Religon Ethical Theories

Who was Aristotle?

A student of Plato, although he preferred a more “experiental” approach to ethics.

Who was Aristotle a teacher too?

Alexander the Great

What was Aristotle’s ethical approach

He was less concerned about the individual person and more interested in the community

What did Aristotle about happiness

Happiness is not the same as pleasure, happiness is the condition of the good person who succeeds in living well and acting well

What was Aristotle’s style of ethics called

His style of ethics has been called Teleological because it aims towards that which we are intended to be in this life, our ultimate good

What does Aristotle believe about our minds

He believes our intelligence is our personal means for reaching our ultimate good, as we develop our character. Our mind must control our desires, and not the other way around. He believes we must be moderate in all things

What does Kant say in his theory of practical reason

He says that humans act not only on impulse, but also out of conscious choice, based on principles. He says we look towards what we ought to do

What did Kant believe

He believed that the “good” was the ultimate goal of moral life, like Aristotle

What were Kant’s ethics focused on

His ethics were more focused upon the individual, and the presence of personal “good will” as a personal duty. “A human action is morally good when it is done for the sake of duty".”

What is Kant concerned with

Kant is concerned with what we ought to do, or should do, not what we want to do

What did Kant believe about ethical principles

He believed that ethical principles could be applied to everyone, as a “universal law”

What did Levinas believe

He believed the central question in philosphy is Where is the Good (God)

What did he believe about each thing or person

Each thing or person is a unique expression of the Good, and the Good is related to what makes us different from one another. All things and people carry a “trace of infinite or God within them

What did he believe about goodness

Goodness always translates into a personal responsibility for “the Other'“

True goodness knows no limits

What is the answer Utilitarians have to the question of why morality exists at all

The purpose of morality is to guide peoples actions in such a way as to produce a better world

What is Utilitarianism

A moral theory that focuses on the consequences of actions, rather than intentions, and aims to produce the greatest good for the greatest number.

Who founded Ulititarianism

Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. It is also based on the idea that happiness is the ultimate human goal

What is the principle of utility

A moral test for the rightness of actions, based on how much pleasure or pain they produce

What is the Greatness Happiness Principle

An action may be said to be conformable to the principle of utility when the tendency it has to augment the happiness of the community is greater than any it has to diminish it.

What are the 2 types of Utilitarianism

Act and Rule

What is Act Utilitarianism

It looks at the consequences of each individual act and calculates utility each time the act is performed

What is Rule Utilitarianism

It looks at the consequences of having everyone follow a particular rule and calculates the overall utility of accepting or rejecting the rule

What did Jeremy Bentham believe

He believed that we should try to increase the overall amount of pleasure in the world.

What does utilitarianism offer

It offers us a powerful vision of the moral life, one that promises to reduce or eliminate moral disagreement

What must Utilitarians calculate

How many people will be positvely or negatively affeected

How intensely will they be affected

What did John Stuart Mill believe

He was Bentham’s godson and he believed that happiness, not pleasure, should be the standard of utility. He believed that pleasures differ in quality as well as quantity

Who focused on Teleogical ethics

Aristotle

Who focused on Deontological ethics

Kant

What are Teleological Ethics

Every creation and every action and purpose, may be said to aim at some good

What are Deontologial ethics

A human action is morally good when it is done for the sake of duty. Moral worth is measured not by the results of one’s actions, but by the motive behind them

Doctrine of the Mean

To be moderate in all things

Difference between Deontology and Teleology

Deontology believes that in order to make the correct moral choices, we simply have to understand what our moral duties are and what correct rules exist which regulate those duties. Telelogy believes that in order to make correct moral choices, we have to have some understanding of what will result from our choices

What 3 aims does Aristotelian ethics have for us to discover

What is good for us as human beings

What permits us to reach our optential

What we are intended to be

Aristotles differences between pleasure and happiness

Aristotle sees pleasure as a sensation that comes from wanting to satisfy desires, while happiness is a lasting state achieved through virtuous living and rational activity.