Defining words (ethics) Flashcards
Ethics
Ethics is the branch of study dealing with what is the proper course of action for man/what is moral
Metaethics
concerned with asking what ethics actually is. (rather than asking what is the right or wrong action).
Normative ethics
is concerned with the criteria of what is morally right and wrong. It includes the formulation of moral rules that have direct implications for human action.
Applied ethics
concerned with the practical application of ethics to real word scenarios.
Absolutism
the metaphysical view that there is. an absolute reality, i.e., a reality that exists independently of hu- man knowledge.
Consequentialism
whether an act is morally right depends only on consequences.
Deontologism
an ethical theory that says actions are good or bad according to a clear set of rules.
Naturalism
a theory that relates scientific method to philosophy by affirming that all beings and events in the universe.
Subjectivism
the doctrine that knowledge is merely subjective and that there is no external or objective truth.
Objectivism
human knowledge and values are objective.
The Indirect Obligation Theory
one must regard that thing an end in itself, or rather, as a being whose value commands the respect of all rational agents.
The Equal Consideration Theory
the claim that one should give equal weight in one’s moral decision making to the like interests of all those affected by one’s actions.
The Equal Status View =
An egalitarian favors equality of some sort: People should get the same, or be treated the same, or be treated as equals, in some respect.
The naturalistic Fallacy
Some philosophers believe the ‘good can be understood in terms of what is pleasurable’ G.E More accused there philosophers of committing a naturalistic fallacy as it is still an open questions as to whether pleasurable = good
Hume’ s Guillotine
(is/ought problem)
Just because it IS a fact about the world (what we do) does not mean it is what we OUGHT to do
