Ethics and Moral Reasoning Practice Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Kohlberg's stages, moral components, various ethical theories (Hedonism, Virtue, Care), Human Rights milestones, Bioethics scandals, and Filipino psychological perspectives.

Preconventional Level

Kohlberg's first level of moral development, which focuses on self-interest and avoiding punishment.

Stage one: punishment-obedience orientation

Behavior is guided by fear of punishment and the primary concern is, "Will I get in trouble?"

Stage two: individualism and exchange

Moral actions are based on rewards and personal benefit, characterized by the question, "What is in it for me?"

Conventional Level

Kohlberg's second level of moral development, focusing on social approval and maintaining order.

Stage three: good boy / nice girl orientation

Focuses on following rules and maintaining law, rules, and social order.

Stage four: Maintaining social order

The individual believes rules and laws are absolute necessities for a functional society and shifts to a broader societal perspective.

Postconventional Level

Kohlberg's third level of moral development, focusing on principles and justice beyond laws.

Stage five: social contrast orientation

The view that laws are changeable for the greater good and asks, "Can laws be improved?"

Stage six: universal ethical principles

Focuses on what is morally right based on deep principles like justice, equality, and human rights, regardless of the law.

Moral sensitivity

The ability to recognize an ethical issue in an experience and being aware of how actions affect others.

Moral judgement

The ability to reason correctly about what ought to be done and choosing the best course of action using reasoning.

Moral motivation

The willingness to prioritize moral values over personal gain and personal commitment to moral action.

Moral character

Courageous persistence to follow through on moral decisions despite fear, pressure, fatigue, or temptation.

Practical Reasoning

The use of human rationality, including the faculty of choice, to arrive at judgements, choices, and actions regarding values.

Ataraxia

A state of peace of mind and a life free of pain, which Epicurus considered the highest pleasure.

Hedonistic Calculus

Jeremy Bentham's seven-criteria framework for measuring pleasure, including duration, intensity, propinquity, extent, certainty, purity, and fecundity.

Propinquity

In Bentham's Hedonistic Calculus, refers to how near or remote the pleasure is.

Fecundity

In Bentham's Hedonistic Calculus, refers to whether the action will lead to further pleasure.

Altruism

A normative theory derived from the Latin word alter (other), claiming everyone is unselfish at heart and disregards self-interest for others.

Virtue Ethics

Ethical theory emphasizing an individual's character and the cultivation of robust character traits rather than following a set of rules.

Golden Mean

In virtue ethics, the mid-point between the vices of deficiency (e.g., cowardice) and excess (e.g., recklessness).

Eudaimonia

The ultimate goal in life meaning 'flourishing life' or 'living well,' achieved by living virtuously over time.

Phronesis

Practical wisdom; the ability to think carefully and make good moral decisions in specific situations before acting.

Ethics of Care

Developed by Carol Gilligan, this theory holds that moral action centers on interpersonal relationships, care, and responsibility.

Supererogatory Ethics

Actions that are morally admirable but not required, characterized by going above and beyond one's duty.

Saint

In supererogatory ethics, someone who does their duty in contexts where self-interest would lead most people not to, through abnormal self-control.

Hero

In supererogatory ethics, someone who does their duty in contexts of terror or fear through resistance to the drive for self-preservation.

Consequentialism

An ethical perspective where the ends justify the means, and the rightness of an action is determined by its outcomes.

Asceticism

The practice of abstinence from egoistic pleasures to achieve spiritual goals.

Deontology

Duty-based ethics that focuses on the inherent rightness or wrongness of actions rather than their consequences.

Divine Command Theory

The belief that an action is right if God has decreed it to be right as a matter of duty.

The Cyrus Cylinder

A 539 BC clay tablet containing statements by Cyrus the Great, considered the first human rights declaration in history.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Proclaimed on December 10, 1948, it is the first document listing 30 rights to which everyone is entitled regardless of location.

Determinism

The idea that human motivations are fixed in the genes, suggesting that the enterprise of ethics is hopeless.

Reciprocal altruism

Helping behavior that triggers reciprocal helping from the animal who was helped or witnessed the act.

Albert Kligman

A University of Pennsylvania dermatologist who intentionally inoculated Black inmates with herpes, HPV, and Candida fungus between the 1950s and 1970s.

Moksha

In Hinduism, the goal of spiritual liberation from all material desires.

Dharma

A Hindi concept referring to proper behavior, righteousness, and the moral nature path that regulates kama and artha.

Pantayong Pananaw

Zeus Salazar's discourse that focuses on internal Filipino group communication and cultural independence from outsider perspectives.

Kapwa

A central concept in Sikolohiyang Pilipino referring to shared identity or togetherness, emphasizing relational self-definition.

Bayanihan

A Filipino concept of communal unity where people come together to help one another, fostering cooperation and solidarity.

Utang na loob

A debt of gratitude involving deep respect and indebtedness for help received, creating strong social bonds.