Definitons Flashcards
Cultural relativism
There is no “objective” moral standard -> there are only standards relative to some culture.
- i.e., “X is wrong” means “X is wrong according to the norms of the given culture”.
- Exploitation in Qatar during the World Cup would be wrong only if it’s wrong according to Qatari standards.
Subjectivism
“Morality is a matter of feelings”
- You cannot account for disagreements: If someone says A is good and someone else says A is bad -> they are merely reporting their own feelings and cannot be said to really disagree
Objectivism
“Morality is a matter of reasons”
- If someone is good or bad -> for a good reason
Egoism
“Self-interest is the foundation of morality”
- In some cases, showing there are certain self-benefits does not show that people’s ultimate concern isn’t altruistic
Psychological Egosim
“People are egoistic by nature” -> problematic view
Ethical Egoism
“People should, or at least may, be egoistic” -> self-defeating (due to the tragedy of the commons)
Tragedy of the Commons
If everyone is egoistic -> end result is worse for everyone
Thus, the best to worst scenario:
1. Enough others cooperate, but I don’t -> free riding#
2. We all cooperate
3. No one cooperates
4. I cooperate but enough others do not -> L on the forehead :(
Social Contract Theory - Contractualism
“Proposes a solution to the tragedy: a contract on which one will cooperate on the condition that others cooperate too”
- Morality is seen as a contract -> limits each other’s egoism
- Others cooperation is in one’s self interest
Two conditions which must be met for one to cooperate:
1. “Will I benefit? Is it better that all cooperate than that no one does?”
2. “Do I have reason to believe that others will cooperate too?”
Hedonism
“Your well-being depends on whether you enjoy life. Your life goes better the more pleasure you have”
- Flaws: Two friends are seen as equally good as each other since you experience the same pleasure BUT one is a real friend and the other ridicules behind your back.
Desire Satisfaction
“Your well-being depends on whether you get what you want. Thus, your life becomes better alongside the amount of desires satisfied (more/less)”
- DIFFERENCE TO HEDONISM: Not only about pleasure! -> The want for other things
- Problems:
1. Bad Desires -> is it always good if you get what you want?
2. Manipulated Desires -> a policy could force people to want to do a certain thing but we cannot say that policy is good because people like it since they may only like it since it is a policy
3. Adapted Desires -> individuals who have grown up into living a certain kind of life may experience pleasure even though when viewed from the outside, their lives appear miserable
Objective List Theory
“Your well-being depends on whether you have the items that are on the objective list”
- Objective -> valid for all people
:) suitable for policy
:( less room for choice
Utilitarianism
“Solving a moral dilemma by weighing pros and cons of all options and picking the best one -> The only factor that matters are the consequences of one’s action on: the well-being of everyone + where everyone gets equal consideration”
- DIFFERENCE FROM CONTRACTUALISM + ETHICAL EGOISM: You must:
1. consider the costs + benefits of everyone involved in an action
2. assign values to relate them to each other.
3. calculate the expected value of both sides of the decision -> the higher one is the ‘correct’ action while the other is ‘wrong’
What are some problems for utilitarianism?
“Are consequences really all that matter?”
“Can we really put EVERYTHING in the utilitarian calculus?”
Consequences of rules > Consequences of particular acts
CAN’T ADD “keep your promises unless it has bad consequences” -> Act Utilitarianism
