Ethics Introduction (Lecture 1) Flashcards
What does ethics do?
Ethics examines situations where we can provide benefit or harm to another person
What is the study of ethics (what does it entail)?
Ethics is the study of theories which aim to provide consistent guidelines for solving ethical problems
What is the goal of ethics?
The goal of ethics is to minimize the harm we cause to others
Ethics also addresses a distinction regarding what is right. What is it>
It addresses the gap between what is legal and what we should do
What are morals?
Personal beliefs about right and wrong
Who determines ones morals?
It’s a personal judgement
What is the difference between ethics and morals?
Morals: personal beliefs about right and wrong
Ethics: how humans should act towards each other
What are the two branches of ethics?
Theoretical ethics
Applied ethics
What are «theoretical ethics»?
-studies general theories of ethics and develops conceptual resources for solving ethical problems
What are applied ethics?
-ethics that examine specific ethical problems and offer solutions to them
What is the main difference between theoretical ethics and applied ethics?
Theoretical ethics keeps the conversation general, about treating the majority of situations, and applied ethics looks at individual situations
What does it mean to be rational?
Having the ability to think and act according to reasoned principles
People should be able to justify their decisions
What is the relationship between ethics and rationality?
Rationality is needed for conducting ethics
Need to be able to provide reasons for their solutions to ethical problems
These two meet where we need to use rationality to determine which of all the possible reasonable solutions is the best
What does it mean for ethics to be universal?
The same principles must apply to everyone in the situation
What does it mean for ethics to be impartial?
Everyone in the situation must be treated equally
Any personal connections or feeling about any individual are irrelevant
What are the criteria for the proper evaluation of ethical situations?
Rationality, Universality and Impartiality
What are the criteria for someone being ethically responsible for an act?
-Having freely or willingly caused or allowed something to happen (good or bad). This also applies to negligence
-Must have known or have been able to know the consequences of the act
-Must be rational enough to know the difference between right and wrong and be able to justify
What groups of people are not considered eligible to have ethical responsibility?
Young children
Mentally ill
What are the two main types of ethical theories?
Consequentialist
Deontological
Describe the consequentialist type of ethical theory.
What matters is not the act itself but rather the consequences of the act
Describe the deontological approach to ethical theories.
Acts are right or wrong, regardless of the consequences
Idea that some acts are so ethically wrong that we can never do them, regardless of the consequences
