philosophy a level ethics

moral anti realism

the theory that claims there are no moral properties

applied ethics

the branch of ethics concerned with the application of normative ethical theories to particular issues such as lying or stealing

arete

an excellence or virtue - a quality that aids the fulfilment of a thing’s ergon

attitude

a mental state regarding how the world is or should be (cognitive attitude has a mind-to-world direction of fit. non-cognitive attitude has a world-to-mind direction of fit)

belief

affirmation of or conviction regarding the truth of a proposition

categorical imperative

absolute commands we are obliged to follow in all circumstances. As rational agents we can work out the categorical imperative by asking whether the maxim that lies behind our action is universalisable and treat people as ends in themselves. 

character

a person’s habitual dispositions regarding what they feel, how they think, how they react, the choices they make, and they actions they perform, under different circumstances

character trait

an attribute that is exhibited by an individual as a matter of habit

choice

what we decide upon as a result of deliberation, giving rise to a voluntary action. deliberate desire regarding something that is in one’s power

cognitivism

moral judgements express propositions that are truth-apt; they can be true or false

conscience

an inner awareness, faculty, intuition or judgement that assists in distinguishing right from wrong

act consequentialism

the theory that actions are morally right or wrong depending on their consequences and nothing else. an act is right if it maximises what is good

contradiction in conception

the test for whether we can will a maxim to become universal law can be failed if it would somehow be self-contradictory for everyone to act on that maxim

contradiction in will

the test for whether we can will a maxim to become universal law can be failed if, although the maxim is not self-contradictory, we cannot rationally will it

deontology

the study of what one must do. deontology claims that actions are right or wrong in themselves, not depending on their consequences. we have moral duties to do things which it is right to do and moral duties not to do things which it is wrong to do

desirable

1) worthy of being desired

2) capable of being desired

desire

a state of mind that motivates a person to act in such a way as to satisfy the desire

direction of fit

the direction of the relation between mind and world. in one direction, the mind ‘fits’ the world, as in belief. we change our beliefs to fit the facts. in the other direction the world ‘fits’ the mind, as in desire. we act on our desires to change the world to satisfy our desires.

doctrine of the mean

aristotle’s claim that virtue requires us to feel, choose and act in an intermediate way, neither in excess nor in deficiency, but ‘to feel passions at the right times, with reference to the right objects, towards the right people, with the right motive, and in the right way’.

general/specific duties

duties are obligations we have towards someone or something.

general duties are those we have towards anyone

specific duties are those we have because of our particular personal or social relationships

perfect/imperfect duties

perfect duties are those we must always fulfil and have no choice over when or how

imperfect duties are cases in which we have some choice in how we fulfil the obligation. no specific person can demand that we fulfil an imperfect duty towards them

emotivism

the non-cognitivst, anti-realist theory that claims that moral judgements express a feeling or non-cognitive attitude, typically approval or disapproval, and aim to influence the feelings and actions of others

end

what an action seeks to achieve or secure, its aim or purpose

final end

an end that we desire for its own sake, we can’t give some further purpose for why we seek it

ergon

function or characteristic activity of something. what it was made to do

error theory

cognitivist, anti-realist theory that moral judgements make claims about objective moral properties, but that no such properties exist. thus moral judgements are cognitive but are all false. moral language, as we mean to use it, rests on a mistake

ethics

the branch of philosophy concerned with the evaluation of human conduct, including theories about which actions are right or wrong, and the meaning of moral language

eudaimonia

living well and faring well in society. human flourishing, and the final end for human beings. eudaimonia is not subjective, or a psychological state, but an objective quality of someone’s life as a whole

