The Different Normative

Yuvaraj Nithyanandam
Jozzalo Micah Culabat
Jonalyn Pawig
Ethics :
moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the
conducting of an activity.
Normative Ethics :
The field of ethics or moral philosophy
involves systemizing, defending and
recommending concepts of right and wrong
behavior The Different Normative Ethical
Theories
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development
Machiavellian Principles
Utilitarianism
Kantian Ethics
John Rawl’s Principles of Justice
The Moral Positivism of Hobbes
Divine Command Ethics
Ethical Egoism of Ayn Rand
Kohlberg’s Stages Of Moral Development

 Lawrence Kohlberg (1958) agreed with Piaget’s

(1932) theory of moral development in principle but
wanted to develop his ideas further.
 Kohlberg’s theory proposes that there are three
levels of moral development, with each level split
into two stages.
 Kohlberg suggested that people move through these
stages in a fixed order and that moral understanding
is linked to cognitive development.

 Level 1 – Preconventional morality

 Level 2 – Conventional morality
 Level 3 – Postconventional morality
 Level 1 – Preconventional Morality
 Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation. The child/individual is good to
avoid being punished. If a person is punished, they must have done wrong.

 Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange. At this stage, children recognize that there is
not just one right view that is handed down by the authorities. Different individuals have
different viewpoints.
 Level 2 – Conventional Morality
 Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships. The child/individual is good in order
to be seen as being a good person by others. Therefore, answers relate to the approval of
others.

 Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order. The child/individual becomes aware of the
wider rules of society, so judgments concern obeying the rules to uphold the law and
avoid guilt.
 Level 3 – Postconventional Morality
 Stage 5. Social Contract and Individual Rights. The child/individual becomes aware
that while rules/laws might exist for the good of the greatest number, there are times when
they will work against the interest of particular individuals. The issues are not always
clear-cut. For example, in Heinz’s dilemma, the protection of life is more important than
breaking the law against stealing.

 Stage 6. Universal Principles. People at this stage have developed their own set of
moral guidelines, which may or may not fit the law. The principles apply to everyone .E.g.,
human rights, justice, and equality. The person will be prepared to act to defend these
principles even if it means going against the rest of society in the process and having to pay
the consequences of disapproval and or imprisonment.
  Application :
parents guide their children as they develop their moral character. younger children might work
on rule obeyance, and older children about social expectations.

Teachers apply in the classroom, providing additional moral guidance.

To enhance moral development by setting clear rules for the classroom, and the consequences for
violating them. This helps kids at stage one of moral development.
in high school might focus more on the development of good interpersonal relationships and
maintaining social order.

 Criticism:
 Moral reasoning does not equal moral behavior:

 Overemphasizes justice: Gilligan (1982):

 Kohlberg’s theory applies to males, not females
 Cultural bias:   Male approach impersonal, impartial, abstract
 Female approach caring, being responsible, sustaining
 Age bias:
relationships
 Females follow different stages of moral development:
 Gender bias:
caring for oneself only, caring for others, achieving a
balance
 Machiavellian Principles
 Niccolo Machiavelli, 1469-1527, Italy
 Studied law, political writer and theorist
 Author of Book “The Prince “
 read by Napoleon, Mussolini, Diderot, Rousseau, Thomas
More, Frederick the Great and Stalin. Kissinger and Nixon
 Father of Modern political Theory

Machiavellianism :
Characterized by manipulation and exploitation of others, A
cynical Disregard for morality, lack of emotion and focus of
self interest

 Should be feared rather than loved “if you cannot be both”

in order to avoid a revolt.
 Should have the support of the people because it's difficult to
take action without their support.
 Should hold good virtues.
 Machiavellian Principles
 The new model of Machiavellianism is based on Organizational settings consists of
three factors:
1) Maintain the Power 2) Harsh Management tactics

3) Manipulative behavior
The Machiavellian Guiding principles
1) Never show humility 2) Arrogance far more better effective when dealing with others

3) Powerful people feel free to Lie , 4) It is much better to be feared than love
cheat others when it suits to them
 Utilitarianism:
Utilitarianism is a theory of morality that advocates actions that foster
happiness or pleasure and oppose actions that cause unhappiness or harm.

When directed toward making social, economic, or political decisions, a

utilitarian philosophy would aim for the betterment of society as a whole.
Utilitarianism is a tradition of ethical philosophy that is associated with
Jeremy Bentham (1747-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), two late
18th- and 19th-century British philosophers, economists, and political
thinkers
 Utilitarianism promotes "the greatest amount of good for the greatest
number of people.“- the 'greatest happiness principle'.

 When used in a sociopolitical construct, utilitarian ethics aims for the

betterment of society as a whole.
 Utilitarianism is a reason-based approach to determining right and
wrong, but it has limitations.
 Utilitarianism does not account for things like feelings and emotions,
culture, or justice.

The greatest good for the greatest number"

 The 3 Generally Accepted Principles of Utilitarianism
 Pleasure, or happiness, is the only thing that has intrinsic value. 

 Actions are right if they promote happiness, and wrong if they promote
unhappiness.

 Everyone's happiness counts equally. some lives and some people's happiness were
simply more important and valuable than others.
 Utilitarianism:

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Utilitarianism

 Qualitative utilitarianism argues that mental pleasures and pains are different in
kind and superior in quality to purely physical ones.

