PHIL 1030

concerned with spelling out and justifying standards of right and wrong conduct

normative ethics

studies the concepts and judgements that are used in normative ethics

metaethics

uses moral standards derives from normative ethics to try and resolve practical moral issues

applied ethics

moral norms typically trump other kinds of norms

moral dominance

a moral norm applies to all relatively similar situations

universiality

all people(s) should be considered equal, and that everyone’s interest should count the same when engaging in moral reasoning

impartiality

if our moral judgements are to have any weight, they must be backed by reasons and not be based on whim or simple personal preference

reasonableness

things we must or must not do to be good moral agents

moral obligations

those things we judge morally good or bad, mainly people

moral values

would be wrong not to do

obligatory

would not be wrong to do

permissible

would be wrong to do

prohibited

applies without exception

absolute

applies in all cases except when there is an exception

prima facie

a person’s rational ability to direct their own life and make their own choices

autonomy

demands that we are not intentionally or unintentionally cause harm to others

nonmaleficence

we should do good to others by advancing their welfare and preventing harm to them

beneficence

we should produce the most favorable balance of good over bad for all concerned

utility

involves people getting what is fair or what is their due

justice

concerned with the fair distribution of society’s advantages and disadvantages

distributive justice

basic principle of distributive justice

equals should be treated equally

emphasizes personal freedoms and the right to pursue one’s own social and economic wellbeing in a free market without interference from others

libertarian theories of justice

maintains that a just distribution is an equal distribution (social benefits)

egalitarian theories of justice

there are at least some more norms or principles that are true for everybody

moral objectivism

moral norms or principles allow no exceptions and must be applied the same way in all cases and cultures

moral absolutism

moral norms or principles are not objective but are relative to what individuals or cultures believe

ethical relativism

an individual is the measure of what is morally correct

subjective relativism

one’s culture is the measure of what is morally correct

cultural relativism

problems with subjective relativism

each person is morally infallible and more disagreements are not real

argument for cultural relativism

1) if people’s moral judgements differ from culture to culture, moral norms are relative to culture

2) people’s moral judgements do differ from culture to culture

3) conclusion: therefore, moral norms are relative to culture (there are no objective moral standards)

maintains that the moral law depends on the will of God

Divine Command Theory

what are some problematic dilemma?

are actions morally right because God commands them, or does God command actions because they are morally right

what does the statement “are actions morally right because God commands them” imply?

moral law is completely arbitrary

what does the statement “does God command actions because they are morally right” denies?

the divine command theory

involved critical reasoning, which is concerned with the construction and evaluation or arguments

ethics

one or more statements that give support to further statement

argument

supporting statements

premise

supported statements

conclusion

an assertion that something is or is not the case and is something that are either true or false

statement

distorts the representation of an opponent’s views so that the views can be attacked more easily

the straw man fallacy

involves rejecting somebody’s views or statement because it comes from that particular person, not because it comes from that particular person, not because there is something wrong with the statement

appeal to the person or ad hominem

aims to prove something by appealing to something we don’t know; it either involves claiming something is true because is has not been proven false or that something is false because is has not been proven true

appeal to ignorance

tries to establish a conclusion by using that very conclusion as its own support

begging the question

argues that a particular action should not be taken because it will inevitably lead to actions with much worse outcomes

a slippery slope

what type of theories tell us what makes actions right or wrong

normative moral theories

the rightness of actions depend only on the consequences or results of the actions, and how much good they produce

consequentialism

the rightness of actions depend on the kind of actions that they are, not on how much good they produce

deontology

right actions are those that result in the most beneficial balance of good over bad consequences for all involved

utilitarianism

form of ethics that says the right action in any situation is the one that has the best overall good in that situation only

act utilitarianism

the rightness of an actual determines if it maximizes good and conforms to a rule

rule utilitarianism

one ought to act so as to best promote the happiness of (all) humankind

principle of utility

happiness is a desirable as an end

desirability

only happiness is desirable as an end

exhaustiveness

each person’s happiness is equally desirable

impartiality

the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain

happiness

pleasant sensations are the only ultimately valuable things

hedonism/hedonist

we are morally obligated to bring about the most happiness positive

maximizing utilitarianism