What is Pragmatic Ethics? - PHILO-notes Whiteboard Edition

what is pragmatic ethics pragmatic ethics is the result of the application of the principles of pragmatism to moral issues pragmatism was founded by the american philosopher charles sanders peirce and was developed by the American philosophers William James and John Dewey pragmatism is epistemological by nature but it can be applied to ethics as an epistemological doctrine pragmatism holds the belief that the true and meaningful form of knowledge is one that is practical workable beneficial and useful thus in pragmatism if an idea works or brings good results then it is true and meaningful if it does not then that idea is meaningless that is it has no value according to the pragmatists an idea is practical if it produces good results workable if it can be put to work beneficial if it benefits people and useful if it can be used to attain good results now how do we know that an idea is practical workable beneficial and useful in other words how do we know that an idea is true and meaningful according to William James ideas are proven to be true and meaningful through the process of experimentation hence for James ideas are value neutral from the beginning their truth and meaning can be proven through testing or experimentation for example how do we know that coca-cola tastes good of course according to James by tasting it or if someone claims that condoms are the most effective and reliable contraceptive then it's truth and meaning can be proven by using and comparing them with other contraceptives john dewey on the other hand argues that ideas are proven to be true and meaningful if they prove to be an effective instrument in attaining something thus Dewey's model of pragmatism can be viewed as a form of instrumentalism when applied tomorrow issues a pragmatist may view the morality of a human act from the vantage point of its practicality workability beneficia allottee and usefulness handsome pragmatic ethics an action is considered morally right if it is practical workable beneficial and useful otherwise it has no moral worth let us take for example the moral issue of aborting a deformed fetus as we can see in christian ethics particularly Saint Thomas Aquinas model of ethics abortion in whatever form is absolutely immoral because in the first place the act is evil because it implies killing for the pragmatists however it is better to abort a deformed fetus than let it suffer for a lifetime the act of aborting a deformed fetus for the pragmatists therefore is practical because it will produce good results such as sparing the parents and the child himself from physical mental and emotional suffering that may be brought by the deformity workable because obviously the act of aborting a deformed fetus can be put to work beneficial to both the parents and the child especially in terms of freedom from physical and emotional suffering that may be brought by the deformity and useful because it can be used to attain good results such as again sparing the parents and the child himself from physical mental and emotional suffering that may be brought by the deformity let us take another example a medical doctor may say to her patient the injection of this chemical compound is good for one who is suffering from diabetes for the pragmatists if the patient regains his health after the injection of the chemical compound then the act is judged as morally right this is what William James meant by his famous phrase truth happens to an idea in ethics the pragmatists claim that goodness or the moral worth of an action happens to the act itself as we can see in pragmatic ethics a human act is always value neutral from the beginning the morality of a human act depends on the quality of the results that is on its practicality workability beneficiary and usefulness hands in pragmatic ethics morality does not seek final and absolute answers yet it is not relativistic pragmatic ethics is not relativistic in a sense that it recognises that there are different circumstances and that in different circumstances different actions might be appropriate that's it for now thanks for visiting us today for another whiteboard discussion here at filo notes full transcript of this video is available at fili notes comm and to keep you updated of our newest videos simply click here and subscribe and tap the bell for notifications thanks take care

Channel: PHILO-notes

Views: 3,638

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Keywords: Pragmatism, Charles Sanders Pierce, William James, John Dewey

Id: gEcoQHO85rc

Length: 7min 17sec (437 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 22 2019