1. VA LU E S A N D T H E G O O D L I F E
The good, the right, & the Virtuous
2. W H AT A R E YO U R VA L U E S ?
W H AT A R E YO U R P R I O R I T I E S ?
Accomplishment Respect Enjoyment
Honesty
Love Meaningful work Happiness
Adventure
Fun Nice car Spirituality
Romance
Money Freedom Contribution to
Creativity
A fulfilling sex life Fame something outside the self
Knowledge
A good job Good education Friendship
Generosity
Children Big house Entertainment
Self-discipline
Long life Vacations in the Safety
Talent
Travel Bahamas Intelligence
Good health
Recognition Leisure Recreation
3. GOOD STATES OF AFFAIRS
It’s good to eat. It’s better to eat well. It’s best that all eat well.
The best classes are those that are not just interesting and
relevant, but teach you something about who you are and how you
should be.
Replacing the drug war with a health-based approach would help
preserve families, lower prison costs, and help addicts kick the habit.
We need the death penalty in order to deter would-be murderers
from committing murders. Death penalty = less murders.
4. WHAT IS VALUABLE AND
HOW IS IT VALUABLE
In what way is it valuable?
intrinsic value: The worth objects have in their own right,
independent of their value to any other end.
instrumental value: The worth objects have in fulfilling other ends
What type(s) of thing are valuable?
Individualism – Only individual beings can have intrinsic moral value
(e.g. higher mammals, sentient beings, all living things)
Holism - Collective entities can also have intrinsic moral value (e.g.,
ecosystems, wilderness or endangered species)
7. THE RIGHT
As a parent, I have to look out for my children’s well-being first.
I have the right to be treated with respect like everyone else
It would be wrong to tell you what she said – I promised!
Give more to charity. You know that it’s the right thing to do.
Killing innocent people is wrong, no matter how much it lowers the
price of oil.
It’s wrong to allow a murderer to live. Justifies demands retribution.
8. THE GOOD LIFE
The enviable life – a life that we would
like to have when viewed from the inside
The admirable life – a life that we admire
and respect.
9. THE GOOD LIFE
1. Are there many kinds of desirable lives
2. Are there many kinds of admirable lives?
1. Is the admirable life the enviable life?
2. Is the enviable life the admirable life?
10. KEY QUESTION: What is the connection between
good states of affairs, right actions, and a good
character?
Sample approach 1: consequence-based ethics
o Start/focus on good states of affairs
o Right actions are those that bring about good states of affairs
o A good character is one that leads you bring about good states of affairs
Sample approach 2: duty-based ethics
o Start/focus on right actions
o Good states of affairs are those in which right actions are taken
o A good character is one that leads you to perform right actions
Sample approach 3: character-based ethics
o Start/focus on good character
o Good states of affairs are those in which good characters are developed
o Right actions are those that bring about (arise from) good character
11. SELF-INTEREST & MORALITY
1. Are we universally selfish? PSYCHOLOGICAL EGOISM (PE)
Every person only cares intrinsically about
(descriptive question)
him or herself. All human motivations are
2. Should we be universally selfish? selfish.
(prescriptive question)
Objection: Sometimes people truly
behave altruistically
Reply: People help others because it
makes them feel good, not from altruism.
Objection: That pleasure can be the
biproduct, rather than the motivation
12. ETHICAL EGOISM
ETHICAL EGOISM – One ought to do what is in his or her
own rational self-interest.
ARGUMENT 1: THE RING OF GYGES
“The achievement of his own happiness is man’s
P1. Everyonemoral purpose”their self-interest if they could
highest would pursue
– Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness (1964)
P2. Whatever everyone would do is what anyone should do.
C. We ought to pursue only our own interests.
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13. ETHICAL EGOISM
ETHICAL EGOISM - Everyone ought to do what is in his or
her own rational self-interest.
ARGUMENT 2: BEST FOR EVERYONE
P1. It is by pursuing our own benefit that we best
help others achieve theirs
C. We ought to pursue only our own interests.
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14. ETHICAL EGOISM
ARGUMENT 3: RESPECTING INDIVIDUAL INTEGRITY (Rand)
P1. A person has only one life to live. If we value the individual then we must treat
this life is of supreme importance – it’s all one has and is.
P2. The ethics of altruism regards the life of the individual as something one must
be ready to sacrifice for the good of others
C1. Therefore, the ethics of altruism doesn’t properly value the individual.
P3. Ethical Egoism, which allows each person to view his or her own life as being
of ultimate value, is the only philosophy that takes the life of the individual
seriously.
C2. Thus, Ethical Egoism is the philosophy that ought to be accepted 14
15. ETHICAL EGOISM
ARGUMENT 4: EGOISM UNDERLIES COMMON MORALITY
P1. The hodge-podge of various duties prescribed by common sense
morality requires an explanation
P2. The best explanation of common sense morality is that all of our
duties are ultimately derived from the fundamental principle of self-
interest
C. Therefore, we should accept Ethical Egoism
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16. WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
MORALITY AND SELF-INTEREST?
Conflict Harmony
Morality requires that we sometimes act The morally right thing to do is also
against our own best interest… what is in our best interest. Being a
good person leads to rewards and being
Option 1: … and morality is right a bad person leads to punishments.
Problem: Why should I do what is Problem 1: It seems easy to come up
against my self-interest? with some potential act that will benefit
me, but wrongly harm others.
Option 2: … and morality is wrong
Problem 2: Implausibly implies that
Problem: Morality seems like it has force moral and immoral people have same
and can’t be ignored. motivation, but one is just smarter.
