ETHICS (MIDTERM)

Ethics

The branch of philosophy that deals with morality, distinguishing between right and wrong conduct.

Normative Science

A field of study that concerns matters of values rather than facts, providing guidelines for human behavior.

Asceticism

A lifestyle characterized by abstaining from egoistic pleasures, often pursued to achieve spiritual goals.

Altruism

The belief in acting for the benefit of others, even at the expense of oneself, exemplified by Auguste Comte's dictum "Live for others."

Rule Consequentialism

A theory that combines aspects of Consequentialism and Deontology, where moral behavior involves following rules chosen based on the consequences they produce.

Deontology

Focuses on the rightness or wrongness of actions themselves, emphasizing duties and rights over consequences.

Natural Rights Theory

Asserts that humans have inherent, universal rights not contingent on actions or beliefs, leading to the concept of human rights.

Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative

Emphasizes acting according to duty and moral laws based on rationality, focusing on motives rather than consequences.

Pluralistic Deontology

Propounded by W.D. Ross, it involves considering seven prima facie duties when making ethical decisions, including beneficence, justice, and promise-keeping.

Contractarian Ethics

Moral norms derive normative force from mutual agreement or contract, where moral acts are those agreed upon impartially.

Ethical Dilemmas

Involve questions about living a good life, rights and responsibilities, language of right and wrong, and moral decisions.

Prohibition Dilemma

An ethical dilemma that occurs when all available options are prohibited, leaving the agent with no morally acceptable choices.

Single-agent Dilemma

An ethical dilemma where the agent is compelled to act on two or more equally moral options but cannot choose both due to conflicting obligations.

Multi-person Dilemma

An ethical dilemma that involves several persons who are expected to come up with a consensual decision on a moral issue, leading to conflicting needs or obligations among the individuals involved.

Personal Level Dilemma

A type of ethical dilemma that occurs on a subjective level, involving choices that are equally good and bad, affecting only individuals and not organizations.

Organizational Dilemma

An ethical dilemma that exists within an organization or a particular sector, involving reconciling inconsistencies between individual needs and aspirations and the collective purpose of the organization.

Systematic/Structural Dilemma

An ongoing search for a satisfactory system in which managers face enduring dilemmas like tradeoffs without easy answers, leading to choices between equally unsatisfactory alternatives.

Virtue Ethics

A philosophical approach that emphasizes the importance of moral character and virtues in guiding ethical behavior.

Aristotle

An ancient Greek philosopher (384-322 BCE) known for his contributions to various fields, including ethics, metaphysics, and logic.

Nicomachean Ethics

A work by Aristotle that explores the nature of ethics and the concept of virtue.

Virtues

Qualities or traits that are considered morally good and are acquired through habit and practice.

Vices

Negative qualities or traits that are contrary to virtues and are also acquired through habit.

Virtue

A state of character that leads individuals to choose the intermediate between two extremes (vices) in both actions and passions, according to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

Eudaimonism

The belief that the proper goal of human life is eudaimonia, which can be translated as "happiness", "well-being", or the "good life", achieved through practicing virtues and practical wisdom.

Thomas Aquinas

A Dominican monk known as the Angelic Doctor, famous for works like Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles, who integrated natural law ethics and Christian ethics into his philosophy.

3 Kinds of Law according to St

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Made by God for all things.

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Civil law made by humans in society.

Conscience

According to Aquinas, the guide to moral decisions, even if it is wrong, as going against it is going against truth and reason.

Four main virtues according to Aquinas:

Immanuel Kant

A prominent German philosopher who made significant contributions to the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics during the late 18th century.

A posteriori

Knowledge that is empirical and based on experience through the senses, contrasting with a priori knowledge which is independent of experience.

Dogmatic Metaphysics

Kant criticizes this approach for fueling disbelief and undermining morality, advocating for a balance between faith and reason in philosophical inquiries.

Duty

The concept that an action has moral worth if it is done for the sake of duty.

Universalizability

The idea that an action is morally correct if its maxim can be willed as a universal law.

Respect

The principle that humanity, whether in ourselves or others, should always be treated as an end in itself and never merely as a means to an end.

Goodwill

According to Kant, only goodwill is morally valuable, knowing its duty and doing the dutiful act because it is dutiful.

Categorical Imperative

Kant's principle for determining moral actions, stating that one should act only according to maxims that can be universally applied without contradiction.

Maxims

Personal principles that guide actions and must pass the test of the categorical imperative for moral validity.

Life skills

Abilities that enable individuals to effectively deal with the challenges of everyday life, including adaptability and positive behavior.

Values of life

Important principles such as honesty, respect, punctuality, courtesy, resourcefulness, initiative, and efficiency that contribute to a conducive atmosphere in life.

Morality

Pertains to the conduct of human affairs and relations between persons.

Religion

Involves the relationship between human beings and a transcendent reality.

Moral action

Any action that proceeds from our deliberate will and is either good or evil.

Freedom

The ability to choose our actions and not be simply determined by instinct.

Haidt

Described moral systems as mechanisms that work together to make cooperative societies possible.