Studied by 19 people
ethics
from the Greek words meaning “one’s character” and “nature”
a branch of philosophy that deals with defining right and wrong behavior
e.g. what is right and wrong behavior?
metaethics
“after ethics”
investigates the origin and meaning of ethical concepts
where do ethical values come from? God or ourselves?
what is the nature of ethics?
normative ethics
investigates rules or standards for determining good and bad ethical behavior
is it ethically wrong to lie?
are all lies ethically wrong?
are ethical standards universal?
are ethical standards relative depending on the society?
applied ethics
evaluates specific, controversial ethical questions
what rights should animals have?
how should we treat criminals?
what rights should people generally have?
what should euthanasia laws be?
moral realism
there are objective, universal moral values
therefore, there are universal truths to questions of morality and ethics
e.g. “it is always wrong to steal from someone you don’t know”
moral anti-realism
there are no objective moral values
therefore, moral and ethical rightness or wrongness is dependent on time, culture, situation, etc.
e.g. “the rightness or wrongness to steal is totally dependent on the time and place you are living”
deontology
an action is right or wrong based on the action itself, and not its outcomes
the end does not justify the means
e.g. “lying is always wrong regardless of the situation
divine command theory
God created the universe, which includes “good” and “bad”
an act is only morally good or bad as dictated by God
e.g. “all moral answers are found in the bible, regardless of how you personally feel”
consequentialism
an action is morally right if it produces positive outcomes
e.g. “it is moral to lie or to kill an enemy soldier if it will save the lives of innocent people”
negative consequentialism
an action is morally right if it minimizes bad consequences
e.g. choosing not to get sushi with your 10 friends if you know 1 of them absolutely hates it
utilitarianism
the happiness or well-being of the greatest number of people is ethically correct
e.g. choosing to kill one person in order to save the lives of four
altruism
an action is morally right if it produces the best outcomes for other people minus yourself
involves some sacrifice
hedonism
pleasure is the most important pursuit of mankind
e.g. “pursuing happiness and pleasure first is completely ethical”
egoism
an action is correct if ti benefits the self
e.g. “taking care of myself first is perfectly ethical - everyone should take care of themselves first”
The Ring of Gyges
from Plato’s Republic
the ring of Gyges presents the wearer with the ability to become invisible and essentially do whatever they want
Plato’s conclusion:
we only act morally because we fear legal consequences and negative judgments of our reputations
he argues that we are essentially hedonists if given enough power
the experience machine
from Robert Nozick (Anarchy, State, and Utopia)
amazingly complex machine you could plug into - programmed to give you any experience you want
connects your brain + senses are stimulated, so that you believe what you’re experiencing is real
you can program the machine to create simulations for you for as long as you want
you could choose a variety of different programs, like a week of vacationing followed by a week of survival games
you could choose to forget your real life once in the machine, so your happiness is not spoiled by the realization that it’s a simulation
Nozick’s conclusion:
people would ultimately not choose to plug into the experience machine for life
Reasons why people would ultimately not choose to plug into the experience machine for life:
people prefer to do things rather than just experience them
people want to choose to be a certain way - being hooked up would forfeit control to the machine
the machine would limit our contact to the outside world
we prefer control over our real lives instead of control over a fake one
Mencius’ child in a well
imagines a child playing along the edge of a deep well
Mencius argues that if anyone were to witness this, they would immediately feel distress and runt o protect the child
your motivation to protect the child would not be based on reward, praise, or a desire to be better friends with the parents
it would be based on innate human compassion
Drowning Child thought experiment
by Peter Singer (Australian philosopher)
ur walking home form school and notice a child is drowning in a pond nearby, but you’re wearing expensive shoes and clothes
do you risk getting your shoes and clothes dirty to save the child’s life?
you answered yes - of course it would be ethical to save the child even if it ruins your shoes
but what about donating a few dollars to buy mosquito nets to prevent the spread of malaria in Africa?
