1. Leadership and Virtue.
Aristotle v. The Ford Pinto

2. Utilitarianism and Business.
 Utilitarianism
◦ The idea that the greatest amount of ‘good’
should be created for the greatest amount of
people.
◦ Good is defined as pleasure or the ‘cessation of
pain’.
 It is believed today that the ‘free market’
as created by Adam Smith creates the
most amount of good(s) for the most
amount of Americans.
◦ In other words, ‘market democracy’ is the most
efficient way of making people happy.

3. Utilitarianism and Business.
 Current economic theory is based upon
Preference Utilarianism where happiness is
created when a preference is met by a
consumer.
◦ It is believed by ‘liberals’ that education was
valuable to ensure that proper preferences were
being instilled in pupils.
 The father of ‘Utilitarianism’, Jeremy
Bentham, believed that “Money is the most
accurate measure of the quantity of pain or
pleasure a man can be made to receive.”
◦ In other words, money is the greatest
measurement of happiness.

4. The Ford Pinto.
 1971 – 1980
 Two thousand pounds.
 Under $2,000
 Over two million built
and sold.
 Originally sold under
the tagline:
”The Little carefree car.”

5. Controversy and the Pinto.
 In 1977 Mother Jones published “Pinto
Madness”
 From design to production in 25 months.
◦ Normal times were approximately 43 months.
 Because of this time frame ‘tooling’ became a large
issue.
 The gas tank was placed behind the axle.
◦ This was standard for other sub compacts at the
time.
 1969 crash test revealed issues with tank
placement and design.
◦ Filler pipe removal and tank puncturing in rear
impacts of 20 mph resulted in fuel spills.

6. Controversy and the Pinto.

7. Controversy and the Pinto.
 1972 additional crash tests were performed
where modifications to the tank prevented
fuel leakage:
◦ Rubber bladders inside the tank.
◦ Rails to strengthen the frame.
◦ A plastic barrier between differential and tank.
 Somewhere between 200 and 900 burn
deaths resulted from ruptured fuel tanks.
 A cost benefit analysis was done to evaluate
a potential recall of the Ford Pinto.
◦ Human life, an ‘externality’ was attempted to be
made a commodity, or an ‘internality’.

8. Controversy and The Pinto
 In 1978 the NHTSA made an initial
determination that the Pinto’s fuel system
had a safety defect.
 By 1978 pressure had become great
enough that Ford recalled 1.5 million
Pinto’s and 30,000 Ford Bobcat’s.
◦ Two plastic shields, a different gas cap and a
longer fill tube were added.

9. “The Ford Pinto Memo.”

10. Andrew Carnegie
“To continue much longer overwhelmed by
business cares and with most of my
thoughts wholly upon the way to make
money in the shortest time must degrade
me beyond hope of permanent recovery.”

11. Aristotle and Virtue Ethics.
 Aristotle wrote two ethical treatises: the
Nicomachean Ethics and the Eudemian Ethics.
◦ These two works cover nearly the same ground:
◦ Beginning with a discussion of eudaimonia (
"happiness," "flourishing")
◦ Turning to an examination of the nature of aretê
("virtue," "excellence“).
 The character traits that human beings need in
order to live life at its best.

12. Ethical knowledge is not certain
knowledge.
 “Our treatment will be adequate if we make it
as precise as the subject matter allows. The
same degree of accuracy should not be
demanded in all inquiries any more than in all
the products of craftsmen. Virtue and justice
– the subject matter of politics – admit plenty
of differences and uncertainty…
 Then, since our discussion is about, and
proceeds from, matters of this sort, we must
be content with indicating the truth in broad
general outline… The educated man looks for
as much precision in each subject as the
nature of the subject allows.”
◦ (Nicomachean Ethics 1.3)

13. What is the Goal of Ethics?
 No one tries to live well for the sake of some further goal.
◦ Having a good life is the highest end.
 All subordinate goals -- health, wealth, and other such resources -- are
sought because they promote well-being, not because they are what
well-being consists in.
 The Final Cause of Ethics is to live a good life.
◦ Eudaimonia" ("happiness") and "eu zên" ("living well") are
the two goals of Ethics.
 Note, these two goals are one in the same for Aristotle.
◦ Living well = happiness.
 He says, not that happiness is virtue, but that it is
virtuous activity.
◦ But unless we can determine which good or goods
happiness consists in, it is of little use to acknowledge that
it is the highest end.
 To resolve this issue, Aristotle asks what the ergon
("function") of a human being is.
◦ Aristotle argues that it consists in activity of the rational
part of the soul in accordance with virtue.

14. The Soul? (A sidebar)
 The soul is analyzed into a connected series of capacities:
◦ The Nutritive Soul is responsible for growth and
reproduction.
◦ The Perceptive Soul is for perception.
◦ The Rational Soul is for thinking.
 These correspond with the three great classes of living
things (things with souls)
◦ Plants.
◦ Animals.
◦ Human Beings.
 The good of a human being must have something to do
with being human; and what makes us different is our
ability to reason (nous).
 Therefore, living well, for humans, requires virtue or
excellence, and therefore consists in activities caused by
the rational soul in accordance with virtue or excellence.

15. Two kinds of Virtue.
 Aristotle distinguishes two kinds of virtue:
◦ Those that pertain to the part of the soul that
engages in reasoning (virtues of mind or
intellect)
 Intellectual virtues are in turn divided into two
sorts:
◦ Those that pertain to theoretical reasoning.
◦ Those that pertain to practical thinking.
◦ Those that pertain to the part of the soul that
are capable of following reason (ethical virtues,
virtues of character).

16. Hexis and the Golden Mean.
 Aristotle then believes that Ethical Virtue is a disposition (hexis)
that can be learned.
◦ Education of Ethics leads to tendencies or dispositions, induced by
our habits, to have appropriate feelings.
 Every ethical virtue is a condition intermediate between two
other states:
◦ Excess.
◦ Deficiency.
 In this respect, Aristotle says, the virtues are no different from
technical skills.
◦ The courageous person judges that some dangers are worth facing
and others not, and experiences fear to a degree that is appropriate
to his circumstances.
 He lies between the coward, who flees every danger and experiences
excessive fear, and the rash person, who judges every danger worth facing
and experiences little or no fear.
 Finding the mean in any given situation is not a mechanical or
thoughtless procedure, but requires a full and detailed
acquaintance with the circumstances (i.e. Experience)

17. Hexis v. Cost / Benefit.
 The whole person and
their entire life is
considered.
 Each virtue (courage,
honesty, frugality,
safety…) is measured
by the Golden Mean.
 These virtues are then
balanced with each
other along the entire
person.
 The guiding goal is to
become an excellent
person.
 The cost (pain) of any
action (or rule made from
an action) is weighed
against the benefit
(pleasure) that is created.
 Each persons pleasure is
to be considered equal.
 If greater pleasure is
created by an action than
pain – the action is
deemed right.
 Pleasure and pain are
measured in terms of
money / goods in the
market system.