ETHICS

INTRODUCTION & CHAPTERS 1 & 2

Philosophy

A combination of the Greek root words "philia" (love) and "sophia" (wisdom), philosophy refers to a strong inclination for deep and cultivated knowledge.

Wisdom

Signifying profound science, learning, or knowledge, wisdom is the object of love in philosophical thinking.

Philosophical thinking

Involves seeking knowledge that explains the existence of material phenomena and focuses on the ultimate causes of things.

Material cause

The substance from which a thing exists.

Formal cause

The essence or substantial characteristics that differentiate a thing from others with similar substance.

Efficient cause

The one that effects change in a thing.

Final cause

The purpose or end of change.

Metaphysics

A branch of philosophy that concerns the ultimate principles or causes of reality.

Epistemology

A discipline that analyzes the conditions and limits of our knowledge.

Ethics

A branch of philosophy that deals with questions of the meaning of the good and the rightness and wrongness of actions.

Normative Ethics

A sub-branch of ethics that provides answers to the general question of what makes an action right or good.

Applied ethics

The application of principles of normative ethics to specific contexts.

Metaethics

The inquiry into the metaphysical, epistemological, semantic, and psychological foundations of moral thought, talk, and practice.

Descriptive ethics

The observation and recording of facts about ethical systems in societies.

Cultural relativism

The belief that the moral rightness and wrongness of actions vary from society to society and that there are no absolute universal moral standards.

Ethical relativism

The doctrine that the moral rightness and wrongness of actions is relative to the society in which one belongs.

Cultural relativism

The understanding that people with different cultures have different values.

Ruth Benedict

A theorist who proposed that ethical and moral values are relative to one's culture and are convenient terms for socially approved habits.