Study Guide

Two General Branches of Ethics

  • Normative Ethics

    • Focuses on determining what is right and wrong.

  • Metaethics

    • Examines the nature of morality and whether moral truths are real.

Two Subbranches of Normative Ethics

  1. Consequentialism

    • Focuses on the outcomes of actions; results matter.

  2. Non-consequentialism

    • Emphasizes duties, rights, and character over outcomes.

Value-Based vs Duty-Based Moral Theories

  • Value-Based Moral Theory

    • Right actions maximize or promote something good.

    • Examples:

    • Utilitarianism

    • Consequentialism

    • Virtue Ethics (aims to promote human flourishing)

  • Duty-Based Moral Theory

    • Right actions adhere to moral rules or duties.

    • Examples:

    • Kant’s Ethics

    • Natural Law Theory

Moral Truth

  • Moral Objectivism

    • Some moral truths are universally valid for all individuals.

  • Moral Skepticism

    • Asserts that no objective moral truths exist.

  • Cultural Moral Relativism

    • Claims that right and wrong are determined by cultural contexts.

    • Considered as a form of moral skepticism as it denies universally applicable moral truths.

Argument Against Cultural Relativism (Timmons)

  • If cultural relativism is valid:

    • Moral reformers (e.g., Martin Luther King Jr.) were always wrong.

    • Moral progress is nonexistent.

    • Criticism of harmful cultures becomes impossible.

  • Consequently, such implications seem absurd, suggesting that relativism is false.

Consequentialism & Utilitarianism

  • Consequentialism

    • Defines right actions as those that result in the best consequences.

  • Utilitarianism

    • Right actions produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

    • A specific type of consequentialism.

Fundamental Principle of Utilitarianism

  • The Greatest Happiness Principle

    • Advocates for maximizing overall happiness.

  • Hedonism

    • Defines pleasure as the only intrinsic good.

    • Utilitarianism incorporates hedonism by asserting that happiness/pleasure is the highest value.

Attractions of Utilitarianism

  • Simplicity

  • Impartiality

  • Promotion of Equality

  • Flexibility

Problem of Injustice

  • Utilitarianism justifies harming an innocent person if it results in a greater overall happiness.

Rule Consequentialism

  • Asserts that an action is right if it adheres to rules that lead to the best overall consequences.

Natural Law (Aquinas)

What Makes Action Right?

  • Promotes basic human goods.

First Precept

  • “Do good and avoid evil.”

Four Basic Intrinsic Goods

  1. Life

  2. Knowledge

  3. Society (friendship)

  4. Reproduction

Doctrine of Double Effect (DDE)

  • An action with adverse side effects may be morally permissible under specific conditions:

  1. The action itself must be good or neutral.

  2. The bad effect must not be intended.

  3. The good effect must not be caused by the bad effect.

  4. The good effect must outweigh the bad effect.

  • Biggest Problem:

    • Difficulty in distinguishing intention from foresight.

Kant

Hypothetical Imperative

  • A conditional directive: “If you want X, do Y.”

Categorical Imperative

  • A universal moral rule applying under all circumstances.

  • Kant argues that morality is fundamentally based on the categorical imperative.

Principle of Humanity

  • Treat individuals as ends in themselves, never merely as means.

  • Applicable to all rational beings.

Good Will

  • The only thing considered good without any qualification.

  • Emphasis is placed on good intentions.

Rights Theory (Locke)

Rights Infringement vs Violation

  • Infringement: Temporary interference in rights.

  • Violation: Unjust denial of rights.

What Makes Action Right?

  • Respect for rights.

Locke’s Natural Rights

  1. Life

  2. Liberty

  3. Property

When Can Rights be Overridden?

  • If someone infringes on others' rights.

Ross

Prima Facie Duty

  • A duty that is morally significant but can be overridden under certain circumstances.

  • Examples:

    • Fidelity: Duty to keep promises.

    • Nonmaleficence: Obligation to avoid harm.

    • Justice

    • Gratitude

    • Beneficence

Attractions of Ross's Ethics

  • Recognizes moral complexity.

  • Acknowledges that no singular moral rule suffices.

How Do We Know Moral Rules?

  • Insights come through moral intuition.

Social Contract (Rawls)

What Makes Action Right?

  • Actions that rational individuals would agree upon.

  • Social Contract: An agreement among free and equal individuals.

Veil of Ignorance

  • A thought experiment where one selects rules without knowledge of their own status, assuring fairness in the outcomes.

Virtue Ethics (Aristotle)

What Makes Action Right?

  • Actions aligning with those of a virtuous person.

Objections to Virtue Ethics

  • There are no clear rules for actions.

  • Difficult to apply universally.

  • Cultural differences may affect interpretations.

Short Essays

Intrinsic vs Instrumental Value

  • Intrinsic Value: Valuable in itself (e.g., happiness).

  • Instrumental Value: Valuable as a means to an end (e.g., money).

Mill Quote

  • Advocates that higher pleasures (e.g., intellectual satisfactions) are superior to lower pleasures (e.g., physical pleasures). Emphasizes quality over mere quantity.

Kant and Lying Promises

  • If lying became universalized, promises would lose meaning, indicating that lying cannot be morally justifiable.

Negative vs Positive Rights

  • Negative Rights: Rights ensuring freedom from interference (e.g., a right not to be harmed).

  • Positive Rights: Rights entitling individuals to certain guarantees (e.g., right to education).

Ross's Pluralist & Non-Absolutist Views

  • Pluralist: Believes in multiple moral duties.

  • Non-absolutist: Holds that none of the duties are categorical or absolute.

Aristotle and the Virtue of Mean

  • Virtue is identified as a balance between extremes, e.g., Courage as balancing cowardice and recklessness.