ANTHONY WESTON

A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox

Colleen Walsh March 15, 2013

Helping You Achieve Your Ethical

Key Terms: Goals
 Values—those things we A 21st Century Ethical ranging and ongoing
care about. Those things Toolboox provides set of challenges that
that matter to us, those
goals or ideals to which we
readers with a set of calls for multiple and
aspire and by which we tools to help under- interwoven kinds of
measure ourselves or oth- stand and make a con- intelligence. It covers
ers or our society. structive difference in the skills that are
 Moral Values—concerned real-life moral contro- more vital to making
with one specific kind of versies. Thoroughly real progress in eth-
values in general. Those optimistic, it invites ics, including paying
values that give voice to the students to approach careful attention to
needs and legitimate expec-
tations of others, as well as
ethical issues with a the values at stake on
ourselves reconstructive intent, all sides of an issue;
making room for more looking for creative
 Ethics— the study of mor-
al values; reflection on how
and better options that opportunities within
best to think about moral the traditional pro and difficult problems;
values and clarify, prioritize con positions that have critical-thinking
and/or integrate them. grown up around tough skills such as defin-
problems like abortion ing key terms and
and animal rights. making sure to judge
This unique text does similar cases alike;
Inside this issue: not treat ethics as a and learning how to
purely academic, his- engage in constructive
torical or theoretical dialogue.
Getting Started 2
subject, but as a wide

Values 3

Tools for Critical Thinking 4 About the Author

in Ethics

Tools for Creativity in 5

Ethics Anthony Weston teaches philosophy and environ-
mental studies at Elon University, North Carolina,
Putting Ethics into Action 5 and serves as Master Teacher in Elon’s Global Stud-
ies program. He has published five other books, in-
cluding A Practical Companion to Ethics, 2/e (OUP,
Contemporary Issues 7
2011), A Rulebook for Arguments, 3/e (2000), An In-
vitation to Environmental Philosophy (OUP, 1998)
Critical Analysis 7 and Toward Better Problems (1992), as well as nu-
merous articles.
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Section 1—Getting Started

Ethics as a Learning Experience
“The Need for Open “The Role of Feelings”
Minds”
Feeling right does not
It takes an open mind to guarantee rightness.
learn and grow. Ethics Feelings may alert us to
concerns some of the moral problems. Often it’s
hardest and most complex of feelings that really start
our choices. moral revolutions—the
arguments come later.
The firmest conviction in no
Strong feelings may lead
way guarantees rightness.
you in a certain direction—
Every bad cause has firm
but not all feelings are just.
convictions behind it too.
Ethics asks us to challenge
our feelings.

3 Easy Routes to A Closed Mind (and how to avoid them)

1) Dogmatism— 2) Offhand Self-Justification— 3) Relativism—Relativists believe
The tendency to lay down principles Do not defend opinions just for the that no one standard is Right and
as incontrovertibly true, without sake of defending them—or shrug that no moral code can be applied to
consideration of evidence or the off arguments by dismissing them. every situation.
opinions of others. Do not rationalize.
Relativism can be dangerous be-
Avoid this by: Instead: cause it can lead to apathy or off-
hand self-justification. It can also
Stop and try to really listen to the attempt to explain or justify (ones lead to avoidance of serious social
“other side” own or another's behavior or atti- issues such as pollution.
tude) with logical, plausible rea-
Speak in an open-ended way. Avoid sons, even if these are not true.
Bumper Sticker slogans

Ethics & Religion

Questions for Reflection:
 What events in
For some, religion is essential to ethics. Others YOUR life were
find religious ethics controversial, or worse. occasions for ethical
What does religion not contribute to your eth- learning What did
you learn: What
ics? What are its limits? How does your reli- made that learning
gious faith influence the practice of ethics in possible?
your life?
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Section 11—Values Humility

Keeping Your
Promise
Well being of
Definition: Our values are those others & the
things we care about, that matter world
to us; these goals and ideals we Equality
aspire to and measure ourselves,
other or our society by. MORAL Fairness
Types of Values: VALUES
Respect
 Aesthetic Benevolence
 Scientific
Responsibility
 Economic
Reducing Pain &
 Instrumental
Suffering
Moral values are distinct from Trust
those listed above.

