Moral Philosophy and Moral Reasoning Flashcards

A comprehensive vocabulary review of core terminology, ethical theories, and concepts covered in the lecture notes.

Ethics

The philosophical study of morality.

Morality

Beliefs serving right and wrong, and good and bad character.

Philosophy

Ways of thinking, coming from the Greek root philia.

Logic

Arguments that follow good judgment to make sense.

Metaphysics

The branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality — what exists, what it means for something to exist, and the basic structure of the world.

Epistemology

The philosophical study of knowledge — specifically its nature, origin, and limits.

Descriptive Ethics

The scientific study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments.

Normative Ethics

The study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments.

Applied Ethics

The application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases, particularly those in a profession such as medical or law.

Metaethics

The study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs.

Elements of Ethics

The major components that make up the field of moral philosophy, consisting of three main branches: normative ethics, applied ethics, and metaethics.

Religion and Morality

The philosophical concept that religion may influence moral beliefs, but is not the foundation of morality itself.

Divine Command Theory

The view that moral rightness depends entirely on God's commands; an action is morally right because God commands it, and wrong because God forbids it.

Objectivism

The view that some moral principles are valid for everyone.

Cultural Relativism

The view that an action is morally right if one's culture approves of it.

Subjective Relativism

The view that an action is right if one approves of it.

Emotivism

The view that moral utterances are neither true nor false but are expressions of emotions or attitudes.

Vaughn's Issue with Relativism

The argument that if moral truth depended on individual or cultural belief, no one could ever be mistaken about morality because whatever one believes becomes true for them.

Consequentialism

A theory asserting that what makes an action right is its consequences.

Ethical Egoism

A theory asserting that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over bad for oneself.

Act Egoism

The theory that to determine right action, you must apply the egoistic principle to individual acts.

Rule Egoism

The theory that to determine right action, you must see if an act falls under a rule that, if consistently followed, would maximize your self-interest.

Psychological Egoism

The view that the motive for all our actions is self-interest.

Classic Utilitarianism

The theory that an action is morally right if it maximizes overall happiness or pleasure and minimizes overall pain for everyone affected.

Principle of Utility

The capacity of an action to produce benefits (pleasure, happiness, good) or prevent harm (pain, suffering).

Quantitative Utilitarianism (Bentham)

Bentham's view of pure hedonism, holding that morally right actions are those that produce the greatest amount of pleasure for the greatest number.

Act Utilitarianism

The theory that an action is right if and only if it produces at least as much overall good as any alternative in that specific situation.

Rule Utilitarianism

The theory that an action is right if and only if it follows a rule that, when generally adopted, produces the greatest overall good.

No-Rest Problem

A problem with utilitarianism where being obligated to constantly maximize utility makes it too demanding, leaving no room for personal happiness, rest, or self-care.

Social Contract Theory

The view that moral rules are justified because they are conventionally established rules that rational, self-interested individuals would agree to in order to live together cooperatively.

State of Nature

A real or hypothetical condition of human beings living without political association, political authority, laws, or social institutions.

Nonconsequentialism

The view (held by deontologists) that rejects consequences as the determinant of moral rightness, holding that an action is right because of what it is, not because of what it produces.

The Good Will

In Kantian ethics, a will that acts purely from duty and follows a universal moral principle, representing the only thing that is unconditionally good.

Categorical Imperative

A single, absolute moral principle grounding Kantianism that tells you what you ought to do no matter what you want.

Hypothetical Imperative

An imperative that tells you what you ought to do if you have a certain desire or goal.

Perfect Duties

Duties that permit no exceptions.

Imperfect Duties

Duties that allow flexibility in how and when they are fulfilled.

Formulation of the Universal Law

"Act only according to that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law."

Maxim

A personal rule for acting that includes the action, the circumstances, and the purpose.

Means-End Principle

"So act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means."

Natural Law Theory

The view that moral obligations come from the natural purposes built into human beings and the world, where everything has a purpose and was put here for a reason.

Doctrine of Double Effect

The doctrine stating that it can be morally permissible to perform an action with both good and bad effects if the bad effect is unintended (only foreseen) and certain criteria are satisfied.