Ethics: Forms of Moral Reasoning and Historical Traditions

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering the forms of moral reasoning (deontology, teleology, virtue ethics) and the major historical figures and philosophical traditions in ethics.

According to Lisa Newton, what are the three primary forms of moral reasoning?

Consequentialist (utilitarian or teleological) reasoning, nonconsequentialist (deontological) reasoning, and virtue-based (ontological) reasoning.

In deontological reasoning, how is the moral rightness of an act determined?

It is linked to the act's conformity to, or derivability from, an accepted moral rule or duty, independent of the consequences it brings about.

Under deontological moral laws, what three moral statuses can an act possess?

An act may be prescribed (obligatory), proscribed (forbidden), or permitted (neither prescribed nor proscribed).

What is the logical structure of a deontological moral syllogism, using the necklace example?

Major premise: "Thou shalt not steal." Minor premise: "To take this necklace would be stealing." Conclusion: "Thou (or I) may not take the necklace."

What primary theoretical problem does Lisa Newton identify regarding deontological major premises?

Deontological reasoning starts with asserted duties that must be justified externally; occasionally, justifying a premise requires falling back on consequentialist reasoning (such as demonstrating that insider trading harms the market).

What serves as the benchmark of moral prescription in consequentialist (teleological) reasoning?

"The good," which is generally understood as the greatest happiness of the greatest number of persons in the society in the long run.

How does rule utilitarianism differ from act utilitarianism?

Rule utilitarianism establishes general rules based on consequences and reasons from those rules day-to-day, whereas act utilitarianism evaluates every individual act directly on the basis of its unique consequences.

What is the primary objective of moral action according to virtue-based (ontological) reasoning?

To become a good person who performs right actions by habit and desire, shaping one's character toward moral ideals rather than merely adhering to minimal rules.

How did the ancient Greeks link virtues to professional roles according to Lisa Newton?

They linked virtue to function: individuals cultivate traits that allow them to perform their role well (e.g., compassion for physicians, justice for judges, prudence for businesspeople, and courage for military officers).

What is the core subject matter of meta-ethics?

The epistemology of ethics, the origins and limitations of ethical statements, the inherent existence of "goodness," and the definitions of moral predicates like "right" and "wrong."

In meta-ethics, how do objectivists differ from relativists regarding values?

Objectivists argue that values are innate, inherent in the world, and universally binding, while relativists argue that values depend on the individual's experience and lack universal application.

What is the non-cognitivist position regarding moral judgments?

Moral predicates express emotional states rather than objective truths, meaning moral positions (such as opposing capital punishment) are rooted in feelings shaped by experience rather than absolute facts.

What four theories comprise normative ethics according to Jennifer Downs?

Virtue ethics, deontological ethics, teleological ethics, and pragmatism.

How did C.D. Broad define the modern understanding of teleological ethics?

The rightness or wrongness of an action is always determined by its tendency to produce certain consequences which are intrinsically good or bad.

What does ethical pragmatism propose regarding human character and morality?

Morality is in a state of constant evolution like science, and character is an active process formed by habits and desires that can be reshaped through experience and social reform.

What post-World War II developments spurred the initial rise of applied ethics?

The expansion of human rights and biomedical advances, such as organ transplantation and the allocation of scarce kidney dialysis.

What is descriptive ethics, and what disciplines does it rely on?

The empirical study of what people actually believe or have believed about morality and how those beliefs are carried out; it relies heavily on sociology and anthropology.

In early Jewish ethics, what is the halakah and how is moral action understood?

The halakah is a complex system of social laws wherein morality is defined as obedience to God and reflecting God's holiness (kadosh).

What are the four distinct stages of life in Hindu ethical tradition?

The student (sensory pleasure), the householder (self-control), the wandering beggar (pursuit of religious understanding or dharma), and the final stage of strict meditation for union with Brahmin.

Why does Taoism argue that imposing moral rules exacerbates social ills?

Taoism holds that rules merely attempt to cope with the vices of desire; it is preferable to live naturally in simplicity and spontaneity by the virtue of the Tao rather than by forced virtue.

What do the concepts of jen and li signify in Confucian philosophy?

Jen signifies humanity, love of others, and benevolence; li represents action in keeping with tradition, ritual, and rules of conduct.

How did Mencius and Hsun Tzu differ regarding innate human nature?

Mencius argued that man is innately good (possessing four natural "hearts": compassion, shame, ritual, and wisdom), whereas Hsun Tzu argued that man is born evil and must control animalistic impulses through self-cultivating education.

What did the Sophist philosopher Protagoras mean by the dictum "man is the measure of all things"?

