ETHICS

Philo and Sophia

Philosophy came from the Greek words ___ and ___

to love

The Greek word "Philo" means ___

wisdom

The Greek word "Sophia" means ____

Philosophy

____ is about critical and rational thinking.

Ultimate nature of things

What does philosophy attempt to discover?

Justification of one's belief and reflections of one's experiences

Philosophy is also concerned with____

Epistemology

The branch of philosophy that deals with knowledge, its nature and possibility.

Epistemology

This deals with the scope and limits of knowledge, and the process of acquiring it.

Metaphysics

The study of the ultimate reality

Metaphysics

This is an inquiry that leads into the understanding of the reality beyond or behind nature, or sensory experience

Metaphysics

This deals with the most fundamental mental concept such as God, existence, reality, substance, etc.

Logic

The science of reasoning

Logic

This studies the proper methods of thinking and reasoning.

Ethics / Moral Philosophy

A rational inquiry into the standards of right and wrong, good and evil

Ethics / Moral Philosophy

Answers the question “how ought we to live?”

Ethics (ethos)

The standards of “good and bad” distinguished by a certain community or social setting

Ethics

refer to rules provided by an external source, e.g., codes of conduct in workplaces or principles in religions

Ethics

Set of rules for people to follow

Ethical codes

____ does not have to be moral

Morality

Something that’s personal and normative

Morals

refer to an individual's own principles regarding right and wrong

Morality

refers to universal norms of right and wrong conduct that are held to obligate all persons

Ethics

the philosophical study of morality

practical discipline

Ethics is therefore, above all, a ______

Morality

____ is, at the very least, the effort to guide one’s conduct by reason—that is, to do what there are the best reasons for doing – while giving equal weight to the interest of each individual affected by one’s decision

Culture

refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving

Moral codes

series of agreements to which a person has subscribed to guarantee the survival of a group

true

true/ false: Conceptions of right and wrong differ from culture to culture

1. Different societies have different moral codes.

2. The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society; that is, if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then that action is right, at least within that society.

3. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one society’s code as better than another’s. There are no moral truths that hold for all people at all times.

4. The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is but one among many.

5. It is arrogant of us to judge other cultures. We should always be tolerant of them.

What are the Claims of Cultural Relativists?

“socially approved” by the majority
in a given culture

Cultural relativism holds that “good” means ___

product of culture

Cultural relativists see morality as a ______

Subjectivism (SB

_______ says that moral judgments describe how we feel

positive

To call something “good” is to say that we have a ____ feeling toward it.

Simple Subjectivism

1st stage of Subjectivism

Emotivism

2nd stage of Subjectivism

Simple Subjectivism

When a person says that something is morally good or bad, this means that he or she approves of that thing, or disapproves of it, and nothing more

Emotivism

According to ______, moral language is not fact-stating language; it is not used to convey information or to make reports. It is used, first, as a means of influencing people’s behavior.

Subjectivism

____ gives a weak basis for dealing with practical areas like racism and moral education.

Supernaturalism

X is good means God desires X

Supernaturalism

moral judgments describe God’s will

Supernaturalism

____ is defended as a Biblical teaching, as a consequence of belief in God (who is the source of all basic laws), and as the only plausible source of objectively binding duties

Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg

____ studied how children of different ages determine what was right and wrong

KOHLBERG’S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

____ focused on the reason behind moral decision of the individual

PRE-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

Morality is controlled externally, rules are imposed and to be conformed to avoid punishment

Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment

Individuals focus on the direct consequences of their actions on themselves. Individuals obey to avoid punishment

Stage 2: Self-interest Oriented

Individuals focus still on consequences of having rewards or personal satisfaction. (What is in it for me?)

CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

Conformity to social rules becomes important to the individual. Individuals focus on interpersonal relationship and social system.

Stage 3: Good boy/girl attitude

Behaviour is determined by social approval. The individual wants to keep approval of others by being a “good person.”

Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation

Individuals consider society when making moral judgments. Individuals follow rules to maintain social order.

POST CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

Individual's own perspective may take precedence over society's view; Individuals may disobey rules inconsistent with their own principles

Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation

Individuals view law to be flexible. They think that if the law is inconsistent with individual rights and the interest of the majority, it has to be changed.

Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle Orientation

Laws are valid only insofar as they are grounded in justice, and a commitment to justice carries with it an obligation to disobey unjust laws.