Ultimate Test Guide - biz ethics

Moral Worth

Kant - Only when we act from a sense of DUTY does our action have MORAL WORTH - When we act only out of feeling, inclination, or self-interest our actions - athough may be identical to ones done from sense of duty- they have no true moral worth.

Categorical Imperative

Kant- We should always act in such a way that we can will the maxim of our action to be a universal law Kant's question: What determines whether an act is right - If and only if we can will it as a UNIVERSAL LAW OF CONDUCT 3 Reformulations 1) An action is only right if and only if its underlying principle universally acceptable, that is, acceptable to all rational parties whether the action is done by them or not 2) One must always act to treat other people as ends in themselves 3) Have a desire to do the right thing for its own sake - This stresses the type of motivation you have for doing a particular action doing the right thing isnt enough you must do it with a sense of duty

The main function of incorporation is to ______ liability.

LIMIT

According to the business-can't-handle-it argument, in addressing non-economic matters, businesses inevitably impose their own _________ values on the rest of society.

MATERIALISTIC

For Arisotle, proper control of appetites and inclinations consists in what he calls the ______ between extremes.

MEAN

As discussed in the first day of class, the concept of justice can also be referred to as the moral _________ .

MINIMUM (Refer to notes for a visual of what the moral minimum vs. the moral max) Moral MIN = Justice [the good that is REQUIRED and enforceable by the gov]

According to the economic approach to life, we should seek to maximize the satisfaction of individual desires regardless of their _______ worth.

MORAL

Nonconsequentialist theories (Deontology)

Contend that right and wrong are determined by more than the likely consequences of an action

Difference Principle (Rawls)

Core of Rawls' Theory stating, inequalities are justified only if they work to the benefit of the least-advantaged members of society. - This means that he is ok with COMPETITION!

A reason utilitarians tend to favor wealth redistribution through higher taxes on the wealthy is because of what economists refer to as the ________ marginal utility of money.

DECLINING

Kantian non-consequentialist ethics is also referred to as ________ .

DEONTOLOGY

Justice is an important subclass of ethics, and the aspect of it covered by this chapter is called ________ justice.

DISTRIBUTIVE

Moral Rights - non-cons

Derive from special relationships, roles, or circumstances in which we happen to be. E.G. 1) If I have agreed to water your plants while you are on vacation, you have a right to expect me to look after them in your absence. ' 2) As a student, you have a right to be graded fairly, and so on.

As discussed in class last Thursday, John Stuart Mill considered freedom and _______ to be qualitatively superior pleasures.

EQUALITY

Advocates of stakeholder theory believe that businesses should strive to internalize their _______ .

EXTERNALITIES KEY CONCEPT: Professor said that this was important

According to Robert Nozick, people are entitled to their holdings as long as they have acquired them ______ .

FAIRLY (DOUBLE CHECK)

Although the managers of corporations have a ________ responsibility to stockholders, the stockholders do not fully own or control the companies they hold stock in.

FIDUCIARY

According to the textbook, an obsession with short-term performance can lead to _________ behavior.

FRAUDULENT

In Marx's view, when workers are alienated, they cannot be truly _____ .

FREE

Karl Marx

Father of Communism

Libertarians are against restrictions on individual liberty even if such restrictions would turn out to increase overall ________ .

HAPPINESS

According to libertarians, we have no moral obligation to _______ the homeless.

HELP

As discussed in class yesterday, There are three main formulations to Kant's categorical _________ .

IMPERATIVE

Kant's categorical ___________ means that there can be no exceptions to any moral rule.

IMPERATIVE

According the MICHAEL SANDEL, the use of the word __________ has grown exponentially in the span of a decade.

INCENTIVIZE

As discussed in class yesterday, Bentham's last practical joke was to have himself mummified and wheeled in and out of ______ for a year after his death.

Meetings (not very important but it could help in remembering who the guy is)

declining marginal utility of money

Mill - successive additions to one's income produce, on average, less happiness or welfare than did earlier additions.