There is no objective truth; moral standards of right and wrong are subjective conventions based on agreed-upon customs rather than inherent facts.

According to Socrates, why does an individual commit evil?

Evil is committed only in error or ignorance, occurring when an individual mistakenly values the wrong things instead of intellectual wisdom and the virtue of the soul.

What core dilemma is posed by the Euthyphro Problem regarding divine command?

Whether something is ethical because a deity approves it (making morality arbitrary caprice), or whether a deity approves it because it is already ethical (indicating an absolute standard pre-dating divine authority).

In Plato's Republic, what are the four cardinal virtues and how do they relate?

Temperance, wisdom, and courage operate in harmony to culminate in the final virtue, justice.

How did Aristotle's view of virtue differ from Plato's theory of the Forms?

Aristotle rejected an overarching Form of the Good, asserting that each practice has a distinct goodness, that virtue requires harmony between desires and judgments developed through habituation, and that individuals can consciously choose wrong action.

What was Epicurus's ethical goal, and how did it connect to physical theory?

The goal was pleasure (freedom from pain) attained through simple living, grounded in the atomic theory that existence resides in the weight, collision, and swerve of atomic compounds.

How did Stoicism define freedom and ethical conduct?

Freedom is living in accordance with nature through reason, developing an apathetic outlook indifferent to pleasure or pain, and accepting destiny as necessary fate.

How did Plotinus define evil in Neoplatonism?

Evil was defined as the opposite of form or reality, and thus as unreality; virtue was an ascetic ascendance toward "the One."

How did René Descartes structure philosophy in his Cartesian System?

He structured it like a tree: metaphysics forms the roots, physics the trunk, and the practical sciences the branches.

How did Thomas Hobbes describe the "state of nature" prior to the social contract?

A condition of "war against all" (bellum omnium contra omnes) where life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

What is John Locke's concept of tabula rasa, and how does it relate to morality?

Humans are born with minds like blank slates formed solely by experience, yet ethical duties are discoverable via reason as natural law and backed by divine revelation.

According to David Hume, what human disposition is the foundation of virtue and vice?

Sympathy, which enables humans to share feelings, communicate, and feel approbation or disapprobation toward actions that impact societal happiness.

What are the three formulations of Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative?

1. The Formula of Universal Law; 2. The Formula of Humanity (treating humanity as an end, never merely as a means); 3. The Formula of the Realm of Ends.

According to Jeremy Bentham, what is the primary purpose of criminal punishment?

Deterrence; attaching a painful sanction severe enough to outweigh the benefit of the offense to restore order pursuant to the greatest happiness principle.

What are the three stages in G.W.F. Hegel's dialectic of cognition?

Thesis (awareness of an external object), antithesis (awareness of one's own consciousness), and synthesis (awareness of pure self-consciousness, where mind becomes its own object).

What did Arthur Schopenhauer identify as the "thing-in-itself"?

The human will, which drives endless struggle and hedonistic craving, requiring aesthetic resignation and universal compassion.

What are Søren Kierkegaard's three "spheres of existence"?

The aesthetic sphere (pleasure-seeking), the ethical sphere (commitment to a purpose), and the religious sphere (recognizing transcendent ideals and personal shortcomings).

How did Karl Marx view the nature of philosophy and morality?

He viewed them as ideology—thought systems parading as autonomous but fundamentally dependent upon the material economic conditions of society.

Why did Friedrich Nietzsche reject traditional Christian morality?

He argued it promoted qualities of weakness (humility, pity, meekness) as "good" while castigating aristocratic excellence, daring creativity, and passion as "evil."

What did G.E. Moore assert about the concept of "good" in Principia Ethica?

Good is an ineffable, non-natural property that cannot be defined, and attempting to define it corrupts the principle.

How did Martin Buber distinguish an "I-It" relationship from an "I-Thou" relationship?

An "I-It" relationship objectifies and commodifies others to sustain egoism, whereas an "I-Thou" relationship personalizes interaction and allows sincere engagement with mutual respect.

What criterion of meaning did A.J. Ayer apply to ethical statements in Language, Truth, and Logic?

The verification principle (meaningful only if analytic or empirically verifiable); failing this, ethical statements are classified as emotive.

How did Michel Foucault utilize "principles of exclusion" to study ethics?

He examined isolated groups (patients in mental health facilities and prison inmates) to reveal societal ethics by analyzing behaviors excluded for abnormality.

According to Alasdair MacIntyre, how does morality arise?

Morality emerges out of human history and collective social groups (ethos) rather than isolated individuals or abstract human nature.