Ep 4 - Beyond Cockroach Ethics - Part 2 (Virtue Ethics, Trolley Problems and Inaction) Artwork

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The Philosophists

Ep 4 - Beyond Cockroach Ethics - Part 2 (Virtue Ethics, Trolley Problems and Inaction)

November 08, 2021 • The Philosophists | Declan McGrath, Simon Robertson • Season 1 • Episode 4

Back in episode two, we covered Utilitarianism and Deontology and promised to return with an episode covering Virtue Ethics. Well, wanting to do the moral thing, we fulfil that promise here. The episode opens up with Simon invoking the famous philosophical conundrum of the Trolley Problem. We also discuss the distinction between action and inaction, if any, before diving into the ethical system that has been with us for over two thousand years - Virtue Ethics. Hopefully, you have enough of the virtue of patience to stick with us for half an hour.

Main Talking Points

The Trolley Problem - would you sacrifice one to save five?
- A wonderful short animated TED-Ed video explainer by Eleanor Nelsen
- Watching season 2 episode 5 of The Good Place (summary) is also an easy & fun way to learn more
The Point of View of the Universe - an arguably more objective way to think ethically
- Peter Singer makes the case in favour (short video - or see this written summary)
Inaction vs Action - can you dodge the blame game or are they just the same?
- Why Inaction Is An Action by Lynne Sargent gives a succinct informative take on this
- Doing vs. Allowing Harm in the Stanford Encyclopedia is detailed but very readable
Jean-Paul Sartre's Universalisation of Actions - am I always setting an example?
- See the Anguish section of Nigel Warburton's great summary of Sartre's "Existentialism and Humanism"
The Golden Rule
Kant's Summum Bonum (The Kingdom of Ends)
- The delightful end game for perfectly rational beings is concisely explained by this short video or Wikipedia
Objections to Virtue Ethics (including the bank robber example Declan cites)

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