Nozick’s experience machine

Nozick’s thought experiment concerning a virtual reality machine which someone plugs into for life. the machine will create the experience of a very happy life, but Nozick argues that we value being in touch with reality more, so we won’t choose to plug in

faculty

a mental capacity or ability, such as sight, the ability to feel fear, and reason

felicific/hedonic calculus

the means of calculating pleasures and pains caused by an action and adding them up on a single scale. the total amount of happiness produced is the sum total of everyone’s pleasures minus the sum total of everyone’s pains

first principles

basic or foundational propositions in an area of knowledge or theory that are not deducible from other propositions

formula of humanity

“act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end”

function argument

aristotle’s argument that the human good (eudaimonia) will be achieved by performing our characteristic activity (ergon) well. traits that enable us to fulfil our ergon, which is rational activity, are virtues (arete)

golden rule

the moral guideline that says ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’

good

in ethics, what is good provides a standard of evaluation and what we should aim at in our actions and lives

hedonism

the claim that pleasure is happiness and the only good

hume’s fork

we have knowledge of two sorts of claim; relations of ideas and matters of fact

imperative

a command or order.

a hypothetical imperative is a statement about what you ought to do, on the assumption of some desire or goal.

a categorical imperative is a statement about what you ought to do, without regard to what you want.

integrity

action on and living by the values you endorse

intention

a mental state that expresses a person’s choice. it specifies the action they choose and often their reason or end in acting.

intuitionism

the theory that some moral judgements are self-evident, i.e. their truth can be known just by rational reflection upon the judgement itself. moral intuitions are a type of synthetic a priori knowledge.

involuntary

according to aristotle, if an action is forced or done from ignorance that is not culpable (especially if it is regretted once the ignorance is removed)

is-ought gap

hume’s claim that judgements about what ought to be the case are very different from judgements about what is the case, and cannot be deduced from them. the claim is made as an objection to moral cognitivism

justice

the principle that each person receives their ‘due’. aristotle distinguishes between wide and narrow senses. in the wide sense, anything legal is just, and anything illegal is unjust. in the narrow sense, justice is fairness

maxim

a personal principle that guides our decisions, underlying cause of our actions

descriptive meaning

the aspect of the meaning of a sentence that asserts something about the world and can be evaluated as true or false

emotive meaning

the aspect of the meaning of a sentence that expresses or evokes an emotion

prescriptive meaning

the aspect of the meaning of a sentence that acts either to command or commend

means

what is done to achieve an end. instrumental means are actions done to achieve some further, independent end. constitutive means are those which are done as achieving the end

metaethics

the philosophical study of what morality is, enquiring into the meaning of moral language, the metaphysics of moral values, the epistemology of moral judgements, and the nature of moral attitudes

mind-dependent

depending on a mind for existence or definition

mind-independent

not depending on a mind for existence or definition

morality

the rules, ideals and expectations governing fundamental aspects of human conduct. it concerns right and wrong, good and bad, in human action and character

motive

a mental state or consideration that inclines someone to act in a certain way. someone’s motive could be a reason for acting, and end, or a desire

moral naturalism

a form of moral realism that claims that moral properties are natural properties. according to reductive naturalism, moral properties are identical with certain properties that can be identified through sense experience and science. according to non-reductive naturalism moral properties are natural - related to human nature - but not a kind of property that science can investigate.

naturalistic fallacy

according to moore, the mistake of identifying moral good with any natural property

nihilism

the view that there are no moral values

non-cognitivism

the theory that claims that moral judgements express non-cognitive attitudes. moral judgements do not make claims about reality and are not truth-apt

moral non-naturalism

a form of moral realism that claims that moral properties exist in the world but are not natural properties

non-voluntary

if an action is done from ignorance and if the ignorance is lifted, the agent does not regret the action

normative ethics

the branch of ethics concerned with developing theories concerning what is right or wrong, good or bad

open question argument

moore’s argument that identifying the property good with any other property is never correct because whether that property is, in fact, good is an open question whereas whether some property is itself (e.g. is good good?) is not an open question

partiality

favouring some people, e.g. family and friends, over others

passions

in aristotle, bodily appetites, emotions, desires, and any feelings accompanied by pleasure or pain