Utilitarianism

Moral doctrine that we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions. GOOD = Happiness/Pleasure

Human Rights

Moral rights that are not the result of particular roles, special relationships, or specific circumstances E.G. the rights to life, free speech, and unhampered religious affiliation are widely accepted

Exploitation (Marx)

the capitalist system is marked by exploitation. The working class produces virtually everything but gets only a small portion of the income derived from the sale of products. The capitalists, who do little protective work, reap the vast majority of the rewards. In other words the capitalists exploit the workers.

Six criteria of Hedonic Calculus

1) Consider the amount of unhappiness v. happiness - 8 units of happiness and 4 units of unhappiness 2) Actions affect people in different ways - two people like it two don't and one is indifferent when playing a radio loudly 3) Almost anything, in principle, be morally right in proper situations - B/c utilitarians evaluate actions according to their consequences and because actions produce different results in different circumstances 4) Wish to maximize happiness not simply immediately but in the long run as well - A reason for not lying you hurt yourself and others in the long run and are only happy in the short-term 5) Acknowledgment that we often do not know with certainty what the future consequences of our actions will be - No utilitarian can justify gambling with stolen friend money even if there's a 6) Our own pain and pleasure

Rawls's 2 Principles of Justice

1) Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all. 2) Social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions: - First, they are to be attached to positions and offices open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity; and - Second, they are to be to the greatest expected benefit of the least-advantaged members of society.

4 related ideas bound up with the concept of justice

1) Fairness 2) equality 3) Desert 3) Rights

Criticism for Deontology

1) Kant's moral worth is too restrictive 2) The categorical imperative is not a sufficient test of right and wrong - The rule itself can NEVER have exceptions because of the universal law - E.g. "Lying is wrong" If a murder came to your house asking where your children were you would have to tell them because if lying in this situation was the correct thing to do then it would CONTRADICT the universal law. When we know that sometimes a white lie is not the worst thing and is sometimes preferred over the truth 3) Distinguishing between treating people as means and respecting them as end in themselves may be difficult in practice - Humans have intrinsic value and therefore are more profound morally - E.g. in Kant's eyes prostitution is immoral because prosititutes allow themselves to be treated as means by selling their services. But anyone who works for wages does this too

Criticism of Utilitarianism

1) Not workable - Teaching someone how to decifer overall happiness would not provide happiness in itself b/c of how difficult it is to explain - Also its hard to tell if a particular action will actually maximize happiness or not 2) Some actions are BAD/WRONG even if they produce good results - Similar to egoism 3) Utilitarianism incorrectly overlooks considerations of justice and the distribution of happiness - Its not really just on a minimum level. Some people's happiness has to be sacrificed in order for the majority to be happy. Think of the EMINENT DOMAIN example where people are are forced out of their private property in order to benefit the public with malls or something

3 Criticisms of Egoism

1) Psychological egoism is implausible/not a sound theory - Condones self-interest being the only thing motivating anyone 2) Ethical egoism is not really a moral principle at all - Misunderstands the nature and point of morality 3) Ethical egoism condones blatant wrongs - Deception, death, and theft can all be right under egoism standard if it ADVANCES agents self-interest and agent can get away with it

Criticism of Capitalism

1)Theoretical criticisms challenge capitalism's fundamental values, basic assumptions, or inherent economic tendencies. 2)Operational criticisms focus more on capitalism's alleged deficiencies in actual practice (as opposed to theory)—in particular, on its failure to live up to its own economic ideals.

Invisible Hand

A phrase coined by Adam Smith to describe the process that turns self-directed gain into social and economic benefits for all

Worker participation (like stockholders)

A partnership between laborer and capitalist, where the laborers themselves equally and collectively own the capital.

Bentham advocates what is normally referred to as ____ utilitarianism.

ACT

According to Marx, capitalism separates workers from the value they create—a dehumanizing tendency he refers to as ________ .

ALIENATION

One of the popular myths that Solomon attacks is that of the _________ business.

