Introduction to business ethics Flashcards

Question

In terms of Moral relativism: What is the concept of tolerance?

Answer 1

* Tolerance: appealing to people who want to be open-minded about cultural practices of others

Answer 2

1. Acts that all of us would agree are immoral cannot be considered universally ethically impermissible as long as some group of people believe(d) the act to be permissible. - In short: there are no universal moral facts 2. * Relativism espouses a strange/unusual view of how facts are established: mere belief

Answer 3

◦1. Insist that the view held by the majority is right. This endorses tyranny of the majority, and again seems to reveal an oddity in the way facts are established ◦2. Re-assert standard relativism, that each group has their own set of moral facts that apply only to them & there is no practical guidance for when these values have consequences for members of the other group

Answer 4

* According to this doctrine: ◦ There are normative moral facts ◦ They are determined by the will of god (i.e. not just that what god says is right, but that what god says is right only because god says so) ----> Therefore these facts are subjective

Answer 5

* If god’s will were different, then moral standards would be different ◦ If we think god would never will something like murder, it suggests that morality is independent of god’s will (if there was not something independently wrong with murder, then why would it be the case that god would never will it?)

Answer 6

◦ Omnipotence has limits: ‣ e.g. does not allow for logical contradictions like 2 + 2 = 3 ◦ DC is also not clearly advanced within all religious texts

Answer 7

To uncover the truth about difficult questions, we need to work hard as moral facts are not verifiable in the way that scientific facts are

Answer 8

1. The law sometimes requires immoral acts ◦E.g. apartheid laws, Nazi Germany 2. The law sometimes permits immoral acts ◦E.g. lying to your partner, bullying, etc. 3. The law requires interpretation: this is complex, & isn’t a substitute for critical thinking

Answer 9

◦ Even the fundamental principles of morality, and how they ought to be weighed against each other, are contentious ◦ This is not that strange ‣ e.g. are we certain of economic & historical facts? ◦ Critical thinking gives us best chance of locating moral facts & falsehoods as often as possible

Answer 10

* Even if religion is not source of moral truths, it’s a good place to seek ethical guidance.

Answer 11

1. BUT: religious texts, religious authorities, and other religious sources of ethical advice will not cover every single specific moral dilemma we face, and may sometimes give diverging advice ‣ In these instances, religious advice may require interpretation 2. SO: sometimes religion is a good starting point, but critical thinking will still be valuable to make sense of an apply the basic moral principles set forth

Answer 12

1. Does not always push us in the right direction 2. Is influenced by various irrelevant factors: mood, personal experiences, etc. 3. Sometimes pulls us in more than one direction 4. Our gut does not give us access to reasons for action 5. This doesn’t mean intuition has no place in moral thought: it is often a good starting point --- e.g. if almost every aspect of an ethical view disturbs our moral intuitions, this may give us pause to think that it is not a plausible theory.