Ethics Flashcards
What does normative ethics ask
What are these principle we use to arrive at moral judgements
What does metaethics ask
From where do our moral principles come?
What does applied ethics ask
How can we apply ethical judgements to a particular problem
What would egoistic relativist say
We can’t know anything for certain
Why is the concept of egoistic relativism self defeating
By saying you can never say you know something for certain you are certain in your judgement of assuming you can’t know anything
What is social relativism
Morality is relative to the society and their given beliefs
What would an egoistic relativist say in regards to morality
It is relative to the individual
What is incommensurable pluralism
The belief that there is no way to reach a modus vivendi
What is metaethical relativism
Skepticism about the existence of any firm and universal moral principle
What is grounding morality
Finding a starting point to base all morality off of
Who or what is the starting point for metaphysical grounding
God or religion
What did Emile Durkheim say in moral education
He based our morality on God (metaphysical grounding)
What did Simon Blackburn respond to Durkheim
Religion removes all the possibility of ethics
What’s divine command theory
The theory that was is good, is good because it is compatible with God
What are agape ethics
It’s basis are the two commandments based on love.
1) love your God
2) love your neighbour as yourself
What is the euthyphro dilemma
Are things good because God love them or does God love good things
What is situational ethics
An extreme form of agape ethics in which love is the only commandment everything else is based on particulars
What’s naturalistic grounding
Basing our morality on what coheres with nature
What is social Darwinism
Survival of the fittest. The great flourish while the weak and foolish are to die
What is altruism
The belief that humans can do things out of the goodness of our hearts
What is Humes guillotine
There is a difference between what is and what ought to be so we should ignore naturalistic arguments that attempt to define morality
What is sociological grounding in ethics
An attempt to base morality off of what is observed in society
What is the deontological grounding in ethics
The belief that we should always do the right thing regardless of its consequences
Who created categorical imperative
Immanuel Kant
What’s the consequentialist grounding for ethics
What is moral is what leads to the right outcome
What story is used to demonstrate psychological egoism
The magic ring
What do determinists believe
We have no free will
What is ultracalvinism
The belief that God controls everything
What is the theory that we are determined based on natural laws
Scientific determinism
What is libertarianism
The belief that humans have free will
What is existentialism
The belief that we have free will but there are also factors that we can’t control
What are excusing conditions
Factors in a situation that may excuse immoral actions
What are three common excusing conditions
Ignorance, compulsion, trying
What are the major normative systems of ethics
Virtue ethics, deontology, consequentialism
What is deontology
A moral theory that centres on the concept of duty
What is categorical imperative
Using apriori reasoning to come to the nature of moral reality
What is a maxim
A principle
What were kants 4 steps to arrive at a principle
Find the principle on which an ethical decision is being made, imagine a world in which the maxim was universal, will maxim lead to contradictions? If so it is immoral
What was Benjamin constants critique of kants moral theory
He asked the questions
Is the right thing to do to be honest in all circumstances?
Is withholding info the same as lying?
Is allowing a person to continue with false belief a form of lying?
What example did Constant use to question Kant
Hiding an innocent person and a murderer asks if he is in there
What did Kant say in response to constant
You have to tell the truth to the murderer
What is hedonism
Seeking any form of pleasure
What were the 6 elements in benthams hedonistic calculus
Intensity, duration, certainty, fecundity, purity and John Stuart mill added extent
What is moderation
The middle ground between two extremes (excess and deficient)
What is phronesis
Practical wisdom
What was macintyres critique of virtue ethics
Virtues are only moral depending on circumstance
What are the natural law ethics of aquinas
The will and nature of God are imprinted on the natural world and on humans themselves
What are affect based ethics
Looking for basic moral principles in human feelings
What is emotivism
A subjectivist branch of affect based ethics. Assumes moral judgements are only products of emotions and attitudes of approval or disproval
Why is pity not a virtue to Seneca
He believed it was a mental defect so it’s not virtuous
Why did the Hindus believe pity was a vice
You are not in the position to pity other people
Why does Nietzsche believe pity is a vice
It’s continuously depressive
What is Gillian’s ethics of care
A system of ethics that establishes caring as the value to which morality should be organized
What is pragmatism
Guiding your morality based on experience. Understanding there is no starting point
What is the proximity principle
The fact that we emphasize more with people who are closer to us
What are the basic responsibility to protect core principles
The state has the primary responsibility, if the state can’t protect then it is an international responsibility to protect
What are the elements of the responsibility to protect
The responsibility to prevent, responsibility to react, responsibility to rebuild
What are the priorities in the responsibility to protect
Prevention is the single most important dimension of responsibility to protect, and always use the less severe alternative first
What are maximal pacifists
People who believe you can never use war or violence to stop violence
what is militarism
The belief that using military force to settle disputes is morally right
What is just war theory
Causing a war is wrong there are particular conditions under which it becomes morally obligatory to engage in a war
What are environmental ethics
questions if we have a moral obligation to other life forms on the planet
What is the anthropocentric principle
The belief that conventional ethics is human centred
What do ethicists mean when they talk about a person
A conscious individual whose interests must be weighted in moral deliberation
What 3 things did John Locke believe all humans were entitled to
Life, liberty, and property
Did Locke believe humans come into the world with rights
Yes
