Comprehensive Ethics and Moral Philosophy: Key Concepts and Theories

Eudaimonia

An ancient Greek word that may be translated as 'happiness,' 'flourishing,' 'excellence' or 'blessedness.' Eudaimonia is a form of life in accordance with all the virtues, lived in accordance with practical wisdom.

Evaluation

Judging/weighing-up. For example, saying that something is good or bad is evaluating it.

Experience Machine

A thought experiment developed by Robert Nozick that criticizes hedonistic utilitarianism, asking if one would choose to use a machine that simulates a perfectly happy life.

Felicific Calculus

One of the seven criteria in Bentham's utility calculus. We should try to do things that cause pleasure for more people, or pain for fewer people, than the alternative.

Fairness Problem

A problem for utilitarianism where intuitively, we think that people deserve to be treated fairly, even if that results in some people being treated unfairly.

Fallacy of Composition

A kind of logical fallacy in which someone assumes that because everything in a certain group has a property in common, then the group as a whole also has that property.

Fallacy of Equivocation

A kind of logical fallacy in which someone uses a word with two different meanings, acting as if they have used it to mean the same thing throughout.

Fecundity

Pleasure is more valuable if it creates extra pleasure, and pain is worse if it creates extra pain.

Flourishing

Another name for Eudaimonia.

Foot, Philippa

A moral philosopher who criticized Kant's idea that morality is a matter of following categorical imperatives, arguing that all moral imperatives are hypothetical.

Function Argument

Aristotle's argument that human beings have a purpose ('telos'), which all of the features of the human body/human psychology support by performing their distinctive functions ('ergon').

Good

The 'standard of evaluation' - if something is good we ought to judge it positively, and if something is bad we ought to judge it negatively.

Good Will

For Kant, someone has a good will if they always do the right thing because it is right, acting out of duty rather than merely in accordance with duty.

Greatest Happiness Principle

The idea that 'good' means 'increases overall happiness,' and 'bad' means 'decreases overall happiness.'

Hedonistic Utilitarianism

The belief that the purpose of moral philosophy is to maximize the amount of happiness in the world.

Heteronomy

The opposite of autonomy; to act heteronomously is to follow a maxim that does not come from pure reason.

Higher Pleasure

Pleasure that is considered to be of a higher quality compared to lower pleasures.

Hume, David

A philosopher whose arguments against moral realism include Hume's Fork, the problem of moral motivation, and the Is-Ought Gap.

Hume's Fork

A technique Hume invented to distinguish genuine beliefs from meaningless ones, categorizing beliefs into Relations of Ideas and Matters of Fact.

Hypothetical Imperative

An imperative that represents the necessity of a possible action as a means to achieve something else.

Imperative

A command or principle that expresses a requirement.

Categorical Imperative

Kant's concept of an imperative that commands universally, without conditions.

Contradictory

The opposite of a relation of ideas.

Matters of Fact

Beliefs about the mind-independent world that require evidence.

Verification Principle

A principle updated by A.J. Ayer from Hume's fork.

Universal Law Formulation

Kant's formulation stating we should act only if we can will it as a universal law.

Humanity Formulation

Kant's formulation stating we should treat humanity as an end, never merely as a means.

Hypothetical Imperative Example

If you want to pass your exams, then get a good night's sleep.

Acting Out of Duty

Acting based on moral obligation rather than inclination.

Instrumentally Valuable

Something that can be used to achieve something else valuable.

Utilitarianism Problem

The issue of violating individual rights for greater good.

Transplant Surgeon Thought Experiment

An illustration of the problem of utilitarianism regarding individual rights.

Intentions Problem

The issue that intentions matter in moral evaluations, contrary to utilitarianism.

Intrinsically Prescriptive Entity

Something that tells you how you ought to live simply by existing.

Objective Goodness

The concept that something good intrinsically tells you to pursue it.

G.E. Moore's Intuitionism

A meta-ethical theory that moral properties are real but not part of the natural world.

Moral Non-Naturalism

The belief that moral properties exist but are not scientifically describable.

Moral Concepts

Described by Moore as simple indefinable notions.

Kant's Categorical Imperative

The only logically coherent categorical imperative from which all moral rules can be derived.

Imperfect Duty

A duty that does not have to be fulfilled in every instance.

Inclination

A motivation based on desire or value.

Moral Integrity Problem

The issue of maintaining moral integrity in utilitarianism.

Tyranny of the Majority

A version of the problem of violating rights for the greater good.

Kant's Words on Maxim

Act only on that maxim through which you can will that it should become a universal law.

Kant's Words on Humanity

Act in such a way as to treat humanity always as an end and never merely as a means.

Deontologists

Think that lying is always wrong.

Means to an end

A description of an action and its end, e.g. 'eating chocolate in order to satisfy hunger.'

Kant's maxim

A maxim is moral if it passes the test of the categorical imperative.

Moral anti-realism

A criticism of utilitarianism that argues for strict moral lines.

Moral misanthrope

Someone who hates helping people but does it anyway because it's the right thing to do.

Moral motivation problem

Hume's argument against moral cognitivism, suggesting morality affects motivations.

Moral language problem

A problem for non-cognitivism in meta-ethics regarding how we argue about morality.

Moral status

A being has moral status if you should take its interests into account when deciding what to do.

Moral realism

The belief that there are objective moral facts.

Moral relativism

The view that moral standards are not universal and can change over time.

Moral progress problem

The challenge for anti-realists to explain moral changes as progress.

Normative ethics

The study of what actions are right or wrong.

Meta-ethics

Asks how (or whether) moral judgments are possible.

Cognitivism vs non-cognitivism

Debate on whether moral language has cognitive meaning.

Moral reasoning problem

The challenge of how to analyze moral language.

Moral nihilism

The belief that there are no moral truths.

Moral prescriptivism

The view that moral statements prescribe actions.

Moral psychology

The study of how people think about morality.

Moral naturalism

The belief that moral facts are natural facts.

Hume's argument

Against moral cognitivism, stating reason and desire are different parts of the mind.

Intuitionism

Moore's meta-ethical theory that moral truths are known through intuition.

Naturalistic fallacy

Moore's argument against equating moral properties with natural properties.

Open question argument

Moore's argument that moral properties cannot be defined in natural terms.

Virtue ethics

Aristotle's theory that a virtue is the mean between two vices.

Courage

The virtue that lies between cowardice (deficiency) and rashness (excess).