Moral Philosophy and Ethics

Conventional Morality

- System of widely accepted rules and principles
- Created by and for human beings.
-Used to govern our lives and assess the actions and motivations of others.

Critical Morality

- Set of norms that does not originate in social agreements
- Untainted by mistaken beliefs, irrationality, or popular prejudices.
- Can serve as the true standard for evaluating conventional morality.

Value Theory

Branch of moral philosophy questioning the good life and worth pursuing.

Normative Ethics

Branch of moral philosophy determining fundamental moral duties and virtues.
- Do the ends always justify the means

Metaethics

Branch of moral philosophy examining the status of moral claims and advice.
- Is there always a good reason to behave morally

Moral Skepticism

View that moral reasoning rationalizes biases and gut feelings.

Plausible Starting Points

Beliefs like justice, equality, and friendship that serve as moral foundations.

Normative System

Set of standards specifying how we ought to behave, ideals to aim for, and rules that we should not break.
- Law, Etiquette, Self-Interest, Tradition

Divine Command Theory

Belief that an act is morally required if commanded by God and immoral just because God forbids it.

Divine Perfection Argument

Refutation of Divine Command Theory using the concept of a morally perfect God.

Argument from Religious Authority

Belief that actions are moral based on religious texts or authorities.

Argument

A chain of thought in which reasons, or premises, are offered in support of a conclusion.

Logical validity

If the truth of its premises guarantees the truth of its conclusion.

Soundness

If it is valid and its premises are true.

Necessary condition

If X is a _______________ of Y, X is a requirement, prerequisite, or precondition of Y

Sufficient condition

If X is a _____________________ of Y, X is enough for or guarantees Y

Biconditional

A claim that supplies necessary and sufficient conditions.

Modus ponens

1. If P, then Q.
2. P.
3. Therefore, Q

Modus tollens

1. If P, then Q.
2. Q is false.
3. Therefore, P is false.

Hypothetical syllogism

1. If P, then Q.
2. If Q, then R.
3. Therefore, if P, then R.

Fallacy

A kind of poor reasoning.

Affirming the Consequent

1. If P, then Q.
2. Q.
3. Therefore, P

Denying the Antecedent

1. If P, then Q.
2. P is false.
3. Therefore, Q is false.

Ad hominem fallacy

Trying to undermine the truth of a position by attacking the person advancing it

Appeal to irrelevant emotions

Playing on emotions rather than offering evidence to convince someone of a claim

Appeal to authority

Relying on authority figures to substantiate a position outside their area of expertise

Straw man

Depicting a position in a way that makes it easy to refute

Appeal to ignorance

Believing a claim to be true because it hasn't
been proven false, or believing a claim is false because it hasn't been proven true

Hasty generalization

Illicitly drawing a general lesson from a small handful of cases