Ethical Theories Flashcards
What are ethical theories?
Rules and principles that determine right and wrong for any given situation
What are the three kinds of ethical theories?
Ethical absolutism: eternal universal moral principles
Ethical relativism: depends on the person, culture and location
Ethical pluralism: mix of both, middle ground
What are normative ethical theories?
Normative Ethical Theories are those that prescribe the morally correct way of doing something
It articulates and advocates on an ethical code which determines what is moral and immoral
What are the two types of Western Modernist Ethical theories?
Consequential and Non consequential
What is consequentialism?
The ethical theory that judges whether or not something is right by what the consequences are.
What are the types of Consequentialist theories?
Egoism: Impact on ones self
Utilitarianism: greatest amount of good to greatest number of people
What are the non-consequentialist theories?
Ethics of duties
Ethics of justice
What are ethics of duties?
Ethical theories that consist of abstract, unchangeable rules that are to be applied to all relevant ethical problems:
Categorical imperative:
- Consistency
- Human dignity
- Universality
What are ethics of rights and justice?
Rights: basic inalienable entitlements inherent to all human beings
Justice: Simultaneous fair treatment of individuals in a given situation with the result that everyone gets what they deserve
What are the two views of Theory of Justice?
Egalitarianism: Justice is same as equality (burdens and rewards should be distributed equally)
Non-Egalitarianism: Justice in economic systems is a product of fair process of free markets
What is the third view of Theory of Justice?
Social and economic inequalities are arranged to:
- greatest benefit to least advantages
- attached to offices and position open under fair equality and opportunity
What are the limitations of Western Modernist theories?
Too abstract: Too theoretical and impractical for day to day concerns
Too reductionist: tends to focus on 1 aspect at the cost of rest of morality
Too objective/elitist: Ethicists and philosophers on a higher ground concerning right and wrong
Too impersonal: Does not take into account personal bonds and relationships that shape out thoughts and feelings
Too rational: codified rational rules suppress our moral autonomy
Too imperialist: Why should we follow the west?
What are the alternative perspectives of ethics?
Based on character and integrity:
Virtue Ethics: Focuses on attitudes, dispositions and character traits
- Intellectual virtues
- Moral virtues
- Notion of a good life
Based on relationships and responsibility:
- Feminist ethics: relationships, responsibility, experience
Based on procedures of norm generation:
- Discourse ethics: rational reflection of real life experience
Based on empathy and moral impulse:
- Postmodern ethics: Morality beyond the sphere of rationality
How do we decide that a situation should be assigned a moral status in the first place?
- Decision is likely to have significant effects on others
- Decision is likely to be characterized by choice. alternative courses of action are open
- Decision is perceived ethically relevant by more than one parties
