Ethics Flashcards
Ethics
- investigates the basic principles of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, and our understanding of ‘good’ and ‘evil’
- all the grey areas too
- sometimes referred to as moral philosophy (from L. mores)
Metaethics
- “where do morals come from?”
- “Is it possible to have multiple answers to this question?”
Normative Ethics
“Is it the consequences or the intention of the action that matters more?”
Applied Ethics
How do we take Metaethics and Normative Ethics and apply it in situations
3 Types of Relativism
- egoistic relativism
- social relativism
- metaethical relativism
Egoistic Relativism
- Get your sense of right and wrong from your own lived experience and understanding of things
- Problem: We don’t live in isolation
relativism
you decide what is right and wrong based on situation
Social relativism
Get idea of right and wrong from group that you belong to
Relativism - Modus vivem d
- latin for way of life
- coming to a Modus vivem d where everyone lives in harmony and go about their lives
- if you break those rules you know what the consequences are
Revaltivism - Incommensurable plurclism
- Many ways of looking at right and wrong
- the idea that it will likely not be possible to come to a universal ethic
Metaethical Relativism
- We probably should
- the improbability of a universal principle
4 types of ethical/moral Grounding
- metaphysical
- naturalistic
- sociological
- rationalistic
Moral grounding - metaphysical
- Relies on higher power/reglin to know what is right and wrong
- Rooted in religion/spirituality
- Problem: If there is a God there is no need for ethics.
- Rebuttal” Not true, we must interpret religious texts in order to know what is right and wrong
Moral grounding - naturalistic
- Look at what happens in nature
- Science and nature
Hume’s Guillotine
- How do we move from ‘is’ to ‘ought to be’?
- Just bc something is a certain way doesn’t mean it should be
moral grounding - sociological
Get your idea of right and wrong from the societies/groups you belong to
moral grounding - rationalistic
- Uses pure reason as the way of determining right and wrong
- No emotions
normative system - consequentialist
- The right thing is determined by the consequences. Intention doesn’t matter
- Bentham
determinism
- no free will
- Our choices are made from forces outside ourselves
- Fate
- Problem: If everything is already deteminded than we can use it as an excuse
scientific determinism
Science determines what we do
Fate
end is determined
Libertarianism
- Beliefs in freewill
- We are held accountable for our action
- future is open to possibility
Compatibilism
- determinism & libertarianism
- Limit to free will, can’t will ourselves into existence
priori
known before
Normative system - Deontology
- acting with a sense of duty, do the moral thing regardless of the outcome
- Kant’s method
Kant’s Categorical Imperative
- Identify rule/maxim
- Imagine/assume a world where that rule is applied universally with no exception
- Question if it creates a contradiction/problem
- If so, immoral
if not, moral! :)
suggests a universal moral principle based on reason
Major Normative Systems of Ethics
- Deontology
- Consequentialism
- Virtue Ethics
Hedonic Calculus
formula to measure relative pain and relative pleasure
six criteria for the Hedonic Calculus
- intensity— high the better
- duration— longer the better
- certainty— more certain the better
- propinquity— sooner the better
- fecundity— more production the better
- purity— lower the better
- extent (added by John Stuart Mill)— moral value increases with the more peopled benefited
utilitarianism
Bentham’s philosophy came to be known as the greatest good for the greater number
Hedonic Calculus Problem
How do you know the moral you’re using as a standard is actually moral
Normative System - Virtue Ethics
- what kind of person am I becoming?
- Aristotle
- patterns of actions matter more than individual situation
- the “right action” to take is the action that someone with a generally good character would take
Aristotle’s list of virtues
- courage
- temperance
- high-mindedness
- wit
- liberality
- friendliness
- right ambition
- each virtue listed is what he called golden mean, middle ground of 2 extremes
phronesis
the master virtue is practical wisdom
social darwinism
has been used to justify slavery and cultural exploitation
the golden mean between rashness and cowardice is…
courage
naturalistic issues
- While there is good things there are also bad things
- Avoiding social Darwinism
- Groups are stronger and other groups are seen as weaker and it’s made to seem natural
golden mean of obsequiousness and cantankerousness
friendliness
extremes of friendliness
obsequiousness and cantankerousness
