Modules 4-8 Ethics Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering essential terms from Modules 4-8 on Egoism & Altruism, Virtue Ethics, Utilitarianism, Deontology, and Rights-based Ethics.

Basic Compassion

An unconditional regard for others’ interests, shown even to strangers.

Conditional Compassion

Empathy offered only when aiding others aligns with one’s own interests or benefit.

No Compassion

A total lack of empathy or concern for the well-being of others.

Altruism

The selfless concern for others’ well-being; coined by Auguste Comte from Latin alter (“other”).

Egoism

The doctrine that one should prioritize personal self-interest; compassion is conditional.

Egotism

Excessive self-importance or self-centeredness; absence of compassion for others.

Virtue (Aretē)

Greek for “excellence”; a cultivated quality that enables moral or intellectual success.

Ethics (Ethos / Ethikos)

From Greek terms stressing character, custom, and morality.

Virtue Ethics

Theory that centers morality on developing virtuous character traits rather than specific acts.

Telos

The end, goal, or purpose toward which actions are directed.

Instrumental Ends

Goals pursued as means to something further (e.g., earning money to buy food).

Final Ends

Goals desired for their own sake at the end of a causal chain (e.g., satisfying hunger).

Supreme End

An unconditionally final goal sought only for itself; for humans, eudaimonia.

Eudaimonia

Greek for “good spirit”; the flourishing or happiness that is humanity’s supreme end.

Intellectual Virtue

Excellence of rational faculties—thinking, reasoning, valuing, and seeking truth.

Moral Virtue

Excellence of character guiding ethical behavior and interactions with others.

Arete

Practice of excellence or virtue necessary for achieving happiness.

Golden Mean

Aristotelian principle locating virtue between extremes of excess and deficiency.

Friendship of Utility

Relationship grounded in mutual usefulness or benefit.

Pleasure-based Friendship

Bond formed through shared enjoyment of activities or company.

Character-based Friendship

Friendship rooted in mutual admiration of each other’s virtue and goodness.

Consequentialism

Ethical view that the morality of acts depends solely on their outcomes.

Utilitarianism

Consequentialist theory seeking the greatest good (happiness) for the greatest number.

Greatest Happiness Principle

Choose actions that maximize overall happiness for the most people.

Quantitative Utilitarianism

Bentham’s view that pleasure can be measured and maximized numerically.

Felicific Calculus

Bentham’s tool for quantifying pleasure and pain to guide moral choices.

Intensity (Felicific Calculus)

Strength of the pleasure produced by an act.

Duration (Felicific Calculus)

How long the pleasure lasts.

Certainty (Felicific Calculus)

Likelihood that the pleasure will actually occur.

Remoteness (Felicific Calculus)

Time interval before the pleasure is experienced.

Fecundity (Felicific Calculus)

Probability that the pleasure will lead to further pleasures.

Purity (Felicific Calculus)

Degree to which pleasure is free from accompanying pain.

Extent (Felicific Calculus)

Number of people affected by the pleasure or pain.

Qualitative Utilitarianism

Mill’s view ranking higher intellectual pleasures above lower physical ones.

Act Utilitarianism

Assesses each individual action for how much happiness it produces.

Rule Utilitarianism

Judges actions by whether they follow rules that maximize overall happiness if universalized.

Deontology

Ethical theory emphasizing duties and rules rather than consequences.

Kantian Ethics

Immanuel Kant’s deontology based on rational duty and respect for persons.

Categorical Imperative

Kant’s unconditional moral law that applies to all rational beings.

Formula of Universal Law of Nature

Act only on maxims you can will to become universal laws.

Humanity Formula

Treat humanity, in oneself or others, always as an end and never merely as a means.

Autonomy Formula

View each rational will as universally legislating moral law.

Kingdom of Ends Formula

Act as a member of a system where every rational being is both legislator and subject of universal laws.

Rights-based Ethics

Framework holding respect for individual rights as the foundation of morality.

Natural Rights

Fundamental entitlements believed to belong to all persons by nature.

Human Rights

Universal, inalienable, and indivisible rights inherent to every human being.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

1948 UN document outlining global standards for protecting human rights.

Commission on Human Rights (Philippines)

Government body tasked with protecting Filipino civil and political rights and promoting human rights education.

Enlightenment Thinkers

Philosophers like Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau who advanced natural-rights theory in the 17th–18th centuries.