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A. SHRIVER, Philosophy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4237 This presentation concerns the way facilitators of classroom discussions of ethical issues in science and technology can benefit from traditional academic study of ethical theory. Philosophers distinguish several families of ethical theories based on how they distinguish right from wrong, but also several different ways of justifying an ethical theory or principle. Utilitarianism, rights views, Kantian ethics, and virtue ethics are families of theories that differ in terms of their basic commitments. Usually these commitments can be stated in terms of principles about which individuals have moral standing and what justice or respect requires in regard to them. For instance, utilitarians typically hold that all sentient beings "count," morally speaking, and its basic principle is that right actions maximize the happiness of sentient beings. At the same time, philosophers distinguish different ways that such theories can be evaluated or justified. The divine command theory, intuitionism, the method of reflective equilibrium, and appeals to the logic of moral discourse are examples of what we might call "metatheories." For instance, the divine command theory would say that utilitarianism is the true theory of ethics just in case God wills that we maximize the happiness of sentient beings. Although ethics discussions in science classes need not get bogged down in the details of these philosophical theories and metatheories, a discussion facilitator familiar with them will be better equipped to help students clearly articulate their own and others' views. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the above theories and metatheories, along with some basic pedagogical materials that can be used in any classroom situation to help students recognize reflections of them in everyday thinking about ethics.
Session 7, Food science education: A question of ethics
2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana |