Case Study Replies
Joseph
I think the skepticism described by Herring (1936) for ones own government is normalbut nearly a century later I feel a lot of peoples skepticism is probably justified. Maybe it is a result of growing up in the shadow of Orwells books Animal Farm and 1984. Or maybe its the fact that weve seen through the decades what governments are capable of doing, how special interests control them, and how propaganda and lies are used to twist narratives and get the public believing in something false to justify some action that the government wants to takelike the invasion of Iraq after 9/11. There are literally no ethical frameworks guiding the various intelligence agencies, from the CIA to the FBI, and so on (Fabre, 2022). That presents a problemas the rest of society at least tries to apply the ethics of deontology or consequentialism or even virtue ethics at times. Yet ethical egoism prevails in my opinion, in both society and in government, and that is what causes big problems for public administration and society as a whole.
Ethical egoism is the belief that each person should act in their own best interests. While this may seem like a reasonable stance to take, it can actually lead to some problems. First, it can encourage people to be selfish and manipulative, as they will only be looking out for themselvesand that is a big problem in public administration (just look at the Nixon Administration, for instance). This can make it difficult for trust to form, for people...
…turn, this destroys trust in the government and its ability to serve the people. Without such confidence, it is be difficult for society to function effectively.Public officials should be expected to be accountable for their actions, and society should hold them accountable through mechanisms like elections and impeachment. Similarly, both public administration and society should value transparency. Public officials should be expected to be transparent in their decision-making, and society should scrutinize their actions in order to hold them accountable. Ultimately, the ethics of public administration are a reflection of the larger ethical framework within which it operates. Yet todays society is too full of its own narcissistic view of itself to care about holding public figures accountable. Colossians 3:14 has the solution: put on love, which binds everything together…
References
Plant, J. F. (2018). Responsibility in Public Administration Ethics. Public Integrity,20(sup1), S33-S45. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2017.1413927Wijaya, I. (2020). Treasure Hunt: Ethical Egoism vs Individual Anarchism. K@ taKita, 8(1), 116-123.
Ethical Egoism & Abortion Ethical egoism, as a philosophical position, holds that it is an ethical obligation for people to act in their own self-interest. How does this philosophical position deal with the debate over the morality of abortion? It is necessary, before beginning a closer analysis, to define our terms. Abortion is a hotly contested issue, but our sense of ethics here needs to be understood first as distinct from
Most philosophers, however, reject egoism or ethical egoism as it violates the foundations of an ethical system. Two persons to both maximize their respective self-interests will lead to conflict. Moreover, egoism inclines towards the exploitation of the weak. When a person is caught performing an illegal act or an act violating a professional code of ethics, it is almost always because of egoistic behavior that he committed it (Cengage). Gun
Others argue against Ethical Egoism. The work of Pecorino states as an argument against Ethical Egoism the facts as follows: Ethical Egoism "provides no moral basis for solving conflicts between people; (2) Ethical Egoism "obligates each person to prevent others from doing the right thing; (3) Has the same logical basis as racism"; (4) "The egoist cannot advise others to be egoists because it works against the first egoists
83). Let us go through these arguments. The first argument does not suggest that a person involved in business should disregard any ethical obligations. One can economically survive in business without violating the norms of morality. Moreover, as Beverluis argues, "we are in a real sense 'doing' business ethics. For what is a 'right'? If one puts forward the claim to have certain moral rights (as opposed to legal rights),
Ethical egoism unsatisfactory moral theory; important corrective ethics -sacrifice. Briefly relate ethical egoism, defended Ayn Rand, ethics -sacrifice, presented Carol Gilligan's stage moral development. Philosophy commentary 1st thread Conventional morality tends to prioritize self-sacrifice as the ideal, particularly for females. However, the valorization of self-sacrifice can be taken too far -- Gilligan's theory of gender-based moral development seems to suggest that it is 'natural' for girls to prioritize harmony over objective ethical
Ethics and Morality In basic terms, ethical egoism can be regarded as an ethical position (normative) in which case an agent ought to undertake a course of action that maximizes his or her own self-interest. Thus in this case, the primary duty of the agent is to promote his or her own interests. In this text, I concern myself with ethical egoism. In so doing, I develop several arguments in favor
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