The Ethics of Jim Crow



1) Briefly summarize the events depicted in parts
one and two
2) How do white people treat their black neighbors,
generally? (support with evidence)
3) How do the black people in Wright’s account
react to the treatment?
The Ethics of Jim Crow (2)

Consider the formulation of cultural relativism
 An
act (X) performed by person (P) is morally right if
and only if X is the act that a majority of members of P’s
culture would approve of, endorse, or advocate that
action

4) Under this definition – is Jim Crow ethical?
Cultural Relativism: Critique

After reading the Ethics of Jim Crow, what is the
flaw of cultural relativism?
Cultural Relativism: Critique


It advocates the morality of conformity
The Social reformer Dilemma
Consider Jim Crowe, the culture was an accepted culture by
virtually the entire American south, at least a majority
 Black Americans were a minority in society, so even if they
did not accept the morals of the society they are still wrong.



Tolerance can not be guaranteed, in fact nothing can be
guaranteed!
So there can be no external force of reform
Objectives: SWBAT



Identify egoism
Identify egoistic theories and philosophers
Analyze applied egoism and criticism

What does it mean to be altruistic? Can there ever
be TRUE altruism?
EGOISM AND CRITIQUE
8.5 Forensic Philosophy November 13, 2014
Psychological Egoism

The theory that IN FACT people ALWAYS act in
their own best interest, no one ever acts
unselfishly
 This
is a science about how people DO behave
is different from Ethical Egoism (EEg)
 We ask how people should behave
 This
Egoism

The right thing for person P to do is whatever
brings about the best consequences
for P
 What
is meant by
“best consequences”?
 Think in terms of “happiness” and
“unhappiness”
 And act that increases my happiness
is the better choice
Egoism: formulation

An act-token X performed by P is morally right if
and only if there is no other
act that P could perform at T that would
produce a greater balance of happiness
vs. unhappiness for P over the
remainder of P’s life
 In
case of a tie: the decision then does not
matter, P gets the same out of it.
The philosophers

Thomas Hobbes
 The
source of morality is the need
for humans to live together in a
civilized society
 Without law and morality we are in
a “state of nature”
 In
competition for food shelter,
resources
 Everyone
is better off when we agree to abide by
certain principles of respect and cooperation
 This is the reason to act morally
The philosophers

Adam Smith
Everyone acts in their own
“enlightened self-interest”
 Everyone acting that way creates
the “invisible hand” of the market
that creates the best results for
everyone


I am in a better position than others
to know:
What will make me happy
 Take actions that will make me happy
 The best way to increase my total sum happiness

Criticizing Egoism

Looking at the Friend vs Foe Dilemma
 As
an egoist, what should you always pick?
 Why?
 Is this choice get the best possible outcome for the
community?
 This
is a criticism of the Egoist theory as it comes from
Hobbes and Smith
Arguments for Ethical Egoism (Eeg)




The community as a whole is best off when each person
works to bring about his or her own exclusive selfinterest
If the community as a whole is better off because of
this, then EEg is true
Therefore EEg is true
P2 assumes that whatever brings about the best
outcome for the community as a whole is morally right

This leads into another theory – Utilitarianism
Egoism Critique

This game is just one of many similar examples
 The
prisoner’s dilemma
 The Tragedy of the Commons
 The Voter Paradox

The community is not always better off when
everyone acts in their own self interest
 The
community may all get something, but it is not the
optimal world
Arguments against Egoism


Egoism involves a unique form of discrimination
It is agreed that everyone is at the same moral
status regardless of:
 Class
 Gender
 Race
 Age
 Etc

It is ARBITRARY and UNFAIR to treat yourself as a
higher moral being than the others!
When you get into an argument….


Philosophical or otherwise, it is all about making
your position as unassailable as possible
Here are ways to structure your arguments and
fallacies to avoid when making those arguments.
Employing the Principle of Charity


When dealing with your opponent’s argument, don’t
get caught up in the exact wording.
The Principle of Charity
 Assume
your opponent’s argument is taking place in its
ideal world
 Assume that it is logical, even if they do not put it in a
logical form
Fallacies for you to avoid

The Strawman Fallacy
Oversimplifying or distorting the position, argument, or
belief someone has in a way that makes it easier to argue
against
 All proponents of abortion are in favor of cold blooded
murder
 If the right to bear arms is absolute, then I am going to buy a
tank!


Begging the Question

An argument that makes use of a premise that no one who
didn’t already accept the conclusion would believe.
Circular logic
 God exists, because it says so it the Bible

Fallacies to avoid

Appealing to ignorance
 Concluding
something is true simply because it hasn’t
been proven false, or vice-versa
 This
is invalid reasoning, something can be true even if no
one has yet to actually prove it to be true.
 You can’t prove that God doesn’t exist, therefore he does!

Ad Hominem Fallacy
 Rejecting
a position or argument not on its virtue, logic,
or merits but because of the person that is giving it
A
position can be true, and an argument sound no matter
how deplorable you may think the person is