Ethics Chapter 1 Notes

What does the term ethics mean?

a set of standards of right and wrong established by a particular group and imposed on members of that group as a means of regulating and setting limits on their behavior

What does the term habituation mean?

repeated practice of moral actions

What are the two subdivisions of ethics?

metaethics (theoretical ethics) and normative ethics (applied ethics)

What does the term theoretical ethics (metaethics) mean?

deals with the logical foundations and internal consistencies of ethical systems (why we should act and feel a certain way)

What does the term normative ethics (applied ethics) mean?

gives us guidelines or norms regarding which actions are right and which actions are wrong (how we should act in certain situations)

What are the two subdivisions of metaethical theories?

cognitive and noncognitive theories

What are cognitive theories?

main that moral statements can either be true or false

What are noncognitive theories (emotivism)?

claim that there are no moral truths and that moral statements are neither true nor false but simply expressions or outbursts of feelings

What are the two subdivisions of cognitive theories?

relativist theories and universalist theories

What are relativist theories?

state that morality is different for different people

What are universalist theories (moral objectivism)?

maintain that objective moral truths exist that are true for all humans

What are the different types of relativist theories?

ethical subjectivism, cultural relativism, and divine command

What are the different types of universalist theories?

ethical egoism, utilitarianism, natural law ethics, deontology, virtue ethics, and rights ethics

What is ethical subjectivism?

says that moral right or wrong is relative to the individual person and that moral truth is a matter of individual opinion or feeling

What is cultural relativism?

says that morality is created collectively by groups of humans and that it differs from society to society

What is the divine command theory?

morality is decided by God

What is moral absolutism?

means that there are moral norms or principles that should always be obeyed

What is an autonomous moral agent?

an independent, self-governing thinker

What is a heteronomous moral agent?

a person who uncritically accepts answers and laws imposed by others

What is the Socratic method (how Socrates gathered information)?

consists of dialogue using questions and answers

What is self-realization (self-actualization/enlightenment)?

does not depend on the opinions of others, searches for ultimate values, flexible, welcomes having views challenged

What is skepticism?

means to be curious and open-minded

What is cynicism?

means to be closed-minded and does not go against the mainstream

Where is truth found in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”?

once the prisoner goes outside of the cave

What is metaphysics?

the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the study of the nature of reality, including what it means to be human

What is metaphysical dualism?

says that reality is made up of two distinct and separate substances: the material or physical body and the nonmaterial mind (soul or spirit)

What is anthropocentrism?

the belief that adult humans are the central or most significant reality of the universe

What is metaphysical materialism?

says that physical matter is the only substance, does not deal with the mind body problem

What is sociobiology?

based on the assumption of metaphysical materialism, applies evolutionary theory to the social sciences, including questions of moral behavior

What are epigenetic rules?

innate patterns that guide the behavior and thought of humans and other animals

What is biological altruism?

accounts for the great sacrifices we are willing to make to help those who share our genes

What is determinism?

the theory that all events are governed by casual laws; there is no free will (means we could predict events with 100 percent certainty

What is behaviorism?

means that all human behavior is determined by past events in our lives, means we are the products of past conditioning and that we are essentially programmed computers

What is existentialism?

means that we are defined only by our freedom

What is nonmaleficience?

the moral principle that we should do no harm

What is moral minimalism?

the belief that morality only consists of certain minimal moral requirements, such as not torturing or murdering innocent people

What is epistemology?

the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the study of knowledge

What is reason?

the power of understanding the connection between the general and the particular

What is rationalism?

the epistemological theory that most human knowledge comes through reason rather than through the physical senses

What is intuition?

immediate or self-evident knowledge

What is empiricism?

means that all human knowledge comes from the five senses

What is positivism?

the philosophical theory that all genuine human knowledge is based upon scientific observation

What is emotivism?

the position that moral judgements are simply expressions of individuals’ emotions