Moral Values debate, keep these definitions in Emotion

mind. What needs and legitimate
Moral Values are those values that expectations—both yours and oth- Don’t downgrade emotion! Remem-
give voice to the needs and legiti- ers are at stake here? What are the ber values are the things that we
mate expectations of others as well parties to this debate trying to care about. Care is an emotion!
as ourselves. Moral values connect speak for? But be careful not to act on pure
us with the rest of the world (“the emotion. Moral values are partly
needs of others as well as our- Fairness emotional and partly fact based.
selves”) and introduce the question
of what others are entitled to ask Be fair! Avoid dogmatism. Try to
see matters from all points of view. Reflection:
from us and what we are entitled to
ask from them and from our selves. Don’t try to decide who is right and What moral values are the
This is also known as “legitimate wrong—but just try to figure out
the values involved. most important to you?
expectations. In questions of moral
Respect? Well-being? Fairness?

3 Families of Moral Values

Goods Rights Virtues

Happiness and well-being: satisfac- Appropriate respect for the dignity Good personal character. Acting as a
tion, pleasure, the relief of pain and or worth of each person. Fairness, good person ought to act: responsibly,
suffering, fulfillment. Social bene- justice, or respecting legal, civil or charitably, honestly, loyally. Living
fits (social, political or economic human rights. Treating others as up to the best of what we are.
products, services or states of af- equals, not acting as though they
fairs that promote happiness and are somehow less than ourselves.
well being); reduced social cost.
Reflection: Do all values fall into one or another of these categories?
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Some Traditional Ethical Theories

Utilitarianism Theories of Right Action Theories of Virtue
A doctrine that the useful is the What makes acts right (or Aristotle's’ Virtue is the most influ-
good and that the determining wrong)? Why be fair? What treat ential account of virtue. He taught
consideration of right conduct others justly? Emmanuel Kant’s that everything in the world has a
should be the usefulness of its basic principle of moral action, the distinctive and essential function or
consequences; specifically: a theo- “Categorical Imperative” states activity. He emphasizes the role of
ry that the aim of action should be that one must always act so as to one's character and the virtues
the largest possible balance of treat humanity, whether in your- that one's character embodies for
pleasure over pain or the greatest self, or in another, as an ends, and determining or evaluating ethical
happiness of the greatest number. never merely as a means. behavior

Ethical theories have a practical aim—the help us deal with conflicts of moral values. These theories are limited tools.
Each systemizes some of our moral values and can help resolve some conflicts of moral values, especially conflicts within
families. In more values its important to remember that both sides have a point—or all sides. All sides speak for some-
thing worth considering and each side is right about something! Often this is forgotten when dealing with hot topics
such as abortion, gay marriage or gun control.

Section 111—Tools for Critical Thinking in Ethics

Finding the Facts Tools for Fact-finding
Moral disagreements are much  What facts are at issue?
more than differences about values.
Many disagreements are about  Find out what is relevant to the situation
facts. Facts are so crucial in ethics
that some philosophers have argued  Get the facts and then re-evaluate your
that facts, and not values, are actu- stance
ally at the crux of most moral disa-
greements. When deal with facts  Sources—find facts from reliable sources.
you must utilize a number of tools. Look for thorough and careful coverage of

Watching Words
Tools for Effective Communicating:

1. Avoid Loaded Language—it can 2. Avoid Unclear Language—be clear, commonly defined language.
manipulate our feelings. Do not use precise—use language that every-
exaggerated or depersonalized lan- one will understand. And be pre- Our language can make a big differ-
guage. I.e.) Drunks who drive are pared to define terms if asked. ence to how clearly we think and
callous and mindless—they are communicate—in general, and with
murderers jus the same as if they’d 3. Avoid using contested terms. If ethics in particular.
gone and knifed someone in cold a term does not have a clear defini-
blood. tion avoid using it. Instead use
Judge Like Cases Alike

Kant argued that the essence of moral judgement is that you must judge similar situations the same way. This can affect
how you think about certain situations. It is suggested that situations such as capital punishment and abortion fit in this
category. If your views are not consistent with this, Weston suggests 3 responses: 1) argue that the cases are not really
alike—in that case, you need to figure out the morally relevant difference between the two cases and explain 2) change your
judgement about the like case or cases 3) change your judgement about the original cases.
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Section IV: Tools for Creativity in Ethics

Multiplying Options Problem Shifting

Confronting ethical problems can be Often in order to solve a problem,

daunting. Often we feel that there you must simply shift the problem.
are only two options to choose from If you think of the problem in other
and that we are in a “moral dilem- situations, you may find a solution.
ma”. That is rarely the case in real-
ity though. Often all that is needed
is a little creative thinking. For Tools:
creativity in ethics you must em-
ploy:  Open the problem
 Inventiveness  Reframe the problem
 Out of the box thinking  Think preventatively
 Asking around and listening to  See the problem as an oppor-
others views and suggestions tunity
 Brainstorming  Don’t settle for too little
 Random Association  Expect more!

