Ethics Chapter Test Review

  • Morality: standards that an individual or group has about what is right and wrong or good and evil.
  • Ethics: branch of philosophy that tries to determine the good and right thing to do.
  • Ethical relativism:  view that denies the existence of a single universally applicable moral standard.  In other words, morality is “relative” from person to person and group to group.
  • Ethical absolutism: view that affirms the existence of a single, correct and universally applicable moral standard.
  • Normative ethics: branch of ethics that makes judgments about obligation and value.
  • Cultural relativism:
  • Consequentialist theory: position that the morality of an action is determined by its non-moral consequences.  If the consequences are good, the action is right.
  • Teleology: the theory of end results. All things have a purpose and reason.
  • Egoism: treats self interest as the foundation of morality.
  • Hedonism: view that pleasure is intrinsically worthwhile.  Pleasure is the only thing that has intrinsic value.

NOT ALL EGOISTS ARE HEDONISTS

  • Act Utilitarianism: normative ethics, position that an action is moral if it produces the greatest happiness for the most people.

  • Non-consequentialist: the rightness or wrongness of an act is dependent on more than its consequences.

  • Scriptural divine command: doing the will of God on the basis of what is written in a religion’s Holy Scriptures

  • Divine command: a nonconsequential theory that suggests that we should always do the will of God.

  • Natural Law:  the non consequential theory that holds that humans should live according to nature. Our natural inclination is to do and be good.

  • Categorical Imperative: ethical formula suggesting that the main by which you act could become a universal rule; I am not to act unless I would expect everyone else to act this way

  • Kant’s first categorical imperative: what if my maxim were to become a universal law? Practice what you preach.

  • Kant’s second categorical imperative: others are an end, not a means to an end. Don’t use people.

  • Buddhist Ethics: ethical behaviour both leads to and slows from an enlightened mind. An enlightened person acts ethically.

  • cultivation of wisdom: discipline of the mind through ethical action and quieting of the mind until the point of enlightenment.

  • morality and wisdom: 2 factors that go together in buddhist ethics

  • karma: great law of cause and effect

  • volitional action: voluntary effort to follow a conduct

  • Virtue: the ability to be reasonable in our actions, desires and emotions.

  • Virtue: a morally good character trait, such as honesty, courage or integrity.

  • Virtue Ethics : position that the moral life should be concerned with cultivating a virtuous character rather than rules of action.

  • Utilitarianism: theory that we should act in such a way that our actions produce the greatest happiness or pleasure for all concerned.

  • Rule Utilitarianism: normative ethics, position that we should act so that the rule governing our actions produces the greatest happiness for the most people.

  • Jeremy Bentham:

  • Aquinas: because God created the universe, the laws that govern it are laws that God imposed on it.

  • John Stuart Mill: founder of utilitarianism.

  • Kant: founder of the “good will” theory.

  • Buddha: Sidhartha Gautama, found the 8 fold path.

  • Aristotle: because humans can reason, they must act upon their ability to reason. Result is happiness.

  • Happiness: what is the end we seek.

  • Mean: how can virtue be achieved?

  • Aristotle: who said “"…the ultimate good for man is carrying out those activities of his soul (which involve reason) and doing so with proper virtue and excellence.”

  • Character development: what do virtue ethics depend on?

  • Morally right: if an action tends to produce a virtous character it is?

  • Virtous character: develop virtous traits, recognize the important of community, develop personal ideals.