 Quantitative utilitarianism argues that mental pleasures and pains differ from
physical ones only in terms of quantity - “it is the greatest happiness of the
greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong”.
 The Limitations of Utilitarianism
 In the workplace, though, utilitarian ethics are difficult to achieve. These ethics also
can be challenging to maintain in our business culture, where a capitalistic economy
 often teaches people to focus on themselves at the expense of others. Similarly, 
monopolistic competition teaches one business to flourish at the expense of others.
 A limitation of utilitarianism is that it tends to create a black-and-white construct of
morality. In utilitarian ethics, there are no shades of gray—either something is wrong
or it is right.

 Utilitarianism also cannot predict with certainty whether the consequences of our
actions will be good or bad—the results of our actions happen in the future.

 Utilitarianism also has trouble accounting for values like justice and individual rights.
For example, say a hospital has four people whose lives depend upon receiving organ
transplants: a heart, lungs, a kidney, and a liver. If a healthy person wanders into the
hospital, his organs could be harvested to save four lives at the expense of his one
life. This would arguably produce the greatest good for the greatest number. But few
would consider it an acceptable course of action, let alone an ethical one.
 So, although utilitarianism is surely a reason-based approach to determining right and
wrong, it has obvious limitations.
Kantian Ethics
John Rawl's Principles of Justice
The Moral Positivism of Hobbes
 - Divine Command Ethics -
Business leaders, along with society in general, rely on ethical frameworks to
guide daily decision-making processes and logically confirm gut feelings.
Prominent ethical frameworks such as deontology, utilitarianism and virtue ethics
are popular tools employed in this process.

All the components of Divine Command Theory and Business ethics are same
- help in building up good relations among the employees of the company
- businessmen are able to set their companies policies and rules easily
- becomes easy for the management to manage daily operations according
to set rules and division of work also becomes easy

Divine command theory and business ethics rules and guidance are similar such as
being truthful to get a better reward
- brand loyalty and customer satisfaction same thing is suggested
- it helps in setting up the environment of an organization if used properly
 - Ethical Egoism of Ayn Rand -
Rand's view is that the exact opposite is true: Self-interest, properly understood, is the standard
of morality and selflessness is the deepest immorality. Self-interest rightly understood,
according to Rand, is to see oneself as an end in oneself.

Self-interest rightly understood, according to Rand, is to see oneself as an end in

oneself. That is to say that one’s own life and happiness are one’s highest values,
and that one does not exist as a servant or slave to the interests of others. Nor do
others exist as servants or slaves to one’s own interests.

Rand’s ethic of self-interest is integral to her advocacy of classical liberalism.

Classical liberalism, more often called “libertarianism” in the twentieth century, is
the view that individuals should be free to pursue their own interests.

- the moral legitimacy of self-interest implies that individuals have rights to their
lives, their liberties, their property, and the pursuit of their own happiness, and that
the purpose of government is to protect those rights
-Economically, leaving individuals free to pursue their own interests implies in turn
that only a capitalist or free market economic system is moral
Divine Command Ethics

Business leaders, along with society in general, rely on ethical frameworks to guide daily
decision-making processes and logically confirm gut feelings. Prominent ethical frameworks
such as deontology, utilitarianism and virtue ethics are popular tools employed in this
process.

Divine command theory can also be used in business because all the components of Divine
Command Theory and Business ethics are same. So if any business uses divine command
theory regardless of religion, it also coincides with utilitarianism, Kantianism and Natural
rights theories so if this theory isused in business it will help in building up good relations
among the employees of the company.Being truthful and faithful helps business to grow
because every person is known to the problems of anybusiness and they can take steps
immediately to control their losses.By using this theory, many businessmen are able to set
their companies policies and rules easily andthese rules help the business to grow. By using
Divine Command theory it becomes easy for themanagement to manage daily operations
according to set rules and division of work also becomes easy. Divine command theory and
business ethics rules and guidance are similar such as being truthful to get a better reward
now if a business is truthful with its employees and customers as a reward they will get
higher sales, brand loyalty and customer satisfaction same thing is suggested by divine
Command theory. It is very important to synergize any business with Divine Command
theory to run a business efficiently and that also helps to remove small hassles in the
businesses. It helps in setting up the environment ofan organization if used properly.
Ethical Egoism of Ayn Rand

Rand's view is that the exact opposite is true: Self-interest, properly understood, is the
standard of morality and selflessness is the deepest immorality. Self-interest rightly
understood, according to Rand, is to see oneself as an end in oneself.

Self-interest rightly understood, according to Rand, is to see oneself as an end in oneself. That
is to say that one’s own life and happiness are one’s highest values, and that one does not
exist as a servant or slave to the interests of others. Nor do others exist as servants or slaves to
one’s own interests. Each person’s own life and happiness are their ultimate ends. Self-
interest rightly understood also entails self-responsibility: One’s life is one’s own, and so is
the responsibility for sustaining and enhancing it. It is up to each of us to determine what
values our lives require, how best to achieve those values, and to act to achieve those values.

Rand’s ethic of self-interest is integral to her advocacy of classical liberalism. Classical

liberalism, more often called “libertarianism” in the twentieth century, is the view that
individuals should be free to pursue their own interests. This implies, politically, that
governments should be limited to protecting each individual’s freedom to do so. In other
words, the moral legitimacy of self-interest implies that individuals have rights to their lives,
their liberties, their property, and the pursuit of their own happiness, and that the purpose of
government is to protect those rights. Economically, leaving individuals free to pursue their
own interests implies in turn that only a capitalist or free market economic system is moral:
Free individuals will use their time, money, and other property as they see fit, and will
interact and trade voluntarily with others to mutual advantage.