Definitions

Question 1

Altruism

Answer 1

Giving of oneself when it will provide no direct benefit to the provider

Question 2

Analogical

Answer 2

Moral reasoning based on comparison of like events, categories, or characteristics

Question 3

Apodictic

Answer 3

Direct regulation as a necessary truth, often as a divine command

Question 4

Autonomy

Answer 4

1. The capacity for self determination

2. The right to self-determination

Question 5

Beneficence

Answer 5

Doing that which is good for another

Question 6

Bioethics

Answer 6

1. The analysis of moral concerns arising out of the application of biological technologies
2. The analysis of moral concerns arising in various fields of the lice sciences

Question 7

Casuistry

Answer 7

The governing of behavior in accordance with specific situational rules or within the standards of precedence

Question 8

Commission

Answer 8

Performing an act, often used to indicate an intentional violation of a moral duty

Question 9

Cost-benefit analysis

Answer 9

A utilitarian method of evaluation which usually defines “cost” in economic terms and, theoretically, attempts to remain clear of specifically moral considerations

Question 10

Covenant

Answer 10

An agreement between persons or parties requiring action on the part of all participants. While similar to a contract, the _______ is maintained through reliance on the integrity of the parties and goes beyond the specific limitations of a contract.

Question 11

Deontology

Answer 11

An ethical method which relies on the principle of duty

Question 12

Dirty hands

Answer 12

When participation in efforts to address a given moral concern result in temporary compromises on implementation or on less significant moral concerns.

Question 13

Duty

Answer 13

A required behavior, often an obligation created by the rights of another or by the nature of the role one holds.

Question 14

Egoism

Answer 14

the moral good/right defined by and for the individual, usually assumes rationality (more precisely named “ethical egoism”)

Question 15

Epistemology

Answer 15

The study of the origin, nature, and limits of knowledge

Question 16

Ethics

Answer 16

1. The analysis of morals according to given principles, values and/or according to a specific method of reasoning.
2. Moral rules or patterns expected within certain groups (e.g., professions, religious communities) or by virtue of holding a specific role.

Question 17

Hedonism

Answer 17

Defining the ‘good’ as that which will provide the most pleasure and the least pain for the individual (a sort of individualized utilitarianism; often seen as a form of egoism).

Question 18

Identity

Answer 18

The condition of having a specific nature or being a particular thing or person

Question 19

Justice

Answer 19

The appropriate or right division and arrangement of burdens and benefits in a social group; it assumes the need for appropriate or right relationships among the group’s members

Question 20

Distributive justice

Answer 20

The fair and equitable distribution of goods

Question 21

Retributive justice

Answer 21

The appropriate dispensing of punishment

Question 22

Commutative justice

Answer 22

Fair and honest interaction among moral agents

Question 23

Modernity

Answer 23

era of so-called “West” in which the individual has been deemed morally fundamental and education the means of elevating the individual

Question 24

Morality

Answer 24

Formally expressed & legitimated socialized patterns of behavior.

Question 25

Natural law

Answer 25

The moral good which can be determined by any reasonable person; it assumes that humans share at least some common moral duties, principles, or values because of their common social, biological and/or spiritual condition.

Question 26

Natural rights

Answer 26

The belief that all persons have certain duties to treat all other persons in certain ways, usually regardless of particular conditions; a form of natural law.

Question 27

Nihlism

Answer 27

Existence is meaningless, senseless

Question 28

Nonmaleficence

Answer 28

Not doing that which is harmful to another

Question 29

Omission

Answer 29

Not performing an act; the neglecting of moral duty. Usually understood as a conscious or willful decision.

Question 30

Postmodern

Answer 30

After modern, specifically including the rejection of ‘scientific’ reductionism. Two common forms are 1) deconstructionism, and 2) narrative community

Question 31

Pragmatism

Answer 31

A philosophical approach/method which validates moral rules on the basis of the results of those rules when they are applied.

Question 32

Prima facie duty

Answer 32

The moral response that seems most appropriate prior to in-depth consideration of mitigating factors. It may or may not prove to be the actual moral duty.

Question 33

Principle

Answer 33

A fundamental belief, doctrine, or “truth” upon which more particular rules of moral conduct are based.

Question 34

Descriptive relativism

Answer 34

The claim that the core morality of different groups may differ in some significant way, one from another

Question 35

Substantive relativism

Answer 35

The claim that one’s morality is a matter of affiliation or taste and not subject to evaluation by a higher moral claim or authority

Question 36

Right

Answer 36

A just and fair claim to some good; the good may or may not be tangible. Rights are claimed on the basis of the natural order, human commonality, being a creature of the Creator God, Constitutionality (or some other legal basis), etc.

Question 37

Negative right

Answer 37

The right to not have another intervene (e.g., freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion).

Question 38

Positive right

Answer 38

The right to have another intervene (e.g., the right to education, the right to shelter, the right to food).

Question 39

Rule

Answer 39

An established regulation for conduct/action, usually based upon a general principle. Any form of moral reasoning can have rules.

Question 40

Situation ethics

Answer 40

An ethical method which claims that the concreteness of a given situation requires that moral decisions be made in light of the circumstances and without reference to principles, rules or goals.

Question 41

Slippery slope

Answer 41

The assertion that conceding a morally debatable position will inevitably lead to conceding a morally reprehensible position

Question 42

Social contract

Answer 42

A philosophical concept which usually refers to the duties arising from one’s membership in a given society, both the duties of the individual to the society and its members and the duty of the society to the individual

Question 43

Subsidiarity

Answer 43

Claim that management and/or moral addressing of needs and concerns should occur at the lowest organizational level possible

Question 44

Supererogatory

Answer 44

Something ‘heroic’

Question 45

Teleology

Answer 45

An ethical method which determines proper behavior by the end “product” or “result” desired

Question 46

Utilitarianism

Answer 46

An ethical method which centers on the principle of providing the greatest good for the greatest number.

Question 47

Virtue ethics

Answer 47

A method of moral reasoning by which one determines the right course of action by deciding which conforms more to the desired character