Section V: Putting Ethics into Action

Picking the Right Tools Dialogue: Learning by Talking

Know what your goals are: Talking is one chief way to put the
ethical toolbox into action. To per-
Goal 1: Explore the Issue “If you don’t know where you’re suade, to negotiate, to learn. The
Goal 2: Get Unstuck way we use dialogue is key—we can
going, you’re not likely to get talk more or less effectively. Effec-
Goal 3: Make a Case there!” tive dialogue reflects an ethical
relationship: it reflects ethical atti-
Goal 4: To Decide for Yourself tudes towards others and a commit-
ment to shared solutions.

How to Have a Fruitless Debate:

 Take all the room you can.  Use a lot of stereotypes
Talk loud and a lot. Worry towards the other party.
only about your comeback,
not what the other party is  Exploit ALL weaknesses or
saying. openings. Always be against
something, not for something.
 Separate and Polarize—
exaggerate difference. Em-  Go for the quick kill. Talk in
phasize what you and the slogans and sound bites.
other party disagree about.
Always assume the worst.
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How to Have a Useful Discussion

 Slow Down & Listen.  Welcome Openings and
Speak calmly. Listen a lot. Opportunities.
Avoid automatic comebacks Look for first steps and par-
(yeah, but…). Stop and take tial measures. Think con-
a deep breath. Work for bet- structively, make sugges-
ter understanding. Ask ques- tions.
tions and mean them. Expect
that you have as much to  Stay Engaged.
learn as the other side. The discussion is a collabora-
tion in search of better under-
 Connect. standings and creative ideas.
Seek common ground. Recog- Treat facts as tools. Keep
nize complexity. Don’t polar- exploring. Expect key ques-
ize. There is no simple yes or tions to remain open. There
no to any discussion. Keep is always more learning to
focus on the main points. do!

The Common Ground Approach

Often, searching for common what is genuinely shared between  It encourages connective
ground, difficult as that may be, is the two groups. thinking.
the spirit of dialogue. The common
ground approach can be difficult for Elements of the Common Group  Encourages the sharing of
some, as it can be seen as unthinka- Approach: personal experiences
ble to think of an issue from the
 Common ground is NOT a  Encourages genuine ques-
other side, such as during concern
compromise. tions
about abortion, capital punishment,
or assisted suicide. However, the  It encourages looking beyond  Acknowledges shared mem-
common ground approach is actual- labels and stereotypes. bership in society.
ly inviting both sides to search for

Service: Learning by Helping

Ethics is about helping out. Moral Service can be measured in many Serving can come as a personal
values are those values that give ways: challenge—but most often, we learn
voice to the needs and legitimate the most about ourselves and the
expectations of others. The point of  Helping a child who is lost world from the situations that we
ethics is to act. find the most challenging.
 Collecting money for charity
Weston suggests that you learn
much about yourself and the world  Serving meals to the home-
you live in through service. less

 Providing mission service

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Section VI: Contemporary Issues

This section take the terms, theories and tools that make up our toolbox and applies them to situations that
are current and relevant in todays society.

These issues include:

 Sex  Business and Professional  Poverty and Welfare

Ethic
 Why sex matters (brief) history of welfare
 Reimagining sex Professional codes of ethics Statistics
 Retooling marriage Corporate Credo’s Shared values
 Perversion Employees Rights &  Need to respond
 Sexual Orientation and Responsibilities
 Respond effectively
Homosexuality. Building Ethical Business
 Rights pro & con
Practices
 The work ethic
 Abortion
 Understanding Poverty
Pro-choice stance
Pro-life stance  Causes
Statistics  Reframing the problem
Economic Factors

Section VII—The Expanding Circle

This section is used to challenge the Both sections challenge us to use

reader to look beyond the moral the tools that we have learned and
values and ethical dilemmas that placed in our toolbox to examine our
are facing us as singular humans treatment of animals and the earths
and include two very interrelated fragile environment which we are
aspects of our lives. both entirely dependent on.

1) Animals
Can your personal choices regard-
2) The environment ing these issues be considered
moral?

Critical Analysis
COLLEEN WALSH
This book lays out the foundation bias’ shine through in many aspects
for understanding values, moral of this book, particularly the latter Phone: 306.533.0705
values and ethics very effectively. half. He presents a very singular E-mail: colleen.walsh@uregina.ca
There is a great deal of effort put view of religion, sex, homosexuality, JSGS 806 - Executive Leadership, Ethics and Trust in the
forth explaining the evolution of poverty and welfare. Putting this Public Service
these ideals and their practical ap- aside, this is a very practical re- Dr. Keith D. Walker
plications to effective ethical prob- source for learning about values, March 16, 2013
lem solving today. However, the morals and ethics.
author lets several of his personal