Week 1 material

metaethics

the study of the origin and meaning of ethical concepts. This focuses on what IS morality.

normative ethics

the study of ethical action, typically focusing on what is morally right and wrong. This focuses on what is moral.

applied ethics

attempts to apply ethical theory to real-life situations

descriptive ethics

attempts to describe how morality impacts people. What percent of the population believes in X morality?

factual issue

Is abortion legal in Texas in 7 weeks post-fertilization?

conceptual issue

is a fetus a human being 7 weeks post-fertilization?

moral issue

is it always morally wrong to kill a human being?

No “ought” from an “is”

Factual premises alone cannot be used to arrive at a moral conclusion. David Hume came up with this in 1739. Every moral conclusion demands at least one moral premise!

Act utilitarianism

the total consequences of each individual act determine whether the act is right, and it is right just in case it has at least as good consequences as every alternative act

Rule utilitarianism

act according to a set of rules that, if followed by the overwhelming majority, would have at least as good consequences as every alternative set of rules

What kinds of consequences matter for utilitarianism?

1. pleasure (hedonistic)
2. Preference satisfaction
3. objective list

natural law theory

what is morally right is derived from the natural world.