Ethics Quest 1

The word Ethics comes from?

Ethos (Greek)

The word Morality comes from?

Mores (Latin)

Ethics is...

A study of what is right and wrong

Morality is...

A system of rules for guiding human conduct and principles for evaluating those rules

The foundation of ethics is...

That all human life has a purpose and that humans require life, liberty, and property

The components of a moral system are...

- Rules of conduct

- Principles of evaluation

Rules of conduct (moral system) include...

- Social policies (formal laws)

- Directives (informal guidelines)

Principles of evaluation (moral system) involve...

Standards to justify the rules of conduct:

- Justice

- Social Utility

- Fairness

What three areas play a role in forming a moral system?

- Law

- Religion

- Philosophy

Generally, a decision is good if...

The result is good

Decision making process:

- Rational intuition of justice

- Use reason to determine highest moral good

- Determine primary and secondary moral goods

- Rationally calculate result

Moral codes reflect...

A groups value system

Moral codes define...

Right and wrong

Moral codes establish...

Proper behavior

Moral codes evolved for...

The groups survival

Universal Moral Codes:

- Golden Rule

- Silver Rule

- Bronze Rule

- Ten Commandments

- Native American Ten Commandments

Laws are...

Rules enforced by a controlling authority

The two type of laws are:

- Natural Law

- Positive Law

Natural Law:

- Universal

- Unwritten

- Apply to all rational creatures

- Apply cross-culturally

- Exist independent of human preference

Positive Law:

- Law established and regulated by governmental authority

- Vary from culture to culture

- Establish rights for individuals or groups

- Can be derived from natural law

Laws exist to...

Protect life, liberty, and property

Successful enforcement of the law necessitates:

- Enforcement

- Penalties

Punishments categories:

- Retributive (Pay back a victim)

- Corrective (Rehabilitation)

- Deterrent (Prevent actions)

A counter factual explanation looks like:

If x had not happened, then y would not have happened

Descriptive Ethics:

- Describes existing morality

- What is the case

Normative Ethics:

- Judges morality

- Formulates recommendations about how to act or live

- Tells us what should be the case

Types of claims:

- Descriptive

- Normative

Within normative claims, what are the two categories?

- Moral (Based on morality and ethics and is often grounded in issues of fairness or obligation)

- Non-moral (Not based on morals or ethics)

The structure of logical arguments:

- At least one premise or claim (True or false)

- Conclusion based on premise(s)