Page 116 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

Chapter 4 Ethical Speaking and Listening 83

to fund a tax cut, some people will suffer while others will benefit. If we crack
down on crime and build more prisons, there will be less money for schools
and colleges. What constitutes the greatest good for the greatest number? As a
speaker, you have an obligation to your audience to thoroughly research your
subject to determine what position will ensure the greatest good and to put that
greatest good ahead of mere personal gain. If you fail to fully inform your audi-
ence of the facts, if you lie to or deceive them, how can they rationally decide what
will promote the general good?
Utilitarianism, of course, has its critics. Many would say it promotes ethical
relativism. After all, if the greatest good for the greatest number means that
some minority of people are oppressed, would not utilitarianism justify that op-
pression? Could not a Hitler rationalize his extermination of the Jews in the
name of the greater good for all of Germany? Certainly that is not what the
utilitarians contemplated. But critics of utilitarianism have a point. Seeking the
greatest happiness for all does not guarantee that particular individuals will not
suffer unjustly.
If you think these issues are mere philosophical musings, think about the
controversy surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells in basic research. A
growing body of scientifi c data suggests that stem cell research could lead to ef-
fective treatments for Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and paralysis re-
sulting from injury to the spinal cord. Because this research involves the use
of discarded embryonic cells from fertilized human eggs from fertility clinics,
however, many people consider it immoral and therefore unethical. Should the
convictions of people who count themselves in this latter group be ignored be-
cause they are in a minority? Not only is this a very real dilemma, but it is one
that is politically charged as well, as the controversy over ads featuring Michael
J. Fox supporting candidates for office in 2006 demonstrates.

How Do Specifi c Situations Affect Ethical Principles?

Another approach to ethics is known as situational ethics. According to this
situational ethics
philosophy, there are overriding ethical maxims, but sometimes it is necessary
The philosophy that there
to set them aside in particular situations to fulfi ll a higher law or principle, such
are overriding ethical
as love. As one writer put it, “What acts are right may depend on circumstances
maxims, but that some-
. . . but there is an absolute obligation to will whatever may on each occasion be times it is necessary to
right.” 9 set them aside in partic-
Situational ethics is particularly useful in explaining how what appears to be ular situations to fulfi ll
the same kind of act can be ethical in one case and unethical in another. For a higher law or principle.
example, most people agree that giving a classroom speech written by someone
else is unethical. The principle that a student should do his or her own work is
embedded in American education. At the same time, no one expects Jon Stewart
to write all of his own jokes or the president of the United States to write all of
his own speeches. In those situations, everybody knows that Stewart has com-
edy writers and the president has ghostwriters.
Critics of situational ethics argue that this is just relativism in another guise
and thus provides no criteria for ethical judgment. However, situationists do
10
not contend we should abandon all ethical principles. As ethicist Joseph Fletcher
writes: “The situationist enters into every decision-making situation fully armed
with the ethical maxims of his community and its heritage, and he treats them