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105 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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ethical absolutism
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the belief that there is one and only one truth
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altruism
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a selfless concern for other people purely for their own sake
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autonomy
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the ability to freely determine one's own course in life
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moral calculus
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a means of calculating what the right moral decision is in a particular case
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categorical imperative
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an unconditional command
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consequentialism
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any position in ethics that claims the rightness or wrongness of actions depends on their consequences
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deontology
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any position in ethics that claims the rightness or wrongness of actions depends on whether they correspond to our duty or not
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divine command theory
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any position in ethics that claims the rightness or wrongness of actions depends on whether they correspond to God's commands or not
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ethical egoism
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a moral theory that in its most common version states that each person ought to act in his or her own self-interest
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eudaimonia
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the word Aristotle uses for "happiness" or "flourishing"
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hedonistic
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of, or pertaining to, pleasure
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hedonistic utilitarianism
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the version of utilitarianism that takes pleasure as the standard of utility
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hedons
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utilitarian units of pleasure
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imperative
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a command
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inclination
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the word Kant used to refer to our sensuous feelings, emotions, and desires
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maxim
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according to Kant, the subjective rule that an individual uses in making a decision
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natural law
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in ethics, believers in natural law hold that (1) there is a natural order to the human world, (2) this natural order is good, and (3) people therefore ought not to violate that order
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naturalism
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in ethics, the theory that moral values can be derived from facts about the world and human nature
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principle of double effect
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a moral principle or rule that morally allows, under certain very specific conditions, a person to perform an action that has unintended but forseeable bad consequences
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psychological egoism
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the doctrine that human motivation is ultimately selfish or egoistic
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universalizability
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when a maxim can consistently be willed as a law that everyone ought to obey
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utilitarianism
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a moral theory that says that what is morally right is whatever produces the greatest overall amount of pleasure or happiness
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Theism
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God creates, actively involved
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Deism
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God creates, not involved
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Pantheism
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God is everything, universe, transcendent
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The world has...(3)
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-Unity
single world with structure -Purpose beings on earth have purpose/goal ordained by God -Value world is god because it comes from/aims toward God |
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Monotheism
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one god
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Who was a known supporter of atheism?
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Bertrand Russell
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Atheism
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existence has no unity, value, or purpose
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Existentialism
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necessary to suspend the ethical for sake of God sometimes
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Who was a known supporter of existentialism?
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Soren Keirkegaard
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What are the three implications for ethics according to atheism?
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1) no ultimate purpose for humanity
2) no ultimate reward or punishment 3) no guarantee nature is good or bad |
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What does teleological mean?
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moving towards end, goal, purpose
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According to Aristotle and natural law, what are humans endowed with?
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a specific human nature= to choose
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According to Aristotle and natural law, what is the human function?
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to develop capacity to reason
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What is the principle of forfeiture?
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a person who threatens the life of an innocent forfeits their own right to life
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When is a person considered innocent?
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when they haven't threatened anyone else
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What is killing?
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the death of a noninnocent person
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What is murder?
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the death of an innocent person
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What is the principle of double effect?
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it is morally permissable to perform an action that has two effects (one good and one bad)
it may still bring about an evil, but cannot be said to do an evil |
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What are the positives of natural law theory? (3)
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- objective, universal
- emphasis on reason, not feelings/emotion - deemphasis on consequences, emphasizes intentions |
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What are the negatives of natural law theory?
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- difficult to read nature
- does everyone have reasoning ability? - teleological movement -conflicts evolution |
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What are the positives of divine command theory? (3)
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- universal moral norms
- motivation - sense of security |
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What are the negatives of divine command theory? (3)
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- How can we know God's will? (presuming God exists)
- Does divine command theory undermine human reason? - Can be used to subjugate the masses (control technique) |
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What is the most ancient and historically persistent concept in Western ethics?
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Natural Law Theory
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What is the source of natural law?
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the rational creature
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How do we know right from wrong?
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we have ability to reason
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What is virtue?
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what makes something good
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What is the role of lawmakers in promoting virtue in people?
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make laws that reflect good virtues
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Which is more important to Aquinas- the individual or the common good?
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common good
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How should we make decisions on moral issues such as assisted suicide, etc?
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use reason to discern the natural law
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What is the relationship between human law and natural law?
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natural law ranks higher, human law flows from natural law
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What is our moral duty when a human law is in conflict with natural law?
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put natural law first
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What is Aquinas's hierarchy of laws?
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-Eternal Law
-Divine Law -Natural Law -Human Law |
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Eternal Law
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uncreated reason of God that's moving universe towards its particular goal or end
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Divine Law
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humans and creatures being directed by God toward their supernatural end
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Natural Law
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law of reason
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Human Law
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legislative laws, cultural norms
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What are the two kinds of natural inclinations and two examples of each?
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-Biological Values
life procreation -Human Values knowledge socialbility |
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What is the difference between an egotist and an egoist?
