VCE Religion & Society - Ethical Decision-Making

Ethics

System studying the rightness or wrongness of human actions and their validating principles.

Morality

Practical application or practice of ethics regarding specific human actions.

Immorality

Human actions that directly violate established moral principles or social standards.

Amorality

Indifference to or total absence of moral principles or standards.

Conscience

Developed ability to distinguish right from wrong using intuition, emotion, and wisdom.

Ethical Issue

Complex situation involving conflicting moral principles or rights with no clear consensus.

Ethical Authority

Any person, text, institution, or tradition used to support or ground an ethical view.

Worldview

Foundational lens or framework through which an individual or culture interprets reality.

Moral Relativism

View that morality depends on context, situation, or culture with no universal truths.

Ethical Absolutism

Belief that universal moral rules are always true and compulsory regardless of context.

Utilitarianism

Consequentialist theory focused on maximizing net happiness for the greatest number.

Egoism

Selfish relativistic ethic focused on self-preservation and personal self-interest.

Deontology

Duty-based ethical method judging the intrinsic rightness of actions regardless of results.

Categorical Imperative

Mandatory commands derived from pure reason that must be followed regardless of desire.

Universalizability Principle

Act only on rules you can will to become universal laws for everyone.

Humanity Principle

Treat humanity as an end in itself and never merely as a means to an end.

Principle of Utility

Act always to produce the greatest good or happiness for the greatest number.

Act Utilitarianism

Short-term approach choosing the specific action that maximizes immediate good.

Rule Utilitarianism

Long-term approach following general rules likely to produce the greatest good overall.

Moral Values

Universal or cultural ideas of intrinsic importance that people work to attain.

Normative Standards

Culturally approved or disapproved actions or inactions like prohibiting lying.

Social Norms

Unspoken rules created by common practice regardless of legal status.

Mores

Deeply held moral customs and conventions carrying heavy social weight.

Intuition

Immediate moral feeling based on emotional intelligence, natural law, and life experience.

Assumptions

Unproven statements or ideas accepted as true to form the basis of reasoning.

Reasoning

Objective analysis of an ethical dilemma using conscience, logic, and assumptions.

Virtue Theory

Ethic focusing on building moral character and achieving Eudaimonia through experience.

Eudaimonia

Human flourishing or a life well-lived achieved through practicing virtue.

Golden Mean

The desirable balance between a deficit and an excess of a specific virtue.

Pluralist Society

Society dividing church and state where diverse, competing ethical authorities coexist.

Theocratic Society

Society governed directly by a single dominant religious tradition claiming divine authority.

Deontological Test Question 1

1. Who is committing this act? 

2. What is their intention (motive) in committing this act?

3. How is the matter approached by other people in society? 

4. What are the laws and duties involved in this act?

Juror 2 (Bank Clerk)

Teleology / Submissive juror influenced by majority who noted stab angle.

Juror 3 (Businessperson)

Egoist & Emotional Bias / Driven by personal anger toward his estranged son.

Juror 4 (Stockbroker)

Deontologist / Relies strictly on evidence while holding class bias against slums.

Juror 5 (Young Man from Slum)

Relativism / Uses slum experience to explain switchblade handling.

Juror 6 (House Painter)

Virtue Theory / Passively seeks clear motives to find the right action.

Juror 7 (Salesperson)

Egoism / Selfish juror pushing for quick verdict to attend a baseball game.

Juror 8 (Architect)

Altruist / Selflessly pursues justice and doubt to protect human life.

Juror 9 (Elderly Man)

Deontologist / Duty to truth who empathized with the old witness's motives.

Juror 10 (Garage Owner)

Moral Relativism / Blinded by extreme racial prejudice against slum residents.

Juror 11 (Watchmaker)

Teleologist / Immigrant protective of democratic process and fair play.

Juror 12 (Advertising Exec)

Moral Relativistic / Indecisive juror treating deliberation like marketing math.

Teleological Questions

1. Who is affected by this action?

2. How are they affected?

3. Is the impact of this act positive or negative?

4. What is the cost involved?