Ethics and Moral Philosophy Lecture Review

These vocabulary flashcards cover the core concepts of moral philosophy, including major theories of ethics, the relationship between religion and morality, the debate over cultural relativism and objectivism, skeptical challenges to morality, the problem of free will, and different frameworks for defining a 'good life'.

Divine Command Theory

The view that actions are considered morally right because God commands them and morally wrong because God forbids them, making morality entirely dependent on divine authority.

Euthyphro Dilemma

A dilemma from Plato asking if something is good because God commands it (implying arbitrary morality) or if God commands it because it is good (implying morality exists independently of God).

Natural Law Theory

A theory proposing that God created humans with a specific purpose and that morality arises from fulfilling this human nature, discoverable through reason rather than revelation alone.

Teleological

Derived from the Greek word $telos$, meaning purpose or end goal; the view that everything, including humans, has a natural function or purpose.

St. Thomas Aquinas

The most significant proponent of Natural Law Theory who argued that humans use natural reason to understand the moral order inherent in human nature.

Natural Reason

The human capacity to discover moral truths through rational thought and the understanding of human nature.

Conscience

An inner moral awareness that guides actions, though it can be problematic as it may be shaped by prejudice, cultural conditioning, or mistakes.

Fact/Value Problem

Also known as Hume's is/ought problem, it identifies the logical difficulty of deriving moral obligations ($ought$) strictly from factual observations ($is$).

Meta-Ethics

The branch of ethics that studies the nature of morality itself, including the origins and authority of moral truths and whether they are objective or subjective.

Normative Ethics

The study of what people should do, aimed at establishing standards for behavior through rules, duties, virtues, and general moral theories.

Applied Ethics

The application of ethical theories to specific, real-world issues such as abortion, euthanasia, war, and environmental ethics.

Valid Argument

A logical structure where if the premises are true, the conclusion must necessarily be true.

Sound Argument

An argument that possesses both a logically valid structure and premises that are factually true.

Equivocation

A logical fallacy involving the use of the same word with different meanings within a single argument.

Circular Argument

Also known as begging the question, this occurs when the conclusion of an argument is secretly assumed within its own premises.

Analogy

A type of reasoning that compares two things to gain insight, such as comparing morality to mathematics or fashion.

Inference to the Best Explanation

Also known as abduction, this method involves choosing the explanation that best fits all available evidence.

Thought Experiment

Imaginary scenarios, such as the Trolley Problem, designed to test moral ideas, challenge intuitions, and reveal moral conflicts.

Universalization

A moral test that evaluates the acceptability of an action by asking, 'What if everyone did this?'

Cultural Relativism

The view that morality is dependent on culture, tradition, and social practices, with no universal moral truths existing across all societies.

Objectivism

The belief that moral truths are objective and universal, remaining true regardless of cultural beliefs or individual opinions.

Moral Realism

The belief that moral values objectively exist in the world independently of human opinion or emotion.

Form of the Good

Plato's concept of an objective, perfect standard of goodness that exists in an ideal realm and is understood through reason.

Pseudo-Relativism

A belief system that advocates for tolerance as a universal value, which actually functions as a form of liberal universalism rather than true relativism.

Moral Skepticism

Doubt regarding the existence of objective moral truths or the human capacity to know them.

Moral Nihilism

The assertion that morality has no real foundation and that objective moral facts do not exist, making 'right' and 'wrong' human inventions.

Slave Morality

Nietzsche's term for traditional morality that values humility, obedience, and pity, which he believed was created by the weak to control the strong.

Individual Subjectivism

The view that morality is based on each individual's opinions or feelings, meaning no one can be objectively mistaken about their moral beliefs.

Expressivism

The view that moral language does not state facts but instead expresses the speaker's attitudes or emotions.

Emotivism

A form of expressivism associated with A. J. Ayer which proposes that moral judgments are emotional reactions (e.g., 'Boo murder!').

Noncognitivism

The philosophical stance that moral statements are not 'truth-apt', meaning they are not capable of being true or false.

Thin Ethical Concepts

General moral terms like 'good', 'bad', 'right', and 'wrong' that offer little descriptive detail.

Thick Ethical Concepts

Terms that combine descriptive detail with moral evaluation, such as 'cruel', 'brave', 'generous', or 'dishonest'.

Error Theory

J. L. Mackie's view that all moral claims are false because while they attempt to describe objective facts, no such objective facts exist.

Argument From Queerness

Mackie's argument that objective moral values are unlikely to exist because they would have 'queer' or unusual metaphysical and epistemological properties.

Determinism

The belief that every event, including human actions, is necessitated by prior events and the laws of nature.

Hard Determinism

The position that determinism is true, free will does not exist, and moral responsibility is therefore an illusion.

Libertarianism

The free will theory that humans possess the ability to initiate actions freely and could have chosen differently, meaning determinism is false regarding human action.

Compatibilism

The view that free will and determinism can coexist, defining freedom as acting according to one's desires without external coercion.

Consequence Argument

A challenge to compatibilism stating that if actions are the result of the past and laws of nature (which we don't control), we do not truly control our actions.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to seek out and interpret evidence in a way that supports pre-existing beliefs rather than challenging them.

Hedonism

The theory, associated with Epicurus, that the good life is achieved by maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.

Desire Fulfillment Theory

The view that the good life consists of fulfilling one's desires, even if that fulfillment does not ultimately bring happiness.

Objective List Theory

The idea that certain things, such as knowledge, virtue, and friendship, are objectively good for human flourishing regardless of an individual's desires.

Existentialism

A philosophy focusing on the idea that humans exist first and must create their own purpose and meaning through choices and commitments.

Viktor Frankl

Holocaust survivor and author who argued that meaning can be found even in profound suffering through creation, love, or our response to that suffering.