Summary
Communication Ethics Summary
- Course
- Institution
This summary contains all required chapter readings, lectures, and additional articles.
[Show more]
1 review
By: nguyenmyanh1698 • 8 months ago
It's up to date in 2024! Would recommend.
Seller
Follow
esmeelieuwon
Reviews received
Content preview
SUMMARYCOURSE: COMMUNICATION ETHICS (CM3010)
BOOK: THE ELEMENTS OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY (7TH ED.)
ALSO INCLUDES:
PECK, L.A. (2013). TOOLS FOR THOUGHT: THE POTTER BOX
MILL, J.S. (1863). WHAT UTILITARIANISM IS.
BINNS, R. (2018). FAIRNESS IN MACHINE LEARNING
RAWLS, J. (1999). THE VEIL OF IGNORANCE.
KANT. (1785). FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS.
RACHELS, J. & RACHELS, S. (2012). VIRGINIA HELD.
BY: ESMÉE LIEUW ON
ESMEE LIEUW ON 1
, WEEK 1: FOUNDATIONS
Chapter 1: What is Morality?
● Moral philosophy is the study of what morality is and what it requires to us → “How we
ought to live and why”
● The nature of morality:
1. Moral judgements must be backed by good reasons
2. Morality requires the impartial consideration of each individual interests
● When we feel strong about an issue, it is tempting to assume that we just know what the truth
is, without even having to consider arguments on the other side
● Essence of morality: If we want to discover the truth, we must let our feelings be guided as
much as possible by reason → to argue about something is best when supported by arguments
❖ Not every reason that may be advanced is a good reason, there are bad and good
arguments, which means that developing a moral thinking skill to discern the
difference is essential
● How do we go about assessing arguments?
1. Get one’s facts straight
❖ Human prejudice may pose as a problem
2. Bring moral principles into play
❖ Are they justified and applied correctly?
3. Be alert to the possibility of new complications and new kinds of error
● Every important moral theory includes the idea of impartiality → each individual’s interests
are equally important and therefore no special treatment, including not treating the members
of particular groups as inferior, condemning forms of discrimination
❖ Closely connected with the idea that moral judgements must be backed by good
reasons
● The minimum conception of morality = Morality is, at the very least, the effort to guide
one’s conduct by reason - to do what there are the best reasons for doing - while giving equal
weight to the interests of each individual affected by one’s decision
The Potter Box
● Four dimensions of ethical reasoning:
1. Facts
❖ Assess all relevant facts
❖ What do we know about the situation?
2. Values
❖ Identify most important values to decision maker
❖ Being explicit about the importance of particular values gives the decision
maker a concrete way to evaluate potential actions
3. Principles
❖ Looking at your values through the lens of different systems of ethics can
help you develop a range of possible actions (ex. Aristotle’s Doctrine of the
Mean)
4. Loyalties
❖ Determine who or what you are loyal to will clarify thinking
ESMEE LIEUW ON 2
, Lecture 1:
● Foundations of moral thinking: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
❖ Socrates
★ 469-399 BC - Athens
★ “Know thyself”
★ “What I do not know I do not think I know”
★ Socratic method: helping people with their questions by asking questions
back
❖ Plato
★ Most important pupil from Socrates
★ Set up the first ‘Academy’
★ Wrote about a variety of topics: politics, ethics, mathematics
★ “The safest general characterization of European philosophical tradition is
that it consists of footnotes from Plato
❖ Aristotle
★ Wrote about physics, mathematic, zoology, poetics, literature, metaphysics,
logic, ethics, aesthetics, theater, music, politics, and government
★ Pupil of Plato, tutor of Alexander the Great
★ Virtue Ethics
➢ Virtue = proper function of something
➢ One needs virtue to take good ethical decisions
➢ Taking good ethical decisions makes one happy (hedonism)
● Moral sophistication is based on the idea on how to make these good ethical decisions
❖ Hedonism
❖ Happiness:
★ As much pleasure and as little pain as possible
★ Be acknowledged by others
★ Understanding
❖ All three are important, though understanding is valued highest by Aristotle
❖ One needs more than simple reasoning to achieve hedonistic happiness
● Questions to ask in developing moral sophistication:
❖ What do you do in your life to increase happiness and reduce pain?
❖ What do you think about self-optimization?
● Main concepts:
❖ Morality - from moralis - meaning ‘manners/conduct’
❖ Ethics - from ethos - meaning ‘character/living the good life’
❖ Sometimes strictly separated, sometimes used as synonyms
❖ Ethics and morality are interrelated concepts (doing good also contributes to living ‘a
good life’)
● What is a good case (media dilemma) and what is not?
❖ It is NOT about the narrative of a movie/series/book
❖ It is about the production
❖ Clear dilemma - answers do not come easy
ESMEE LIEUW ON 3
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller esmeelieuwon. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.09. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
79223 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now