Philosophical Approaches to Ethical Decision Making
Critiquing Philosophical Approaches to Ethical Decision Making
Critiquing Philosophical Approaches to Ethical Decision Making
When looking at ethical decision making in a philosophical approach you must consider the consequentialism ethics, deontology ethics, or the virtual ethics of any case you are evaluating. The following is a discussion of three different scenarios and the different approaches in decision making for these cases. This author will talk about what makes each scenario ethical or non-ethical. Each case will be approached and looked at with respect to the three philosophical approaches of decision making for these scenarios. The three philosophical methods that will be used in this analytical paper are consequentialism, deontology, and virtual ethics. The first method is also known as utilitarianism and focuses on the outcomes of actions, emphasizing the results rather than the kinds of acts involved. Consequentialism was developed by a woman named G.E.M. Anscombe in an essay “Modern Moral Philosophy”, in 1958. This method has become most common throughout the English Language moral theory. (Brooks, L.J. 2007). Deontology methods examines the ethicality of behavior based on motivation of the decision maker and was made clear by Immanuel Kant as stated by Brooks, L.J. (2007). Virtual ethics describes the character of moral agent as a driving force for ethical behavior rather than rules. (Brooks, L.J. 2007). Now that there is an explanation of the methods the following are the scenarios. In this first scenario the Mayor must decide whether to build a large mall in the place where the senior and recreation centers are located. Using the first method of consequentialism, the mayor should choose to build the large mall as it will bring revenue and jobs to the small community. The community would be outrage at this type of decision as it will destroy the senior and recreational centers leaving them out in the cold and the
Critiquing Philosophical Approaches to Ethical Decision Making
When looking at ethical decision making in a philosophical approach you must consider the consequentialism ethics, deontology ethics, or the virtual ethics of any case you are evaluating. The following is a discussion of three different scenarios and the different approaches in decision making for these cases. This author will talk about what makes each scenario ethical or non-ethical. Each case will be approached and looked at with respect to the three philosophical approaches of decision making for these scenarios. The three philosophical methods that will be used in this analytical paper are consequentialism, deontology, and virtual ethics. The first method is also known as utilitarianism and focuses on the outcomes of actions, emphasizing the results rather than the kinds of acts involved. Consequentialism was developed by a woman named G.E.M. Anscombe in an essay “Modern Moral Philosophy”, in 1958. This method has become most common throughout the English Language moral theory. (Brooks, L.J. 2007). Deontology methods examines the ethicality of behavior based on motivation of the decision maker and was made clear by Immanuel Kant as stated by Brooks, L.J. (2007). Virtual ethics describes the character of moral agent as a driving force for ethical behavior rather than rules. (Brooks, L.J. 2007). Now that there is an explanation of the methods the following are the scenarios. In this first scenario the Mayor must decide whether to build a large mall in the place where the senior and recreation centers are located. Using the first method of consequentialism, the mayor should choose to build the large mall as it will bring revenue and jobs to the small community. The community would be outrage at this type of decision as it will destroy the senior and recreational centers leaving them out in the cold and the
References: Brooks, L. J. (2007). Business & professional ethics for directors, executives, & accountants (4th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson Southwestern.