Page 152 - F1 - AB Integrated Workbook STUDENT 2018-19

Chapter 10

1.2 Approaches to ethics

There are several possible approaches to making ethical decisions.

Consequentialist Pluralist

This approach states that the decision is This approach involves trying to cater to
right or wrong depending on the the needs of all stakeholders without
consequences or outcomes of that seriously compromising the interests of
decision. As long as the outcome is any one group.
right, then the action itself is irrelevant.
E.g. a mining company may wish to open
E.g. if an individual needs to feed their a new mine in order to access mineral
family, stealing may be seen as morally deposits and earn its shareholders a
acceptable if there is no other way of large profit. However, local residents
obtaining food. may be unhappy due to pollution caused
by the mine. A pluralist approach would
This approach can be broken down into be to open the mine but ensure that
two further perspectives: enough money is spent to minimise the
damage to the local environment.
Egoism – the action is morally correct as
long as the outcome is favourable for the
individual making the decision.

Utilitarian – the action is considered to
be morally correct if the outcome is
favourable for the greatest number of
people or ‘the greater good’

Relativism Absolutism

This is the view that there is no universal This approach argues that certain actions
moral code with which to judge all are inherently right or wrong, regardless
actions. of their context or the circumstances that
they occur in.
This means that whether something can
be classed as ‘ethical’ or not depends on E.g. an absolutist would regard the taking
the circumstances. of a human life as entirely unacceptable,
regardless of the context; whether it was
What if someone stole bread to feed their murder or in self-defence would be
starving family? Relativists may argue irrelevant.
that different people will view this
differently.

146