional altering and injuring of the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. >200 million girls alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, Middle East and Asia where FGM are more concentrated (a few cases in Singapore)

Core Idea 3: Justice, fairness and equality are key determinants of what is right and wrong

Application

(b) Inequality in outcomes as a
result of differences in merit
(a system that rewards people
fairly based on contributions)
DOES NOT ALWAYS JUSTIFY
INEQUALITY IN OUTCOMES

(c) Justice also requires the
equality of opportunities
(every participants have
a fair chance and equal
opportunity to succeed)

(a) A fair system helps ensure
equal moral and legal rights
(justice dictates that all human
beings have equal rights, able
to lead lives however way that
they see fits their preference)

Application of question
Identify the following keywords:

  • 'should', 'acceptable,'justified'

Assess the consequences:

  1. Identify the benefits generated, and the harms or opportunity costs that accompanies
  2. Evaluate if benefits outweigh the harms
  3. In your content paragraphs State clearly how
    benefits overweight cost/ how they do not

Examine relevant principles:

  1. Identify whether fundamental rights are violate, or overwhelmingly important human rights are at stake. Consider whether a choice or action is fair in that it promotes equality of opportunities or ensures equal moral or legal rights.
  2. In content paragraphs, Explain clearly that in order to protect a certain rights, a particular action is justified