Bioethics Part 2 - Moral Theories

theory

attempts to explain why an action is right or wrong or why a person’s character is good or bad

moral theories

help us build a big picture, allows us to recognize patterns, and attempt to explain why and how those patterns occur

theories of obligation

theories of right action; focuses on right and wrong actions; divine command theory and utilitarianism

virtue based theories

focus on good or bad persons/character; virtue ethics

consequentialist theory

asserts that the rightness of actions depends solely on their consequences; utilitarianism

deontological theory

asserts that the rightness of actions is determined partly or entirely by their intrinsic value; the kinds of actions matter; kantian ethics

utilitarianism

right actions are those that result in the most beneficial balance of good over bad consequences for everyone involved

act-utilitarianism

the rightness of actions depends solely on the relative good produced for everyone by individual actions

rule-utilitarianism

a right action is one that conforms to a rule that, if followed consistently, would create for everyone involved the most beneficial balance of good over bad

kantian ethics

actions are only right if they follow rational and universally applicable rules; doesn’t matter how much happiness it generates, just has to follow the rules

hypothetical imperitives

does not matter in kantian ethics; should not be considered; “if you want this, then do this”

maxims

short statement expresing a general truth or rule of conduct

apparent duty

all the actions that your principles prescribe

actual duty

which principle is applied after evaluating which one is more important

principlism

the theory that right actions ar enot necessarily those sanctioned by single-rule theory, but rather by reference to multiple moral principles that must be weighed and balanced against each other

natural law theory

right actions are those discenred in nature through human reason

teleological

there’s some purpose, end goal, or function

Thomas Aquinas

formed the dominant version; still the official moral outlook of the Roman Catholic Church; natural law theory

doctrine of double effect

important in Roman Catholic ethics; use this when absolute morals conflict in natural law theory; it is wrong to intentially perform a bad action to produce a good result

contractarianism

moral theories based on the idea of a social contract/agreement among individuals for a mutual advantage

John Rawls

introduced most influential version of contract theory

principle of justice

a fair and unbiased social contract will lead to morally right actions

veil of ignorance

they do not know their own status in society so they cannot favor one group over another for fear of being in the discriminated group

equal liberty principle

each person is entitiled to maximum basic rights and dutues but no more than anyone else; main principle that takes precendence over any other

social and economic principle

inequalities should be arranged so that everyone has an equal chance to acquire basic needed and inequalities benefit of the least well off in society

virtue ethics

focuses on the development of individual’s virtuous character; a virtuous person will do good actions because they are motivated by virtuous character; your motivation matters

ethics of care

emphasizes caring; moral life is driven by compassion, empathy, and love; relationships matter

feminist ethics

attempt to revamp ethics to eliminate traditional aspects of certain ethical principles that devalue or ognore the moral experience of women

casuistry

moral reasoning method that emphasizes cases and analogies rather than universal principles or theories; form judgements on case-by-case basis

fruitfulness

ability to make predicitions

conservatism

how does the theory fit with established facts

criteria of adequacy

involves both fruitfulness and conservatism

criterion 1

consistency with our considered moral judgements

seeking reflective equilibrium

when considered moral judgements and a theory are well balanced

criterion 2

consistency with the facts or the moral life; moral theory must be able to make room for personal experience and growth

criterion 3

resourcefulness in moral problem-solving