permissible

an action that is neither morally forbidden not required

higher and lower pleasures

according to mill one pleasure is higher than another if almost everyone who is ‘competently acquainted’ with both prefers one over the other. higher pleasures include thought, feeling and imagination, while lower pleasures involve the body and senses

practical reason

reasons and reasoning concerned with what we can change and making good choices

practical wisdom

(phronesis) an intellectual virtue of practical reason, involving knowledge of what is good or bad in general and what is good in a particular situation, and the abilities to deliberate well and act on that deliberation

prescriptivism

the non-cognitive theory that moral judgements are prescriptive, that is, moral judgements provide commands and recommendations about how to act

moral property

an attribute or characteristic of an object that is ethically normative, e.g. goodness or being a virtue

natural/non-natural property

natural properties are those that we can identify through sense experience and science. non-natural properties cannot be analysed in terms of or reduced to natural properties

argument from queerness

Mackie’s argument that moral properties, understood as non-natural properties, are (metaphysically and epistemologically) puzzling and improbable, which is a reason to believe they do not exist.

moral realism

the view that moral properties are objectively real in the world

relativism

the theory that some area of discourse is relative to a society or person

moral responsibility

accountability for the actions one performs and the consequences they bring about, for which a moral agent can be justly praised or blamed.

rights

justified moral demands regarding how other people may treat us, especially the freedoms or benefits they ought to provide.

secondary principles

in Mill, moral rules of thumb that, if followed, generally produce happiness. Mill argues that we have learned secondary principles through human history, through trial and error.

sentience

the ability to feel, perceive, or experience subjectively, in particular the capacity to experience pleasure and pain

simulated killing

the dramatisation of killing within a fictional context. it is not merely the description of a killing, but a fictional enactment of killing that the audience or gamer can see and hear

skill analogy

the analogy between virtues and practical skills. in aristotle, virtues are said to be like practical skills because we learn both through practice, not just theory; and we gain an expertise that is sensitive to individual situations

soul

in aristotle, the part of the person that relates to mind and life. according to aristotle it has three parts; a part relating to being alive, a part characterised by desires and emotions that are responsive to reason, and rational intellect

speciesism

unfair discrimination on the basis of what species something belongs to

stealing

taking someone else’s property with no intention of returning it and without their permission

tyranny of the majority

the unjust exercise of power by a majority of people over a minority who have different values or desires

universalise

to apply to everything/everyone

utilitarianism

the theory that only happiness is good, and the right act is that act that maximises happiness

universal formulation

i ought never to act except in such a way that i could at the same time will that my maxim become universal law

act utilitarianism

the theory that only happiness is good, and the right act is that act that maximises happiness. hedonistic act utilitarianism understands happiness in terms of the balance of pleasure over pain

preference utilitarianism

the theory that we should maximise happiness, which is understood not in terms of pleasure and pain, but in terms of the satisfaction of people’s preferences

rule utilitarianism

the theory that only happiness is good, and the right act is that act that complies with those rules which, if everybody followed them, would lead to the greatest happiness

utility

the property of an object or action in virtue of which it tends to produce happiness

principle of utility

the defining principle of act utilitarianism; the good action is that which results in the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people

verification principle

the principle that all meaningful claims are either analytic or empirically verifiable (ayer). a statement is analytic if it is true or false just in virtue of the meanings of the words. a statement is empirically verifiable if empirical evidence would go towards establishing that the statement is true or false.

vice

a trait that is morally bad. dispositions to feel or choose not in the mean, but either too much or too little

virtue

traits or states of person that enable them to achieve some good purpose, especially living a morally good life. traits in accordance with reason.

virtue ethics

the normative theory that starts from the question of what it is to be a good person, then derives an account of morally right action as what a good person would do. aristotle argues that a good person has the virtues which enable them to achieve eudaimonia

intellectual virtues

qualities of the mind developed by instruction

moral virtues

qualities cultivated by habit and practice

voluntary

when we act as we choose