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Taking Ethics Seriously - Why Ethics Is an Essential Tool for the Modern Workplace (Hardcover)
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Taking Ethics Seriously - Why Ethics Is an Essential Tool for the Modern Workplace (Hardcover)
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This book develops an intellectual framework for analyzing ethical
dilemmas that is both grounded in theory and versatile enough to
deal rigorously with real-world issues. It sees ethics as a
necessary foundation for the social infrastructure that makes
modern life possible, much as engineering is a foundation for
physical infrastructure. It is not wedded to any particular ethical
philosophy but draws from several traditions to construct a unified
and principled approach to ethical reasoning. Rather than follow
the common academic practice of seeking a reflective equilibrium of
moral intuitions and principles, it builds on a few bedrock
principles of rational thought that serve as criteria for valid
argumentation. It develops the ideas from the ground up, without
presupposing any background in ethics or philosophy.
Epistemologically, the book views ethics as parallel to
mathematics, in that it relies on generally accepted proof
techniques to establish results. Whereas mathematics rests on such
proof paradigms as mathematical induction and proof by
contradiction, ethics can be seen as relying on proof by applying
consistency tests, such as generalizability and respect for
autonomy. Utilitarianism also plays a key role, but it is
reconceived as a deontological criterion. This approach obviously
requires that these criteria be formulated more rigorously than is
normally the case. To accomplish this, the book begins with the
classical idea that an action is distinguishable from mere behavior
by virtue of its having a coherent rationale, where coherence
requires passing certain consistency tests such as
generalizability. An action is therefore inseparable from its
rationale, and generalizability is defined in terms of consistency
with the rationale. A utilitarian criterion receives a similar
treatment with respect to a means-end rationale. Respect for
autonomy is grounded in a carefully developed action theory that
takes into account such concepts as joint autonomy, implied
consent, and the permissibility of interference with unethical
behavior. It provides an account of responsibility that is both
practical and theoretically satisfying, and it yields a novel
solution of the much-discussed trolley car dilemmas. The book is
written for a general audience and strives to be as readable and
engaging as possible, while maintaining rigor. It begins by
dispelling a raft of misconceptions that trivialize ethics and
block its development as an essential tool of modern life, such as
the notion that ethics is just a matter of opinion without rational
foundation. After presenting the ethical principles just described,
along with many examples, it provides several chapters that analyze
real-life dilemmas, many obtained from the author's students and
professional workshop participants. One cannot understand physics
or chemistry without seeing how their principles are applied to
real problems, and the same is true of ethics. These chapters
demonstrate that a unified normative theory can deal with a wide
range of real cases while achieving a reasonable level of
objectivity and rigor.
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