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-egotist: all about them
-egoist: about the "I" rather than the "me" |
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What is the difference between pleasure and happiness?
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-pleasure: short term
-happiness: long term |
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How is selfishness viewed from the ethical egoism point of view?
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seen as a virtue
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What does the psychological egoist viewpoint maintain?
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-we act selfishly
-we act in our own self-interest claims about our motives claims about objective consequences -they confuse motives and consequences |
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What are the three versions of ethical egoism?
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1) Personal Ethical Egoism
2) Individual Ethical Egoism 3) Universal Ethical Egoism |
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Personal Ethical Egoism
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"I am going to act only in my own interest, and everyone else can do whatever they want."
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Individual Ethical Egoism
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"Everyone should act in my own interest."
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Universal Ethical Egoism
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"Each individual should act in his or her own self interest."
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What are the arguments for ethical egoism?
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-altruism is demeaning
-acting selfishly creates better world -doesn't result in such a different world after all |
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What are the criticisms of ethical egosim?
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-can't be consistently universalized
-presupposes a world of strangers indifferent to one another -seems morally insensitive -difficult to imagine love or friendship |
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What is the principle of causation?
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cause and effect
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What is hard determinism?
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no free choice, cause and effect
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What is soft determinism?
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-all events are caused
-some events/ causes do originate with humans -choice is limited |
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What is indeterminism?
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everything is left to chance
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Epicureanism
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-highest good is when desires are satisfied
-it is natural to seek a pleasant life |
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What are the three types of desires?
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1) natural and necessary
2) natural, do not need to be satisfied 3) unnatural, should never be satisfied |
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Hedonism
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-opposite of Epicureanism
-seek pleasure, avoid pain |
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Stoicism
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-calm indifference to life
-natural to seek pleasant life -influenced by Cynics |
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Who founded Stoicism?
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Zeno
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What were the Cynics like?
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went out of their way to find and embrace hardship
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Metaphysical Justification
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everything that occurs is in accordance with natural law
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What is the Principle of Utility?
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Whenever we have choice between alternative actions, we must choose the one that has best overall consequences for all involved or all that are concerned.
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Who is credited for founding Utilitarianism?
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David Hume
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Why is the utilitarianism position such a demanding moral position?
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1) always asks us to do the most, maximize utility
2) asks us to set aside personal interest |
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What is the dream of utilitarianism?
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bring scientific certainty to ethics
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Who believed we should try to increase the overall amount of pleasure in the world?
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Jeremy Bentham
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What is hedonistic utilitarianism?
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maximize overall pleasure, minimize overall pain
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What is the unit of measurement for pleasure?
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hedons
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What is the unit of measurement for pain?
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dolors
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What are the advantages of having pleasure as the standard of utility?
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-easy to quantify
-short duration -bodily |
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What are the disadvantages of having pleasure as the standard of utility?
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-"pig's philosophy"
-ignores higher values -could justify living on pleasure machine |
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What is pleasure?
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enjoyable feeling experienced when state of deprivation is replaced by state of fulfillment
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What was John Mill's relationship to Jeremy Bentham?
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Mill was Bentham's godson
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Who believed happiness should be the standard of utility?
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John Mill
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What type of utilitarianism looks at the consequences of each individual act and calculates the utility each time the act is performed?
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Act Utilitarianism
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What type of utilitarianism looks at the consequences of having everyone follow a particular rule, general practice?
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Rule Utilitarianism
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What are the criticisms of utilitarianism? (6)
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1) Responsibility : we're responsible for all consequences of our choices
2) Integrity : demands we put aside self-interest and moral convictions 3) Intentions : only concerned about consequences 4) Moral Luck : moral worth of actions=matter of luck 5) Who does the calculating? : count differs with who does counting 6) Who is included? : own group, country, all humans, skin color, etc. |
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What are the strengths of utilitarianism? (3)
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-consequences do matter
-some people like cost-benefit analysis -want world to be better place |
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What is the relationship between an instrumental good and an intrinsic good?
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an instrumental good is a stepping stone to an intrinsic good
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What must the moral principles be like in duty ethics?
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must hold without exception
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What is the method for duty ethics? (5)
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1) good will
2) reason (autonomy) 3) categorical imperative 4) practical imperative 5) duty |
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What are the positives of duty ethics? (3)
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-moral absolutes
-gives accomodation to worth of humans -methodical |
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What are the negatives of duty ethics? (3)
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-no place for consequences/ intentions
-categorical imperative is too firm -not everyone has good ability to reason |
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Who was the philosopher that supported duty ethics?
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Kant
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What are the two conceptions of duty and supporters of each?
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-duty as following orders (Eichmann)
-duty as freely imposing obligation on one's own self (Kant) |
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What is good will?
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unique human ability to act in accordance with rules, principles, and laws regardless of the consequences
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