philosophy final

consequentialism

an action is morally required because it produces the best results

utilitarianism

an act is right if it’s the one that produces the most amount of happiness. everyone’s happiness counts the same.

deontology

some actions are morally required regardless of the consequences

the prinicpal of humanity

always treat humans as an end, not a means (with respect, not to achieve a goal)

rossian pluralism

• there are 7 prima facie duties

• a prima facie duty is a duty that we have to unless there is some moral acceptable reason not to follow that duty

  • each prima facie duty is of fundamental importance adn they are permanent

virtue ethics

• an act is morally right just because it is one that a virtuous person acting in character would do in that situation

  • acts aren’t right because they follow a set of moral rules, they’re right because they are done by someone who is morally virtuous

moral realism

• objective view that says that moral facts exist independently of anyone’s perspective

• it does exist independently of people’s minds

cultural relativism

the truth of a moral claim depends on the culture/society in which the claim is being made

constructivism (broadly construed)

morality does not exit outside of a person’s perspective

error theory

our moral judgements try, but always fail, to describe the moral features of things, and they fail because there are no moral features

expressivism

moral statements are not trying to describe the world; instead, moral claims are expression sof our attitudes about the thing being discussed

divine command theory

god determines the things that are right and wrong

anthropocentrism

we should help the environment because of the benefits it brings to humans

nonanthropocentrism

we should help the environment because it is valuable for its own sake

hedonism

• someone has a good life if they have a happy life

  • happiness is the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain

desire-satisfaction theory

• your life goes well if you get what you want

• subjective view

objective list theory

• there is a list of things that are good for you no matter what you desire

• objective view

• happiness, autonomy, self-expression, morality, progress

the two horns of the euthyphro dilemma and why they present problems for DCT

• does god command us to do actions because they are morally right, or are actions morally right because god commands them?

• god commands us to do actions because he sees them as morally right

  • god is not actually the source of morality

• actions are morally right because god commands that we do them

  • god would lack a solid foundation for prohibiting and requiring certain actions, which makes god’s commands arbitrary

why the experience machine is a problem for hedonism

this view shows that someone would have a completely happy life but wouldn’t fully experience real life, so it’s not really a good life.

argument between thomson and marquis

how do we weigh the right to bodily autonomy against the right to a future of value?

mind dependence

things depend on people’s perspective, and cannot exist without it

mind independence

these things can exist without people

objectivity

its true no matter what people believe

subjective

depends on people’s beliefs