1/2 second Flashcards
The principle that a good action may be permissible even with bad side effects, but a bad action for the sake of good effects is never permissible; bad effects must be unintended
Doctrine of Double Effect
Life – preserve life and health; Procreation –produce and raise children; Knowledge – seek truth, especially about God and the world; Sociability – form community, obey just laws, avoid lies and slander
Four Natural Inclinations
Actions that violate fundamental natural
inclinations—e.g., murder, lying, and suicide—and for that reason are regarded within Natural Law Theory to be absolutely impermissible, regardless of consequences. One may never do evil that good may come!
Intrinsically Evil Actions
The morally right action is one that follows the
dictates of nature and promotes human flourishing
Natural Law Theory
A moral dilemma where defending oneself may require lethal force. The good effect is the preservation of one’s own life; the bad effect is the death of the aggressor. According to the Doctrine of Double Effect, this can be morally permissible if the death is not intended but merely foreseen. The person acts to protect their life, not to kill—the death occurs as a side effect of an otherwise legitimate act of self- preservation. The act must be proportionate, and the bad effect must not be the means to achieving the good.
Self-Defense Puzzle
The political body formed when individuals collectively
agree to submit to a common authority (sovereign) in order to achieve
peace and security
Commonwealth
The hypothetical condition of humanity before government, characterized by total freedom, equality—and constant fear, danger, and conflict—according to Hobbes.
State of Nature
The morally right action is the one that conforms to rules rational individuals would agree to under conditions of equality and impartiality for mutual benefit.
Social Contract Theory
For Hobbes, the absolute ruler or governing authority that
individuals agree to obey under the social contract to escape the state of
nature and ensure peace and security
Sovereign
Hobbes’s description of the
state of nature, where without government, people act solely in self- interest, resulting in constant conflict, fear, and danger
“War of Every Man Against Every Man”
The morally right action is the one that directly
produces the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone
considered.
Act Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill’s response to the “Swine Objection.” He claims that higher pleasures (e.g., intellectual, moral) are superior to lower pleasures (e.g., bodily) and that even with more pain, it is better to be a higher being
“Better to be Socrates Dissatisfied than a Pig Satisfied”
A thought experiment by Robert Nozick meant to challenge Hedonistic Utilitarianism. It imagines a machine that gives you any pleasurable experience you want—but suggests people would refuse to plug in, showing we value more than just pleasure (e.g., reality, authenticity, achievement)
Experience Machine
According to Mill, pleasures of the mind and moral character—like intellectual engagement and moral action—which are of greater value than bodily pleasures
Higher Pleasures
Bodily or sensual pleasures—e.g., eating, drinking,
physical comfort—that are shared with animals and considered inferior in quality to higher pleasures.
Lower Pleasures
A critique that Act Utilitarianism demands constant moral effort, requiring agents to always act in ways that maximize happiness, leaving no moral rest or room for personal projects
“No Rest”-Problem for Act Utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham’s view that all pleasures are equal in kind; the value of an activity lies only in the amount of pleasure it produces, whether it’s a game of pushpin or reading poetry
“Pushpin is as Good as Poetry”
Bentham’s principle which approves or disapproves of every action according to its tendency to augment or diminish the happiness of the affected party
Principle of Utility
The morally right action is the one covered by a rule that, if generally followed, would produce the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone considered.
Rule Utilitarianism
In Aristotle’s ethics, “a good” refers to something that is desirable or beneficial in a particular context (e.g., good food, good
eyesight), while “the Good” refers to the ultimate end or highest aim of human life—eudaimonia, or flourishing—which gives order and purpose to all lesser goods.
A Good vs The Good
The problem of conflicting virtues—e.g., honesty vs. loyalty—where different virtues might seem to require incompatible actions in the same situation
Conflict Problem
Happiness or flourishing; the full realization of a good human life. Defined in Aristotle’s theory Virtue Ethics as living well and fulfilling one’s function through virtue
Eudaimonia
Aristotle’s idea that virtue lies between two extremes of
“excess and deficiency” such as courage lies between recklessness and
cowardice.
Golden Mean
A stable disposition or condition of the soul, formed through habit, which enables a person to act and feel in accordance with
reason. In ethics, hexis includes virtues like courage or temperance. While an excellent state (i.e., arete, or virtue) is necessary for happiness, happiness itself cannot consist in a state—because a state is passive and static, whereas happiness is active
State (Hexis)