Amoral - A business that completely lacks all morals Solomon says that although there are businesses lacking in morals that are successful in order to have a sustainable business it must have morals

Legal Right - nonconsequentialism

An entitlement to act or have others act in a certain way. The connection between rights and duties is that, generally speaking, if you have a right to do something, then someone else has a correlative duty to act in a certain way. Your right to drive under certain conditions is derived from our legal system

Prima facie obligations - Ross

An obligation that can be overridden by a more important obligation

Rule utilitarianism

Asks what moral code (that is, what set of moral rules) a society should adopt to maximize happiness.

Nonconsequentialists

Believe that a duty to assist others and to promote total happiness is only one of a number of duties incumbent on us.

Act Utilitarianism

Bentham - An act is right if and only if it results in as much good as any available alternative - Inventor of "Hedonic calculus"

One example of "business scum" discussed by Solomon is Break _________ Inc.

Breakers Kant's Deontology theory explains why what this company is doing is unethical Look at the Categorical Imperative

The case of _______ United in 2010 further blurred the line between individuals and corporations.

CITIZENS

Bob Solomon argues that any good business properly speaking is concerned with compliance, __________ and consequences.

CONTRIBUTION - What positive the company provides to society e.g. values, quality of products, services like jobs, and prosperity etc.

The tendency of fines to morph into fees is an example of how financial incentives can ___________ out non-financial incentives.

CROWD This is referred to as the "Moral Crowding Out Theory

Good Will

Nothing is good in itself accept for good will. KANT believed that goodness depends on the will that makes use of them. - E.G. Intelligence is not good when exercised by an evil person WILL: The unique capacity to act from principle (Can also be seen as DUTY)

Lockean rights

Nozick begins from the premise that people have certain basic moral rights 1) Right to life 2) Liberty 3) Property

Karl Marx argued that capitalism leads to __________ , namely, a concentration of property and resources in the hands of a few.

OLIGOPOLIES

For Aristotle, we are not born virtuous but become virtuous by _______ .

PRACTICE

Psychological egoism

People are, as a matter of fact, so constructed that they must behave selfishly.

Laissez-faire

Policy that government should interfere as little as possible in the nation's economy. "to let [people] do [as they choose]"

As discussed in class, because of its emphasis on consequences for our actions, the utilitarian model of the Good tends to discount the importance of ________ for our actions.

Precedent/Reasons? My reasoning for this is because its "consequential-ism" which focuses more on the consequences and less on the reason for why you are performing that action which RULE Utility emphasizes like bentham??? (check this)

As discussed in class yesterday, lying for Kant is wrong mainly because it is not logically _________ .

RATIONAL (Got this wrong but I remember this being the correct answer when we went over it in class)

For utilitarians, the only thing that matters ethically are our actions' _________ .

RESULT

Kantian ethics is often associated with the so-called Golden _____ .

RULE

______ utilitarianism seeks to determine the kinds of principles that we should follow given that they tend to maximize happiness for society as a whole.

RULE

Negative rights

Reflect the vital interests that human beings have in being free from outside interference. freedom of speech, assembly, religion

Positive rights

Reflect the vital interests that human beings have in receiving certain benefits - rights to have others provide us with certain goods, services, or opportunities E.G. rights to education, medical care, equal job opportunity, comparable pay, and so on

Objections to Rule Utilitarianism

Rule utilitarianism collapses into act utilitarianism, another way of stating act util. Rule utilitarianism may not be able to give a coherent response to the objection that focuses on peoples rights.

According to economist GARY BECKER, the reason people tend to get divorced is usually b/c the ________ price of staying together has exceeded that of parting and finding someone new.

SHADOW (NOT implicit/explicit ... got this answer wrong the first time)

For Aristotle, we are not only rational but also _______ beings.

SOCIAL

State of Nature

The basis of natural rights philosophy; a state of nature is the condition of people living in a situation without man-made government, rules, or laws.

Eminent Domain

The government may appropriate private property for public use (after compensating the owner). I think Rawls would be very against this

Egoism

The view that equates morality with self-interest Personal: Claim they should pursue their own interests Impersonal: Claim that everyone should let self-interest guide his or her conduct

Hedonism

The view that pleasure and happiness are the highest goods

Primary Social Goods

These include not only income and wealth but also rights, liberties, opportunities, status, and self-respect.

