Ethics chapter 3 Flashcards
Ethics
The systematic reflection on morality.
Morality
The totality of opinions, decisions, and actions with which people express, individually or collectively, what they think is good or right.
Descriptive ethics
The branch of ethics that describes existing morality, including customs and habits, opinions about good and eval, responsible and irresponsible behavior, and acceptable and unacceptable action.
Normative ethics
The branch of ethics that judges morality and tries to formulate normative recommendations about how to act or live.
Descriptive judgement
A judgement that describes what is actually the case, what was the case, or what will be the case (present, past, future).
Normative judgement
Judgement about whether something is good or bad, desirable or undesirable, right or wrong.
Values
Lasting convictions or matters that people feel should be strived for in general and not just for themselves to be able to lead a good life or to realize a just society.
Intrinsic value
Value in and of itself.
Instrumental value
Instrumental value (or extrinsic value, contributory value) is the value of objects, both physical objects and abstract objects, not as ends-in-themselves, but as means of achieving something else.
Norms
Rules that prescribe what actions are required, permitted or forbidden.
Virtues
A certain type of human characteristics or qualities.
Normative relativism
An ethical theory that argues that all moral points of view - all values, norms and virtues - are equally valid.
Universalism
An ethical theory that states that there is a system of norms and values that is universally applicable to everyone, independent of time, place, or culture.
Absolutism
A rigid form of universalism in which no exceptions to rules are possible.
Utilitarianism
A type of consequentialism based on the utility principle. In utilitarianism actions are judged by the amount of pleasure and pain they bring about. The action that brings the greatest happiness for the greatest number should be chosen. (Shouldn’t this be, greatest net happiness?)
Consequentialism
The class of ethical theories which hold that the consequences of actions are central to the moral judgement of those actions.
Hedonism
The idea that pleasure is the only thing that is good in itself to which all other things are instrumental.
Utility principle
The principle that one should choose those actions that result in the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
Moral balance sheet
A balance sheet in which the costs and benefits for each possible actions are weighted against each other. Bentham proposed the drawing up of such balance sheets to determine the utility of actions. Cost-benefit analysis is a more modern variety of such balance sheets.
Criticisms for utilitarianism
- Happiness cannot be measured objectively
- May lead to exploitation
- Ignores the problem of distributive justice / marginal utility
Distributive justice
The value of having a just distribution of certain goods, like income, happiness and career.
Marginal utility
The additional utility that is generated by an increase in a good or service (ie $100 more if you already have a million is less effective than if you only have a thousand).
Act utilitarianism
The traditional approach to utilitarianism in which the rightness of actions is judged by the (expected) consequence of those actions.
Rule utilitarianism
A variant of utilitarianism that judges actions by judging the consequences of the rules on which these actions are based. These rules rather than the actions themselves, should maximize utility.
Duty ethics
Also knows as deonotological ethics. The class of approaches in ethics in which action is considered morally right if it is in agreement with a certain moral rule (law, norm, principle)
Good will
A central notion in Kantian ethics. According to Kant we can speak of good will if our actions are led by the categorical imperative. Kant believes that the good will is the only thing that is unconditionally good.
Hypothetical norm
A conditional norm, that is, a norm which only applies under certain circumstances, usually of the form “If you want X do Y”.
Categorical imperative
A universal principle in the form “Do A” which is the foundation of all moral judgements in Kant’s view.
Universality principle
First formulation of the categorical imperative: act only on that maxim which you can the same time will that it should become a universal law. (Translation: Do not follow a maxim(rule) if it would be bad if everyone would follow that maxim)
Reciprocity principle
Second formulation of the categorical imperative: Act as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, in every case as an end, never as a means only.
Criticisms of Duty ethics / Kantian Ethics:
- Rules can contradict one another
- Are all laws unambiguous and consistent?
Virtue ethics
An ethical theory that focusses on the acting person. This theory indicates which good or desirable characteristic properties people should have or develop to be moral.
The good life
The highest good or eudaimonia: a state of being in which one realizes one’s uniquely human potential. According to Aristotle, the good life is the final goal of human action.Every moral virtue holds a certain position of equilibrium according to Aristotle. A perfect balance of all human virtues is required to reach an optimal human state.
To find the middle ground a human should make use of practical wisdom.
Practical wisdom
The intellectual virtue that enables one to make the right choice for action. It consists in the ability tho choose the right mean between two vices.
Criticisms of Virtue Ethics
No direct measure for judging actions.
Care ethics
An ethical theory that emphasizes the importance of relationships and which holds that the development of morals does not come about by learning general moral principles.
Criticisms of Care Ethics
Not clear what “Care” exactly means/represents. and may refer to multiple actions.
Hypothetical imperative
A recommendation that is valid under certain circumstances (ie. If you wish to drink good win then go to France, If you want to eat good pasta go to Italy)
