Moral Issues Unit 1

Morality

A person's or society's standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is right and wrong, good and bad

Ethics

A system of moral principles and norms that guide behavior

Utilitarianism

A consequentialist moral theory according to which happiness has positive intrinsic value in terms of which actions are right or wrong

Utility

A technical term introduced in connection with utilitarianism to refer to the net intrinsic value (positive or negative) of the consequences of some action or rule, where what has intrinsic positive value for the utilitarian is happiness and what has intrinsic negative value is unhappiness

Greatest Happiness/Principle of Utility

The fundamental moral principle of the utilitarian moral theory, according to which (in its “act” version) an action is morally right (not wrong) if and only if (and because) it would likely produce as high a utility as would any available alternative action open to the agent

Pleasure/Happiness

Kantian Ethics (Kantian Moral Theory)

A type of moral theory first developed by German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) that features the notions of respect for persons and universality

Moral Law

Hypothetical vs. Categorical Imperative

Formulation #1 Universal Law

A formulation of Kant’s Categorical Imperative which states that an action is morally permissible if and only if the maxim associated with the action is universalizable

Formulation#2 Humanity

Virtue Ethics

A type of moral theory that makes considerations of virtue and vice the basis for explaining the rightness and wrongness of actions

Virtue vs. Vice

Virtues of Character and its classification

Characteristics of the Good/Moral Excellence

Care Ethics

A type of moral theory that emphasizes the moral significance of relationships among people

Duties of care

Relationship

Pros and Cons of Each Moral Theory

Recognize An Argument: Deductive and Inductive Argument

Evaluate An argument: Valid (deductive) argument and Strong (inductive) argument