MODULE 4

Finalist Theories

Utilitarianism

- John Stuart Mill believe those actions that bring happiness are considered morally right while those actions that inhibit happiness are considered morally wrong.
- popularly known as the greatest happiness principle
- Actions are either inherently pleasurable or merely instrumental – that is things may be valued for their own sake(inherent value) or because they are instrumental in attaining an end(instrumental value)
- It considers the results or consequences of a particular action in determining whether or not the said action is right or wrong.


Categorical Imperatives


- Immanuel Kant's concept of what is good per se does not need qualification

- An act is good not because of certain consequences that occur in its performance, or on the basis of its end-result, but because of the "will" that accompanies the act.

-The "will" when employed with traits that many treats as good and desirable (such as courage, resoluteness, perseverance) may turn negative and harmful when in itself "will" is not good.

- "Good Will" therefore corrects the mind and protects it from the repelling influences of arrogance and pride. Will is the competence to discern and decide whether to obey certain laws with the use of reason or rationality. This formulation of command of reason is called imperative - a means towards understanding an objective principle in so far as it is mandatory for the will.

- Kant introduced the concept of "duty" to exemplify good will. Duty comprises the notion of what is good with certain limitations and impediments.

- Kant presented 3 prepositions of morality related to duty

• - To have moral worth, an action must be done out of duty

e.g. Kara takes care of his computer because it is her duty to do as its owner. She does not think about why she should do so. She only wills the performance of her said duty.

• An action done from duty does not have its moral worth in the purpose, which is to achieved through it, but in the maxim by which it is determined. This means that the purpose or end for which an action is done has nothing to do the moral worth but the on the principle of the will that can be fulfilled through the performance of said action

• Duty is the necessity of an action done from respect for the law. To duty every other motive must give place, because duty is the condition of a will good in itself, whose worth transcends everything

e.g. The following does not qualify the concept of duty Chito buys genuine and branded software not because he wills it but because he is acting in compliance with the law against piracy.

- Imperatives as stated above are either hypothetical or categorical.
- hypothetical imperative - commands an action that is meant to be good merely as means to something else - meaning an action is good for some purpose and therefore conditional

e.g. a CS student is advised to become familiar with computer languages, since the computer although user-friendly, would operate only upon the user's command, the act of learning by heart therefore computer language and its application is an imperative to attaiiin a particular end - that is familiarization of computer operations

- Categorical imperative commands an action that is good in itself - meaning necessary without regard for any purpose or any end other than itself. This is also known as the imperatives of morality

e.g. Love one another is good in itself and does not need any purpose



Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

- referred to as "Virtue Ethics,"
- Aristotle observed that the different ends of human beings can be classified into three: instrumental, final, and supreme.
- He argued that there are ends that are used only as means for attaining other ends. This means they are not pursued for themselves or for their own sake; rather, they are utilized as instruments for other end. In computing, the design and creation of programs are the ends (or goals) of computer programmers. Once & particular program is completed, it ceases to be an end and becomes a means towards attaining another end

e.g. Paula is a newly graduated computer programmer. Luckily, she was able to get employment in a computer service provider. As a young professional, Paula is full of energy and dreams. One of her fantasies is to be able to design and create a -unique marketing program for a client. Paula devotedly and patiently executes her design into a program. After several months of hard work, Jeanne Paula finally completes the program. When, tested, the marketing program is approved and is considered a big success.

- Ends that are described as final those pursued for their own sake but conditionally final. This means, there are same circumstances when they become subservient to other ends. This happens when a "more comprehensive end" has to be taken into account

- Aristotle claimed that it is the reason why some final ends are embraced or abandoned. Furthermore, it the supreme end that is unconditionally final end that gives "purpose" and '"direction" to our lives.

- Aristotle's account of happiness is quite different from the usual conception of happiness. While some people would identify bodily pleasures like food, drink and
sex, among others, as the defining factor of happiness, he insisted that it should instead be understood in terms of man's distinctive function. Since man is the only being endowed with rationality, then if follows that reason is what separates him from other beings.

- Since computing is a human action, it follows that the norms or standards of morality apply to it. Moral ideals such as righteousness, fairness, goodness, and justice apply in the evaluation of computing as a human action. Actions that do not infringe the intellectual creations of others, decency, honesty and integrity in the use of computer and its applications, among others, are the computer users' means towards attaining the "good life,"

- According to Virtue Ethics, there are types of virtues: moral virtue and intellectual virtue both are identified as the activities not of the body but the soul

- Moral virtue is also known as the virtue of character include generosity and temperance
- Intellectual virtue or virtue of thought include wisdom, comprehension, and intelligence

- The soul as mentioned comprised of rational and irrational parts. The rational component directs us to what is right; the irrational element is that which is natural opposed reason.

-The irrational Part is further subdivided into two: the nutritive and appetitive component. Nutrition and growth are not in reason's nature to control. The appetitive component includes the desiring elements which in a sense share in a rational principle. This only means that this component has the tendency to obey and listen to reason. It is reason that directs the desires and appetites to what is best. That is the mean between two extremes.

- the "mean" according Aristotle, is highly relative to the variables surrounding a particular moral situation the require careful discernment and sensitivity to what reason will dictate

- Aristotle added that moral virtues can be developed through the repeated exercise of the acts that strike the "mean". This emphasize that it is not enough that the moral agent can discern what is right. This will not make any sense if not acted out.

- More precisely; it is in the repeated performance of rational activities over time that makes virtuous character.

- Virtue of character then is

• (a) a state that decides;
• (b) consisting in a mean;
• (c) the mean relative to us;
• (d) which is defined by reference to reason;

- Aristotle also enumerated some requisite characteristics that must describe a morally virtuous agent:

• (1) The agent must act in full consciousness of what he is doing;
• (2) The must will his action and pursue it for its own sake;
• (3) The act must proceed from a fixed and unchangeable disposition. (Irwin)

- It is through virtues of thought that the human being is able to grasp, deliberate, and discern the first principles and the truths concerning the particulars and the universals. As a result every excellent decision presupposes an excellent reason. Decision is to the character while deliberation and thought are to the intellect. (White)