2. The Law and Morality
• The Law
– Rules of conduct established by the
government of a society to maintain
harmony, stability, and justice
1-4
3. The Law and Morality
• The Law
– Defines the legal rights and duties of the people
– Provides a way to protect the people by enforcing
these rights and duties
– A means of civil management
What happens without law? Is that good or bad?
1-5
4. The Law and Morality
• Morals
– Values that govern a society’s attitude toward right
and wrong and toward good and evil
– Serves as a guide for those bodies that make, interpret,
and enforce the law
What relationship do you see between laws and morals?
Are all laws based on morals?
1-6
5. Values and Ethics
• Ethics
– The attempt to:
• Develop a means of determining what fundamental values
ought to be and
• Formulate and apply rules that enforce those values
– Where do our morals come from?
– How do we determine right from wrong?
1-7
6. Natural Law Theory
• Natural law
– Sees law as originating from some objective, superior
force that stands outside the everyday experience of
most people
– Exists an unbreakable link joining morality to the law in
a fundamental way
Who/What is the origin?
1-8
7. Positive Law Theory
• Positive Law
– Legal theory that says that the law originates from an
outside source that has emerged from within society
– Social institutions (government)
– As we live and interact together, we discover our
rights, leading us to express them in some written
form.
1-9
8. Positive Law Theory
• Law of Peoples
– Human intuition will always give rise to positive moral
laws that are global in scope
– Common to everyone
– Human decency will ultimately triumph over human
cruelty, abolishing evil.
1-10
9. Negative Rights Theory
• “Rights" are a human invention designed to help
people escape moral law.
• Rights give people an escape clause when they are
caught doing something shameful.
– Right to free speech = right to lie
– Right to bear arms = right to harm
– Property rights = right to exploit, pollute, destroy
1-11
10. Ethical Theories
• Ethical relativism (subjective ethics)
– There are no objective or absolute standards of right
and wrong
– Standards change from circumstance to circumstance
• “What’s right for you might not be right for me”
At its logical end, clashes with natural and positive law.
1-12
11. Ethical Theories
• Situational ethics
– We can’t judge a person’s ethical decisions before
initially placing ourselves in the other person’s
situation (metaphorical mile in shoes)
– Encourages people to look at others with tolerance
and patience
• The only absolute is Love, and Love should be the motive
behind every decision.
What about when ethics seem nonexistent?
1-13
12. Ethical Theories
• Social contract theory
– Right and wrong are measured by the obligations
imposed on each individual by an implied agreement
among all individuals within a particular social system
– To live in harmony people must give up certain
freedoms to gain certain protections.
“But I like free-form public naked ninja sword dancing.”
1-14
13. Ethical Theories
• Utilitarianism
– The morality of an action is determined by its ultimate
effects
– Greatest good for the greatest number
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.”
~Spock
1-16
14. Ethical Theories
• Utilitarianism – needs of the many or needs of the
me?
– Uses neutral, unemotional language
– Identify everyone affected
– Consider pros and cons for everyone
– Consider all alternatives
– Conclusion (greatest good for greatest number of
people affected)
1-17
15. Ethical Theories
• Rational ethics (objective ethics)
– Ethical values can be determined by a proper
application of human reason
– Should establish universal rules of behavior that apply
to all people at all times
1-18
16. Ethical Theories
• Role model ethics
– Encourages people to pattern their behavior after
admirable individuals whose activities provide
examples of the proper way to act
– Pro: Provides concrete examples of how to behave
– Con: Still have to determine what characteristics are
good
1-19
17. Ethical Characteristics
– Honesty – open and truthful
– Fairness – treat other people with justice and
equality
– Compassion – care for others
– Integrity – do the right thing even if it doesn’t
benefit you
1-20
18. Ethics and the Government
• The government of a nation-state has two
objectives that simultaneously justify its power
and enable the proper exercise of that power
1. to protect its own existence and
2. to protect the lives, health, and wellbeing of its own
citizens.
1-21
19. Ethic of Ultimate Ends
• Ethic of ultimate ends
– often referred to as the ethic of benevolence.