Veil of Ignorance (John Rawls)

To assure fairness, we must presume that the hypothetical rational agents negotiate an agreement from a perspective of complete equality. Thus they must be presumed to negotiate without knowing what benefits they will receive from the agreement.

Rawlsian views on util and libertarians

Utils: Rejects it because maximizing the majorities happiness makes the minority worse off failing the "Veil of Ignorance" test Libertarians: Arguing against Entitlement theory - The focus on justice should be the basic social structure, not transactions between individuals

Critics argue that corporate ________ is ultimately bad for consumers as it tends to limit competition.

WELFARE

Unlike Utilitarianism, which discounts the importance of reasons for action, Kant's philosophy argues that a good act can only arise from a good ______ .

WILL (VERY IMPORTANT part of deontology [I believe this is the 3rd part of the Kant's CI)

How a utilitarian like Mill looks at justice

a name for certain classes of moral rules which concern the essentials of human well-being more nearly, and are therefore of more absolute obligation, than any other rules for the guidance of life

Entitlement Theory of Justice (Nozick)

a theory that specifies what must be true for private property holdings to be legitimate 1) A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in acquisition is entitled to that holding. 2) A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in transfer, from someone else entitled to the holding, is entitled to the holding. 3) No one is entitled to a holding except by (repeated) applications of principles 1 and 2.

Rawls different diagrams

a. (smaller) things are divided equally b. (larger) things are divided unequally - a society permits inequalities as an incentive to get people to work harder or to do work that they otherwise would not have wanted to do, the overall amount to be distributed among society's members increases THAT IS WHY B IS CHOSEN

Free Market

an economic system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses. Libertarians say that their commitment to an unrestricted free market reflects the priority of liberty over other values Rather, libertarians understand freedom in terms of their theory of rights, thus building a commitment to private property into their concept of liberty.

Hollow Corporations

companies that in years past were identified with making goods of all sorts now are likely to produce only the package and label

Capitalism

defined as an economic system that operates on the basis of profit and market exchange and in which the major means of production and distribution are in private hands

Adam Smith's justification for capitalism is rooted in ________ moral theory.

economic

Rawls's Theory of Justice

explores the basic rules that are necessary to ensure fairness in society as a whole

Capitalism is best defined as an economic system in which the majority of goods and services are held in ______ hands.

invisible

Original Position

know nothing about themselves personally or about what their individual situation will be once the rules are chosen and the veil is lifted

For utilitarians, the Good is only achieved by the maximization of happiness, which they consider to be a _________ .

standard/duty ?

Libertarianism - Robert Nozick

liberty is the prime value, and justice consists in permitting each person to live as he or she pleases, free from the interference of others. a philosophy of personal liberty—the liberty of each person to live according to his own choices, provided he does not attempt to coerce others and thus prevent them from living according to their choices."

Optimal moral code

must take into account what rules can reasonably be taught and obeyed, as well as the costs of instilling those rules in people

John Stuart Mill definition of Injustice

one is treated unjustly when one's moral rights are violated

The fundamental drive that fuels capitalism is known as the _______ motive.

profit

One argument for capitalism is that it reflects the belief in a natural Lockean right to _______ .

property

According to the text, __________ egoism is derived from alleged fact that human beings are by nature selfish creatures.

psychological

As discussed in class yesterday, Rawls struggled throughout his life to overcome a ________ disability.

speech/impediment

Consequentialist Theories

the moral rightness of an action is determined solely by its results

Maxim

the principle (or rule) that people in effect formulate in determining their conduct. For example: "I'll make promises that I'll break whenever keeping them no longer suits my purposes." This is the subjective principle—the maxim—that directs his action.

Distributive justice

the proper distribution of social benefits and burdens

Alienation (Marx)

the separation of individuals from the objects they create, which in turn results in one's separation from other people, from oneself, and ultimately from one's human nature

Business Egoism

the view that it is morally acceptable/required for individuals to pursue their economic interests when engaged in business

Maximin rule

you should select the alternative under which the worst that could happen to you is better than the worst that could happen to you under any other alternative—that is, you should try to maximize the minimum that you will receive.