Philosophy Unit 3/4 Terms and Definitions

Epistemology

study of knowledge

ethics

knowing the difference between right and wrong

ethical absolutism

single universal moral standard

ethical relativism

denies a single/universal moral standard

normative ethics

judgements that people make that they deem to be ethical

morality

right action

consequentialist theory

position that the morality of an action is determined by non-moral consequences

teleology

the theory of ends or results

egoism

we act morally when we promote our own best long term interests

hedonism

pleasure is seen as intrinsically worthwhile

utilitarianism

we shoudl act in a way that our actions produce the greatest happiness

act utilitarianism

in normative ethics, an action is moral if it produces the geratest happinesss for the most people

divine commnad theory

we should act in such a way that we are doing the will of god

scriptural divine command theory

doing the will of god is based on what is written in religions holy scriptures

natural law ethics

humans should live according ot what is natural

volitional action

voluntary conduct

karma

what goes around comes around

rationalism

regards reason as chief source and test of knowledge

empiricism

belief that states your knowledge of the world = based of ur experiences (mostly sensory)

perception

your beliefs about or knowledge of the world

priori knowledge and example

knowledge that is independent of all particular experiences

ex: proposition that all bachelors are married

innate ideas

knowledge that people are born with

virtue ethics

theories that emphasize role of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than either doing one’s duty or acting in order to bring about good consequences

excusability

we are not morally responsible if: the consequences of actions are unexpected, actions are constrained by external threats or uncontrollable internal forces, consequences of acts are beyond our control, we do not have the ability or opportunity to do otherwise.

Determinism/Hard

is the theory that human behaviour and actions are wholly determined by external factors, and therefore humans do not have genuine free will or ethical accountability.

Acts depend on past events

Soft determinism

is the theory that human behaviour and actions are wholly determined by causal events, but human free will does exist when defined as the capacity to act according to one's nature

Events happen beyond our control

Indeterminism

is the idea that certain events are not caused, or not caused deterministically. It is the opposite of determinism and related to chance

conduct

learning experience, which can yield growth, behavioral changes, and personal understanding of one's responsibilities and privileges.

paradox

is the opposite of what you are saying