Ethics and '12 Angry Men' Exam Revision

Ethics

System of moral principles governing how people make decisions and lead their lives.

Worldview

The framework of assumptions through which an individual interprets reality and understands the world.

Moral Relativism

Belief that right and wrong change based on culture, context, or personal perspective.

Ethical Absolutism

Belief that certain actions are inherently right or wrong, regardless of context.

Utilitarianism

Teleological theory stating the most ethical choice produces the greatest good for most people.

Deontology

Duty-based ethics focusing on the inherent rightness or wrongness of actions themselves.

Egoism

Ethical stance that self-interest is the foundational basis of all moral action.

Ethical Authority

A source, such as law or religion, that individuals look to for moral guidance.

Moral Values

Universal or cultural ideas of high importance that societies actively work to attain.

Normative Standards

Core actions or inactions that a specific culture actively approves or disapproves.

Social Norms

Informal rules created by collective behavior, regardless of official laws.

Mores

Customs and deeply ingrained conventions of a society.

Conscience

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

Intuition

Immediate feeling of knowing right from wrong, built on emotional intelligence and experience.

Assumptions

Ideas or statements accepted as true without concrete evidence.

Reasoning

Objective analysis of an ethical issue using conscience, intuition, morality, and facts.

Right vs. Wrong

Morality of actions and behavioral choices measured against duties, laws, or rules.

Good vs. Bad

Refers to the moral quality of outcomes, motives, intentions, or things.

Deontological vs. Teleological Ethics

Deontological focuses on duties and rules; teleological focuses on consequences and results.

Absolutism vs. Relativism

Absolutism rules are universal and fixed; relativism rules are fluid and contextual.

Ethical Issue

A situation requiring a choice among actions that must be evaluated as right or wrong.

What makes a situation an ethical issue?

A clash of conflicting values, breach of duty, or choice causing moral harm.

Pluralist Societies

Societies with diverse cultures where ethics is influenced by negotiation, tolerance, and secular laws.

Theocratic Societies

Societies ruled by religious authority where ethics is strictly dictated by religious texts.

Juror 1 (Foreman)

Teleologist focused narrowly on structural process and administrative order.

Juror 2 (Bank Clerk)

Submissive teleologist who noted the downward angle of the stab wound.

Juror 3 (Businessperson)

Egoist projecting resentment toward his own estranged son onto the defendant.

Juror 4 (Stockbroker)

Deontologist with class bias who relied on eyewitness testimony and weak movie alibi.

Juror 5 (Young Man)

Relativist/Utilitarian from the slums who demonstrated how switchblades are handled.

Juror 6 (House Painter)

Virtue theorist who re-examined the physical fight motive between father and son.

Juror 7 (Salesperson)

Egoist indifferent to justice who prioritized leaving for a baseball game.

Juror 8 (Architect)

Altruist seeking objective justice who introduced a duplicate switchblade knife.

Juror 9 (Elderly Man)

Deontologist who noticed the old witness's torn coat, limp, and slow pace.

Juror 10 (Garage Owner)

Egoist/Relativist with severe racial prejudice against slum residents.

Juror 11 (Watchmaker)

Teleologist immigrant protective of democracy who highlighted flaws in the timeline physics.

Juror 12 (Advertising Exec)

Indecisive relativist who viewed the trial superficially like a marketing pitch.

Role of Prejudice in 12 Angry Men

Obscures truth and leads jurors to assume guilt without analyzing facts.

Role of Reasonable Doubt in 12 Angry Men

Legal and ethical tool used to break down assumptions and demand objective proof.

Deontological Analysis Questions (Focus)

Asks who is acting, their motives, societal approaches, and involved laws or duties.

Teleological Analysis Questions (Focus)

Asks who is affected, how they are affected, impacts, and financial or moral costs.

7-Step Modelfor making moral decisions

Gather the facts

Determine the ethical issues

What principles have a bearing on the case?

List the alternative courses of action.

Compare the alternatives with the principles.

Consider the consequences.

Make a decision

Deontologist Argument Structure

States an action is inherently right or wrong regardless of consequences or outcomes.

Australian Society Application (Ethics)

Connects ethical choices to pluralism, secular laws, democratic processes, and collective social utility.

Act Utilitarianism

Focuses entirely on consequences. An action is right if it produces the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people in that specific moment.

Rule Utilitarianism

Version of the Utilitarianism that says we ought to live by rules that, in general, are likely to lead to the greatest good for the greatest number.

Virtue Theory

An ethical framework focused entirely on developing a person's moral character, virtues (like courage and honesty), and habits rather than following rigid rules or calculating final outcomes.

Eudaimonia

A Greek concept meaning ultimate human flourishing, deep fulfillment, and living a complete, excellent life, which serves as the foundational goal achieved by practicing Virtue Theory.

Motive

he underlying reason or intention behind an action Used in Deontology and Virtue Theory but never in Utilitarianism as they only care about the final outcome.

Categorical Imperatives

Absolute moral commands derived from pure reason that you must follow regardless of your personal desires or feelings.

Formula of Humanity

A moral rule stating you must treat people as an "end" in themselves and never as a "mere means" (a tool/slave to use without fair treatment or payment).

Golden Mean

Finding the perfect balance between two extremes (a deficit and an excess), which can only be learned as a skill through life experience and copying virtuous people until it becomes a habit.

Worldview Types/Examples

An individual's reality framework, influenced heavily by religion (e.g., a circular timeline worldview in Hinduism due to reincarnation vs. a linear timeline worldview in Christianity where you are born and die once).