OCR A Level Ethics Terms

Agape

Unconditional love; central to Situation Ethics.

Business Ethics

The moral principles applied to business practices.

Categorical Imperative

Universal moral law (Kant).

Cognitivism

The belief that moral statements are objective and true/false.

Compatibilism

Free will and determinism can coexist.

Deontological Ethics

Ethics based on duty and rules (e.g., Kantian Ethics).

Determinism

The belief that all events are pre-determined and inevitable.

Doctrine of Double Effect

A morally good act may have an unintended bad consequence (Aquinas).

Eternal Law

The moral order established by God (Natural Law).

Euthanasia

The practice of assisted dying; debated in ethics.

Hedonic Calculus

Bentham’s method for measuring pleasure and pain.

Hypothetical Imperative

A moral rule based on desired outcomes (Kant).

Intuitionism

Moral truths are self-evident and known through intuition (Moore).

Just War Theory

Ethical framework for war (Aquinas, Augustine).

Kantian Ethics

Deontological moral theory based on duty and universal laws.

Meta-Ethics

The study of the nature of moral language and judgments.

Natural Law

Moral order inherent in nature, given by God (Aquinas).

Non-Cognitivism

The view that moral statements are expressions of emotion, not facts.

Principle of Utility

The greatest happiness for the greatest number (Utilitarianism).

Sanctity of Life

The belief that life is sacred and should be preserved.

Situation Ethics

Ethical theory prioritising love over rules (Fletcher).

Soft Determinism

The idea that free will and determinism are compatible.

Utilitarianism

Ethical theory focusing on maximising happiness (Bentham, Mill).

Virtue Ethics

Aristotle’s ethical theory focusing on moral character.