ethical theories Flashcards
3 definitions ….
what is meant by ethics
moral principles that govern a persons behaviour or the conducting of an activity.
the moral correctness of a specified conduct.
the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles.
what’s meant by the term normative ethics ?
a branch of ethics that discusses what we should do
what’s meant by practical ethics ?
the application of these normative ethics to practical issues like lying or war.
what’s meant by act utilitarianism ?
act utilitarianism is the theory that happiness is good, the right act maximises happiness. hedonistic act utilitarianism understands happiness as the balance of pleasure over pain.
what’s meant by hedonism ?
from the greek word ‘HEDONE’, it is the claim that pleasure is happiness and therefore the only good.
who was Jeremy Bentham ?
Jeremy Bentham was a consequentialist, he devised utilitarianism. Bentham worked on legal reforms, and wrote the principles of morals and legislation.
what is the first claim of utilitarianism?
claim 1- consequentialism- what is right, actions are morally right or wrong depending on their consequence and nothing else. An act is right if it maximises what is good.
what is the second claim of utilitarianism
claim 2- hedonism- The only thing that’s good is happiness, understood as pleasure the absence of pain
what is the 3rd claim of utilitarianism?
claim 3- Equality, no one persons happiness is more important that another. This is commitment to Equality.
what is meant by Teological
the goodness of an action by the end it produces.
teolos- ends
how would utilitarians make decisions ?
- consider the different consequneces each action has.
- choose the action the brings about/ most likeley to bring about the most happiness
- as the only thing that matters is happiness
