Moral Theory Day 4
Moral Theory Day 4
Ayn Rand – Liberty Rights and ethical egoism
“There is only one fundamental right (all others are its consequences or corollaries): a man’s right to his own life. Life is a process of self-sustaining and self-generated action; the right to life means the right to engage in self-sustaining and self-generated action – which means: the freedom to take all the actions required by the nature of a rational being for the support, the furtherance, the fulfillment and the enjoyment of his own life. (Such is the meaning of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.)”(62)
Lasses-faire capitalism is the only philosophy compatible with respect for the integrity and the reality of the individual human.
Why the U.S. is special – “All previous systems had held that man’s life belongs to society, that society can dispose of him in any way it pleases and that any freedom he enjoys is his only by favor, by permission of society, whichmay be revoked at any time. The United States held that man’s life is his by right (which means; by moral principle and by his nature), that a right is the property of an individual, that society as such has no rights, and that the only moral purpose of government is the protection of individual rights.”(62)
Welfare rights – entail the right to receive certain social goods such as eduction, medical care and police protection. Welfare rights are important because without a minimal standard of livingor education, we cannot pursue our legitimate interests. Socialist and Marxist countries place emphasis on such rights.
Welfare rights for Rand are bad, very bad. They involve forcibly taking goods from people who earned them and giving them to people who have not earned them and therefore do not deserve them. Welfare rights by definition inhibit individual freedom and are hence immoral.
“The right to life is the source of all rights- and the right to property is their only implementation. Without property rights, no other rights are possible. Since man has to sustain his life by his own effort, the man who has no right to the product of his effort has no means to sustain his life. The man, who produces while others dispose of his product, is a slave.”(62)
The sole purpose of the government is to protect our rights of equality. Not that we all are equal or deserve the same stuff, but that we all equally are able to pursue that which we consider the good.
“It is not a guarantee that a man will earn any property, but only a guarantee that he will own it if he earns it. It is the right to gain, to keep, to use and to dispose of material values.”(63)
List of supposed ‘rights’ on page 63
“If some men are entitled by right to the products of the work of others, it means that those others are derived of rights and condemned to slave labor.”(63)
Discussion Questions:
Should the government guarantee happiness and minimal possessions or should it merely guarantee the pursuit of happiness and possessions?
Rights Ethics:
What are our natural rights?
applying rights ethics – pg. 35
Prima Facie – on first appearance
Problems -
“The theological basis of natural rights ethics, which privileges humans as a special creation, is difficult, if not impossible, to justify on either rational philosophical or empirical grounds.”(34)
We have no universal criteria for determining what these rights are so what we decide on lacks grounding.
Virtue Ethics: Aristotle revisited
“A virtue is an admirable character trait or disposition to habitually act ina manner that benefits ourselves and others.”(36)
examples of doctrine of the mean – pg. 37
As all moral theories do it attempts to provide an equation to use to determine if something is moral or not. The principle tool being reason. The skills required are intellectual and moral virtues.
“Humans need community in order to be virtuous. The purpose of the state is to promote the virtuous or good life. Justice is the primary virtue of the state; unless a state is just and encourages the development of virtue in its citizens, it has no power to make its citizens good.”(37)
Nietzsche and the Ubermenschen
His attack on Christianity – humility and weakness are not virtuous traits
Care Ethics
Justice, impartiality, and reason take a back seat to compassion.
Sympathy is the guide in determining the moral act rather than reason
Discussion Question:
Which motivates you more to take action, a sense of justice or a feeling of sympathy for other persons?
Conclusion on page 41
Ayn Rand – Liberty Rights and ethical egoism
“There is only one fundamental right (all others are its consequences or corollaries): a man’s right to his own life. Life is a process of self-sustaining and self-generated action; the right to life means the right to engage in self-sustaining and self-generated action – which means: the freedom to take all the actions required by the nature of a rational being for the support, the furtherance, the fulfillment and the enjoyment of his own life. (Such is the meaning of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.)”(62)
Lasses-faire capitalism is the only philosophy compatible with respect for the integrity and the reality of the individual human.
Why the U.S. is special – “All previous systems had held that man’s life belongs to society, that society can dispose of him in any way it pleases and that any freedom he enjoys is his only by favor, by permission of society, whichmay be revoked at any time. The United States held that man’s life is his by right (which means; by moral principle and by his nature), that a right is the property of an individual, that society as such has no rights, and that the only moral purpose of government is the protection of individual rights.”(62)
Welfare rights – entail the right to receive certain social goods such as eduction, medical care and police protection. Welfare rights are important because without a minimal standard of livingor education, we cannot pursue our legitimate interests. Socialist and Marxist countries place emphasis on such rights.
Welfare rights for Rand are bad, very bad. They involve forcibly taking goods from people who earned them and giving them to people who have not earned them and therefore do not deserve them. Welfare rights by definition inhibit individual freedom and are hence immoral.
“The right to life is the source of all rights- and the right to property is their only implementation. Without property rights, no other rights are possible. Since man has to sustain his life by his own effort, the man who has no right to the product of his effort has no means to sustain his life. The man, who produces while others dispose of his product, is a slave.”(62)
The sole purpose of the government is to protect our rights of equality. Not that we all are equal or deserve the same stuff, but that we all equally are able to pursue that which we consider the good.
“It is not a guarantee that a man will earn any property, but only a guarantee that he will own it if he earns it. It is the right to gain, to keep, to use and to dispose of material values.”(63)
List of supposed ‘rights’ on page 63
“If some men are entitled by right to the products of the work of others, it means that those others are derived of rights and condemned to slave labor.”(63)
Discussion Questions:
Should the government guarantee happiness and minimal possessions or should it merely guarantee the pursuit of happiness and possessions?
Rights Ethics:
What are our natural rights?
applying rights ethics – pg. 35
Prima Facie – on first appearance
Problems -
“The theological basis of natural rights ethics, which privileges humans as a special creation, is difficult, if not impossible, to justify on either rational philosophical or empirical grounds.”(34)
We have no universal criteria for determining what these rights are so what we decide on lacks grounding.
Virtue Ethics: Aristotle revisited
“A virtue is an admirable character trait or disposition to habitually act ina manner that benefits ourselves and others.”(36)
examples of doctrine of the mean – pg. 37
As all moral theories do it attempts to provide an equation to use to determine if something is moral or not. The principle tool being reason. The skills required are intellectual and moral virtues.
“Humans need community in order to be virtuous. The purpose of the state is to promote the virtuous or good life. Justice is the primary virtue of the state; unless a state is just and encourages the development of virtue in its citizens, it has no power to make its citizens good.”(37)
Nietzsche and the Ubermenschen
His attack on Christianity – humility and weakness are not virtuous traits
Care Ethics
Justice, impartiality, and reason take a back seat to compassion.
Sympathy is the guide in determining the moral act rather than reason
Discussion Question:
Which motivates you more to take action, a sense of justice or a feeling of sympathy for other persons?
Conclusion on page 41
posted by Charles Carlson at
7:16 AM
