Introduction to Ethics and Moral Theory

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the core concepts, theories, and major theorists from the lecture notes on moral philosophy.

Ethics

The philosophical study of morality.

Morality

The system of right/wrong judgments and values people use in action.

Normative ethics

A branch of ethics that asks what we ought to do.

Meta-ethics

A branch of ethics that asks what moral claims mean and whether they are objective.

Applied ethics

The branch of ethics that uses moral theory on real-world issues.

Intrinsic goodness

Something that is good in itself.

Extrinsic goodness

Something that is good because of what it leads to.

Description

A statement that reports what is the case.

Prescription

A statement that states what ought to be the case.

The is/ought gap

The principle that facts alone do not automatically produce moral conclusions.

Theoretical aim

The goal of a moral theory to explain why things are right, wrong, good, or bad.

Practical aim

The goal of a moral theory to guide decision-making in real cases.

Euthyphro dilemma

The famous question asking whether something is good because God commands it or commanded because it is good.

Divine command theory

A theory that grounds morality in God’s will or commands.

Natural law theory

A theory that grounds morality in human nature and natural ends, primarily associated with Aquinas.

Primary precepts

Basic goods identified by reason in natural law theory, such as life, procreation, social life, knowledge, and worship.

Objectivism

The view that moral truths are stance-independent and true regardless of individual opinion.

Absolutism

The view that some moral rules have no exceptions.

Universalism

The view that the same moral standards apply to everyone.

Subjectivism

The view that morality depends on personal attitudes.

Descriptive relativism

The observation or report of cultural disagreement regarding morality.

Normative relativism

The view that we should tolerate moral differences between cultures.

Meta-ethical relativism

The view that moral truth or justification is relative to a culture, framework, or standpoint.

Ethical skepticism

The suspension of judgment about whether moral knowledge is possible.

Timmons’s standards

Evaluation standards for theories including consistency, applicability, explanatory power, internal support, external support, and practical guidance.

Virtue ethics

A framework that evaluates persons and character.

Deontology

A framework that evaluates the rightness or wrongness of actions.

Consequentialism

A framework that evaluates the moral worth of outcomes.

Care ethics

A framework that emphasizes relationships, dependency, and responsiveness.

Eudaimonia

The highest good in Aristotle's view, translated as happiness, which is final and self-sufficient.

Golden mean

Aristotle's concept of virtue as a stable habit or disposition between the extremes of excess and deficiency.

Good without qualification

A term Kant uses to describe the good will, which is good in itself regardless of outcomes.

Categorical imperative

Kant's unconditional moral command, which tests maxims by universalizability and respect for persons as ends.

Prima facie duties

Ross's term for moral duties that count as reasons but can be outweighed by other competing duties.

Greatest happiness principle

Mill's principle that actions are right when they maximize aggregate happiness (utility).

Higher pleasures

Pleasures tied to higher intellectual faculties that Mill considers more valuable than lower physical pleasures.

Defeasible generalizations

Little's view that moral rules are not rigid or exceptionless but are open to being overridden in context.

Conceptual mastery

The ability to recognize salient features and judge wisely rather than simply follow a rule, according to Little.

Confucian ethics

An ethical system that understands persons as fundamentally relational and defines right action through roles and hierarchy.