Argument:
you would feel more obligated + better about saving the drowning child than donating to a cause that would save as many or more lives
our obligation to help others is tied to our locality to them
The Land of Certus
by Thomas D David
wanderer gets lost in forest, meets farmer who leads him to the town of Rechsten in the Land of Certus
some people have their faces lit up with either green or red light
farmer said that God said when u do smth good, light = green, when you do smth bad, light = red
wanderer had some doubts - where he’s from, they don’t believe in god, so he thinks maybe the lights are naturally occurring or open for interpretation
farmer says no - it’s God
went to drink, learned that drinking is fine if in moderation
notice vile man named George who drinks too much, wants to do bad things, and wants everyone to do the same - is “corrupting the children”
cannons placed on wall of Rechsten to defend the ppl from neighboring town who think that written laws are a better system than the lights
if you compared the written laws and the light system, there would be a lot of similarity, but the farmer says that just shows the cleverness of the devil
at town square, George is tortured and executed for being a bad influence - everyone’s faces are green and the wanderer’s light turns red for disagreeing with their punishment
the eightfold path
right understanding
right thought
right speech
right action
right livelihood
right effort
right mindfulness
right concentration
goal: to reach Nirvana
the 3 ethical values associated with Buddhism
non-violence
treating all with compassion
patience
what constitutes a “good life” in Confucianism / Taoism
searching for peace and enlightenment by achieving harmony
how Confucianists and Taoists view people
not individuals, but part of a whole
Epicurus + his philosophy on hedonism
Greek philosopher who lived during 4th century BCE
pleasures of the mind were more important
who founded stoicism?
Zeno of Citium
stoicism
the good life involves living happily
the universe is a well-ordered place — happiness is achieved through wisdom
stoic conduct in everyday life:
eliminate desire
accept things that cannot be controlled
virtue ethics
emphasizes the role of character
belief that a good person = a virtuous person
someone whose moral choices are guided by their good character rather than by simply weighing the consequences of specific actions
the first virtue ethicists
socrates
plato
aristotle
Thomas Aquinas’ contributions to virtue ethics
ppl can achieve perfection only by using their reason to know God
emphasized virtue of right conduct (obeying god) instead of virtue of right character
W.D. Ross’ listed virtue ethics
from least to most important
fidelity - keeping promises and agreements
reparation - making up for committing wrongful acts
gratitude - repaying the favors of others
justice - correcting injustices
beneficence - improving the conditions of others
self-improvement - improving one’s own conditions
non-maleficence - not hurting others
existentialism in ethical terms
absolute morals (such as those identified by virtue ethicists) do not exist
authenticity - the idea of being true to oneself when making moral choices - is the only virtue worth striving for
Soren Kierkegaar’s contribution to existentialist ethics
people must make and judge their own moral choices
people must move beyond judging their actions according to reason or the standards of society, and become accountable only to the judgments of god
Friedrich Nietzsche’s contributions to existentialist ethics
urged people to make their own moral choices rather than to unthinkingly accept the values of the majority
rejected the view that people are ultimately accountable only to god
in the absence of universal values, people must determine their own values
John Duns Scotus’ contibution to divine command theory
God’s commands define what is right
Thomas Aquinas’ contribution to divine command theory
God commands ppl to do only things that are good and right
God knows that is good and right through the natural law of reason
because god and humans share the ability to reason, ppl can use this ability to come to know god’s commands
Jeremy Bentham
founded utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham’s “hedonistic calculus”
quantifies and reasons what the correct moral action will be in a given scenario
balances pleasure with pain
problems/criticisms of utilitarianism
fails to define terms like pleasure and good
maximum pleasure may not always be the best outcome
overlooks the value of the minority in favor of the majority
Kantian ethics
moral choices must be judged not by their consequences but by the good will of the moral agent
making decisions based on what you would want others to do
always telling the truth
ask whether or not such a decision should be a moral law
Ayn Rand’s contributions to egoism
focused on the individual rather than the community
believed in bettering yourself at the expense of others
intuitionism
a system that denies the role of logic and reason in making moral decisions
a “gut feeling”
e.g. the choice to save the drowning child over saving ur expensive clothes is a gut feeling
modernism
catch-all phrase associated with forms of expression in the late 1800s and 1900s
includes art, architecture, literature, and philosophy
post-modernism
describes societal reactions to modernism in a variety of fields
post-modernist ethics
an ethical framework that rejects one universal moral code
Prisoners film
examines the justification or non-justification of violence and torture in times of extreme desperation
Keller, Franklin, Nancy = parents of the abducted girls
Alex = the guy Franklin thinks kidnapped his daughter
they act on less-than-certain information
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