Ethics and Moral Philosophy

These flashcards cover key concepts, terms, and theories in ethics and moral philosophy, including the views of major philosophers.

Descriptive Ethics

Describing what people’s moral beliefs and practices are, and how these are caused and shaped.

Metaethics

Examines the meaning of ethical terms, the connections between concepts, and the underlying nature of reality.

Normative Ethics

Determining what is morally right or wrong and applying those principles to practical cases.

Cognitivism

The view that ethical statements can have truth values.

Noncognitivism

The view that ethical statements cannot have truth values.

Ethical Realism

The belief that objective facts give ethical statements truth values.

Ethical Relativism

The idea that the truth value of ethical statements is relative to some viewpoint (individual or cultural).

Intrinsic Good

Something that is good for its own sake.

Instrumental Good

Something that is good for the sake of something else.

Chief Good Argument

The argument that if everything is done for the sake of something else, then there must be a chief good.

Eudaimonia

The chief good for humans, often translated as happiness.

Virtue Ethics

A form of ethical realism claiming that actions are right when they are performed by a virtuous person.

Golden Mean

The desirable middle between two extremes, excess and deficiency, in moral virtues.

Willingness to Give Up Rights

Hobbes' second law of nature, advocating for equality and peace among individuals.

The Fool’s Objection

The argument that it can be rational to break contracts if it benefits oneself.

Hobbes's Reply to the Fool

Breaking contracts ultimately harms one's own security and is therefore irrational.