– an individual must do the right thing because that
action is right in and of itself
• Can’t consider long-term consequences, because it’s
impossible to know them anyway
“turn the other cheek”
“treat people like you want to be treated”
1-22
20. Ethic of Responsibility
• Ethic of responsibility,
– demands that the moral actor, in this case a national
leader, consider his responsibilities to those people
who depend on that leader for protection, safety, and
sometimes even for their very lives.
• Duty to promote civil peace and protect lives of the nation’s
people
• Have to consider long-term consequences
1-23
21. Social Responsibility in the Business Sector
• The traditional view of corporate culture:
– “Privately owned corporations are created solely to
make a profit for their shareholders”
– “The foremost job of any manager is to maximize
profits”
1-24
22. Reasons for Social Responsibility
• Corporations:
– offers limited liability to owners
– are considered an artificially created person
– can own property and bring lawsuits
1-25
23. Reasons for Social Responsibility
• Because corporations have these rights they owe
an obligation to the public to act responsibly
• Decisions of corporate managers should not be
narrowly focused on profits
• Accepting social responsibility is in the long-term
interest of the corporation (Enlightened Corporate
Self-Interest)
1-26
24. Efforts to Promote Social Responsibility
• Statutes now permit managers to consider factors
other than profit in making decisions
– Economic well-being of the nation, the state, and the
local community
– Interests of employees, consumers, and suppliers
– The betterment of the environment, the economy, and
the overall social structure
1-27
25. The Relationship Between Law and Ethics
• The law is needed because, although people know
better, they do not always follow ethical principles
• Ethical principles can tell us what is right, but
cannot stop us from doing wrong
• The law can punish us if we choose to do wrong
1-28
26. Question?
Which ethical theory calls for the greatest good for
the greatest number?
A. Totalitarianism
B. Utilitarianism
C. Unilateralism
D. Multiplicity
1-29
27. Question?
Which ethical theory calls for individuals to give up
certain freedoms to gain protections?
A. Ethical relativism
B. Social contract theory
C. Situational ethics
D. Utilitarianism
1-30
28. Question?
What encourages people to pattern their behavior
after admirable individuals?
A. Transformational ethics
B. Charismatic ethics
C. Role-model ethics
D. Role play ethics
1-31
Notes de l'éditeur
Background Information
The tendency to complicate moral decision making is nothing new. In her essay, “The Moral Life,” Bonnie Kent, a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Irvine, reminds us that even medieval philosophers tended to complicate the rules of moral judgment.
Teaching Tips Discuss examples from recent events that involve moral atrocities committed by individuals whose moral code should have forbidden such actions. Ask the following question: What brings about dishonorable actions, such as the shameful treatment of Arab prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq during Gulf War II?
Teaching Tips The use of fetal tissue for medical treatment is at the center of a fiery debate. Discuss the topic in class. Then ask the students to analyze it from a viewpoint of subjective ethics.
Teaching Tips Discuss examples of social systems from which ethical systems appear absent or in which they seem highly flawed. Ask students to address the following questions: What brings about atrocities such as Saddam Hussein’s use of poison gas at Halabja; the genocide in Rwanda, the war crimes of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic; the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein’s military forces; the beheadings carried out by terrorists in Iraq, and the war crimes of Radovan Karadzic, former Bosnian Serb president? How do individuals victimized by such horrors respond to a lack of morality in their society or government? How do individuals act morally amid such widespread corruption or lawlessness?
Teaching Tips Consider using the following films to generate discussion about ethics and the application of ethical theories: Crash
(starring Sandra Bullock and Matt Dillon), Babel (Cate Blanchett), Bobby (Emilio Estevez, Anthony Hopkins, and Martin
Sheen), The Good Shepherd (Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro), Hoax (Richard Gere), Hollywoodland (Ben Affleck and Diane
Lane), The Pursuit of Happyness (Will Smith), The Queen (Helen Mirren), and Syriana (George Clooney). Create a list of
study questions for each film to make sure students focus on relevant issues.
Teaching Tips Explain to students that communication between an attorney and a client is strictly confidential. There is one exception: When a client confides in his or her lawyer that he or she is about to commit a crime, the attorney has a legal duty to disclose this information to the police. Lead the class in a discussion of how serious a crime would have to be before the attorney has an ethical duty to act. Would the attorney–client privilege benefit proportionately if this exception were not in place?
