2. Learning Objectives
1. Define law and morality.
2. Distinguish among natural law, positive
law, and negative rights theory
3. Explain ethical relativism.
4. Describe social contract theory.
5. Outline the steps in applying
utilitarianism.
6. Define rational ethics.
1-2
3. Learning Objectives (cont.)
7. Explain the dual nature of ethics in
government.
8. Outline the arguments supporting social
responsibility.
9. Explore the need for law in our society.
10. Clarify how the law and ethics are
usually in harmony with one another.
1-3
4. The Law and Morality
• The Law
– consists of rules of conduct established by the
government of a society to maintain harmony,
stability, and justice
1-4
5. Question?
What defines the legal rights and duties of
the people?
A. Ethics
B. Values
C. Morals
D. Law
1-5
6. 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
1-6
7. Question?
What are values that govern a society’s
attitude toward right and wrong?
A. Morals
B. Ethics
C. Societal values
D. Law
1-7
8. 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
1-8
9. Values and Ethics
• Ethics
– the attempt to develop a means of
determining what fundamental values ought to
be and for formulating and applying rules that
enforce those values
1-9
10. Question?
Which theory says that human intuition will
always give rise to positive moral laws?
A. Natural law
B. Positive law
C. Law of humanity
D. Law of peoples
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11. 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 inn a fundamental way
1-11
12. 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
1-12
13. Positive Law Theory
• Law of Peoples
– human intuition will always give rise to
positive moral laws that are global in scope
– common to everyone
1-13
14. Negative Rights Theory
• “Rights" are a human invention designed
to help people escape moral law.
• “Rights" themselves do not create the
escape from responsibility that they
permit.
• Rather, these so-called rights give people
an escape clause when they are caught
doing something shameful.
1-14
15. Question?
Which ethical theory calls for the greatest
good for the greatest number?
A. Totalitarianism
B. Utilitarianism
C. Unilateralism
D. Multiplicity
1-15
16. Ethical Theories
• Ethical relativism
– there are no objective or absolute standards
of right and wrong
– standards change from circumstance to
circumstance
– also called subjective ethics
1-16
17. Question?
Which ethical theory calls for individuals to
give up certain freedoms?
A. Ethical relativism
B. Social contract theory
C. Situational ethics
D. Utilitarianism
1-17
18. Ethical Theories
• Situational ethics
– argues that each of us can judge a person’s
ethical decisions only by initially placing
ourselves in the other person’s situation
– encourages people to look at others with
tolerance and patience
1-18
19. Ethical Theories
• Social contract theory
– holds that right and wrong are measured by
the obligations imposed on each individual by
an implied agreement among all individuals
within a particular social system
– people must give up certain freedoms
1-19
20. Ethical Theories
• Utilitarianism
– the morality of an action is determined by its
ultimate effects
– Greatest good for the greatest number
1-20
21. Ethical Theories
• Rational 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
– Also called objective ethics
1-21
22. 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.
1-22
23. Ethic of Ultimate Ends
• Ethic of ultimate ends
– asserts that the action itself is right or wrong
in and of itself, regardless of the
consequences of the action.
– often referred to as the ethic of benevolence.
– an individual must do the right thing because
it is right in and of itself.
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24. 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.
1-24
25. Social Responsibility in the
Business Sector
• The traditional view of corporate culture
says that privately owned corporations are
created solely to make a profit for their
shareholders
• The foremost job of any manager is to
maximize profits
1-25
26. Reasons for Social
Responsibility
• Corporation offers limited liability to
owners
• Corporation is considered an artificially
created person
• Corporation can own property and bring
lawsuits
1-26
27. 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
1-27
28. 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
1-28
29. 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
1-29
Notas del editor
The correct answer is “D” – see next slide.
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.
The correct answer is “A” – morals. See next slide.
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.
The correct answer is “D” – law of peoples. See slide 1-13.
The correct answer is “B” – utilitarianism. See slide 1-#.
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?
The correct answer is “B” – social contract theory. See slide 1-19.
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?