Ethics

Question 1

Deontology

Answer 1

For an act to be morally good, the act must be:
1) Right
2) Known to be right
3) Done on account of its rightness

Question 2

Consequentialism

Answer 2

The results of moral actions are what count. The right is what maximizes the good

Question 3

Realism

Answer 3

The belief that there are objective moral values

Question 4

Amoralism/Moral Nihilism

Answer 4

A disbelief in morality or an actively anti-moral stance

Question 5

Moral Relativism

Answer 5

Morality is relative to culture or perspective

Question 6

Expressivism

Answer 6

Moral statements are not about facts, but expressions of evaluation

Question 7

Emotivism

Answer 7

Moral statements are expressions of one’s feelings towards something

Question 8

Intuitionism

Answer 8

Moral truths are known from direct intuition of these moral truths, either by a moral sense or some other method

Question 9

Divine Command

Answer 9

God commands what is good and goodness consists in obeying him.

Proponents: William of Ockham, St. Augustine, traditional religion.

Question 10

Ethical Egoism

Answer 10

Goodness consists in seeking for the best for one’s self. If “the best” has no objectivity, it becomes a form of amoralism, if not it is often categorized as “enlightened self-interest”.

Proponents: Rand, Nietzsche?

Question 11

Virtue Ethics

Answer 11

Morality consists in the cultivation of virtues

Proponents: Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Philippa Foot

Question 12

Natural Law Theory

Answer 12

There are certain laws which are discernible purely from reason that form the basis of objective goodness/rightness. These laws are those derive from our nature as rational and inherently social beings

Proponents: St. Thomas Aquinas, Locke, Hobbes, Stoicism, Nozick

Question 13

Utilitarianism

Answer 13

Goodness is what promotes happiness/pleasure, specifically happiness for the greatest number, with every person given equal regard unless distinguished by their capacity to promote happiness. Comes in ACT (evaluating each instance) and RULE (find rules for greatest happiness) forms.

Proponents: Bentham, Mill, Godwin

Question 14

Sentimentalism

Answer 14

Morality consists of feelings which derive from our upbringing and nature.

Proponents: Hume, Smith

Question 15

Kantianism

Answer 15

Follow the Categorical Imperative,
1) Act according to the maxim that you treat others as an ends, not as a means
2) Will that your action should be a universal law
3) Act as a legislative member of the Kingdom of Ends. Nothing moral can be inherently contradictory, ex: permitting lying would undermine the reason to communicate.
Rationality is the source of ethical worth.

Proponents: Kant

Question 16

Hegelianism

Answer 16

Categorical Imperative augmented with the content of the sanctity of human life (because humans are free) and property (because freedom is so actualized). One cannot contradict the value of human life or property

Proponents: Hegel

Question 17

Buddhism/Schopenhauer

Answer 17

Desire is the root of all suffering and evil. Compassion for those who suffer the source of all goodness.

Proponents: Buddhism, Schopenhauer

Question 18

Nietzsche

Answer 18

Values should come from our noble sentiments which are vitality, health, and power, as opposed to a slave morality of weakness.

Proponents: Sartre

Question 19

Sartre

Answer 19

Be authentic (self-responsible).

Proponents: Sartre

Question 20

Prima Facie/Pro Tanto Duties

Answer 20

There are multiple ethical duties that are known to us via intuition based on the intrinsic goods of virtue, pleasure, pleasure given to virtue/displeasure to vice, and knowledge. The duties are:
1) Justice
2) Beneficence
3) Self-Improvement
4) Non-maleficence
5) Fidelity
6) Reparation
7) Gratitude
Audi adds:
8) Veracity
9) Enhancement/preservation of freedom
10) Respectfulness

When these conflict, we must use our ethical judgement to discern which one really holds, thus the term “prima facie” or “pro tanto”

Proponents: W.D. Ross, Audi

Question 21

Doctrine of Double Effect

Answer 21

Associated with St. Thomas Aquinas and Catholic philosophy. We can do something even if evil might result from it, provided:
1) The action is morally permissible
2) There is no way to produce the good without producing the evil
3) The evil is not the intended end of the action
4) The evil is in proportion to the good

Question 22

The Trolley Problem

Answer 22

Proposed by Philippa Foot. You’re the conductor of a trolley. The brakes fail and if you do not flip the switch to make an oncoming turn, you will kill 5 people trapped on the tracks ahead. However, if you do flip the switch, you’ll kill 1 person trapped on the other set of tracks. What do you do?
Judith Thomson: What if you were a bystander who could stop the trolley by throwing an innocent fat man from a bridge onto the track? What if he was the one who sabotaged the trolley?

Question 23

Transplant Dilemma

Answer 23

Proposed by Judith Thomson. A doctor has 5 sick people who will die imminently without a transplant. A healthy person walks in who is a tissue match for all five. Should the doctor kill the person to give the 5 people his organs?

Question 24

The Violinist Dilemma

Answer 24

Proposed by Judith Thomson. You wake up and find you’re hooked up to a violinist in a hospital bed. You are told that you were kidnapped and brought to the hospital because you alone have compatible kidneys that can keep the violinist alive till he can recover from his ailment - approximately 9 months. If you leave he will surely die. Do you stay? Proposed to demonstrate the right to abortion.