Philosophy Scholar

deontic concepts

whether an action is obligatory, wrong, or optional

right action

either obligatory or optional

hedonism

only bearers of positive intrinsic value are experiences of pleasure and only bearers of negative intrinsic value are experiences of pain

moral worth

evaluation of persons and their character

moral principles

general moral statements that purport to set forth conditions under which an action is right or wrong

ethics

area of philosophy which inquires into morality

normative ethics

investigates moral questions

metaethics

answers nonmoral questions about morality

ethical theory

how to live

formal view of diff between morality and etiquette

Moral norms have the structure of being prescriptive, universal, and overriding (etiquette norms do not)

attitudinal view of diff between morality and ethics

how we respond to transgressions and how we want the norms to be followed by everyone

family resemblance view

to define things- are they similar to others in the category

moral theory

attempts to systematize ethical judgments

2 aims of moral theory

practical aim - gives decision procedure for right action and theoretical aim- explains why

principle of utility

action is right if it leads to most aggregate happiness out of all available actions

epistemic powers

what we are able to know

what are moral theories attempting?

to explain phenomenon of morality

narrow sense of right

action is obligatory

broad sense of right

action is not wrong

instrumental value

valuable because it is a means to something which is intrinsically valuable

arete

has to do with virtue

aretaic concepts

virtue concepts (about good/bad people)

structure of a moral theory (3 parts)

Theory of right action (deontic status)

Theory of good and bad (intrinsic value)

Theory of virtue (explains whether person is good or bad, aretaic)

value-based theories (or teleological/consequentialist)

theories in which the deontic status of an action depends on the intrinsic value created by the action

duty-based theories (deontological)

deontic is fundamental

virtue-based theories (aretaic)

moral worth/virtue is fundamental, action is right if a virtuous person would do it

unrestricted divine command theory

nature of morality in God’s terms, God is origin of morality

restricted divine command theory

some parts don’t depend on god, some aspects of morality are preexisting

theory of right conduct for divine command theory

action is obligatory if God commands, wrong if God forbids, and optional if neither

theory of value in DCT

value depends on god’s approval/disapproval

divine command theory is unique because

it is the only theory that provides objective bases for a single true morality

Euthyphyro dilemma

does god command actions because they are inherently obligatory or are they obligatory because god commands them

relativism

variety of views and ideas that differ

unrestricted moral relativism

rightness/wrongness depend on culture’s moral code

moral objectivism

there are moral norms whose correctness is independent of the culture’s moral norms

context-sensitivity thesis

rightness and wrongness depend on circumstance and non-moral facts

descriptive relativism

explains how different cultures have different moral beliefs

moral diversity thesis

conflicts in morality across cultures

who made the 5 cosmological proofs of God’s existence

Aquinas

the theory of action

metaphysics of human free will

natural law

there’s a purpose beyond God’s creation that governs the universe (includes morality)

3 components of natural law

perfectionism (objective theory of value), doctrine of double effect (moral principle to resolve dilemmas) and moral absolutism (actions are always right or wrong)

tenet of natural law

value is fundamental, good is prior to right

two theories of value

subjective (pleasure/desire) and objective (state of the world)

perfectionism

smth is valuable if it promotes human nature development

pluralism

there are several realms of value which cannot be reduced to a “supervalue”

value perfectionism

humans have a distinctive nature which sets a standard of excellence due to our ESSENCE

what makes a thing a kind of thing

its essence

teleology

essence of a thing is that thing’s purpose or end

how is goodness defined in value perfectionism?

how well the thing achieves its purpose

theory of value

an event is good if it perfects human nature

guise of the good

all human desire are based by what the agent perceives as good

NLT best Aquinas categories

life, procreation, knowledge, and sociability

challenges of doctrine of double effect

isn’t intuitive and hard to tell intention from side effect

why can moral perfectionism be secular

we can recognize humans have distinct capacities and recognize that developing these capacities is a good thing

consequentialism

moral theory concerned with producing the most good

core features of consequentialism

value is independent of right and explanatory priority of good

what do you need for a consequentialist moral theory

determine intrinsic value and how right actions relate to intrinsic value

act consequentialism

choose course of action that produces best consequences

act utilitarianism

choose right action that produces aggregate happiness (welfarist)

who defended act utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill

how do utilitarians determine wellbeing

happiness

consequentialist theory of value

happiness is the only thing with intrinsic value

how does classical utilitarianism define happiness

pleasure and pain

value hedonism

pleasure is the only thing with intrinsic value, pain is the only thing with intrinsic disvalue

utility

what should be promoted

what did Jeremy Bentham think was utility

happiness

philosophical hedonism

happiness is the only thing with intrinsic value (happiness=pleasure -pain)

Bentham’s quantified happiness 4 things

intensity, duration, certainty, remoteness

fecundity

will it be followed by further pleasures

purity

chance that pleasure will be followed by pain

mill’s theory of right conduct

actions are right if they produce happiness

swine objection

says that saying pleasure is only value is animalistic

quantitative hedonism (Bentham)

all pleasures are commensurable

qualitative hedonism (Mill)

all pleasures are not commensurable

rule utilitarianism

theres an ideal moral code consisting of rules which lead to max happiness

rule utilitarianism

did action violate moral code

objections to act utilitarianism

requires we violate deontological restrictions, too demanding, too narrow

bold denial

our moral intuitions are wrong and morality is just demanding

direct consequentialism

deontic status of an action depends on consequences of that action

indirect consequentialism

deontic status of action is based on consequences of something else than the action

why is rule consequentialism less demanding than act consequentialism?

it just requires we do “our part”

why is acceptance better than compliance

because it means the rules are internalized

personal value

value about quality of life

impersonal value

value is independent of its contribution to quality of life

desire-fulfillment theories

our lives go better when desires are fulfilled

objective list theories

there are good things for people whether they want them or not

value pluralism

things have value independently from human welfare or excellence

other-regarding reasons

it’s good to promote the interests of others

self-regarding reasons

promoting our interests is good

ethical egoism theory of right conduct

action is obligatory if it would promote actor’s interests more than any other action

impartial theory (agent neutral)

if something is good, everyone has reason to promote it

partial theory (agent relative)

anything that is good is good for somebody (promote your own interests)

theories about what makes life go better

hedonism, desire satisfaction, objective list theory, perfectionism

egoism maximizes which interests?

long term

psychological egoism

human psych only recognizes self-regarding reasons

psychological egoism says primary motivation is

that agent’s self-interest

egoistic reasons to be moral

avoid social sanction, avoid guilt/shame, relieve empathetic anxiety, receive social rewards

ethical egoism cannot be derived frm

psychological egoism

altruism

helping others is our ultimate goal