Exam 1

Question 1

what an individual believes to have worth & importance

Answer 1

value

Question 2

knowledge, beliefs, values, & ways of living shared by a group of people

Answer 2

culture

Question 3

how you think the world works, what you think your role in the world should be, and what you believe is right & wrong behavior

Answer 3

worldview

Question 4

a structured system of principles that govern appropriate conduct (how people should behave) for a group

Answer 4

ethics

Question 5

What are the key components of an ethical situation?

Answer 5

agent, action, consequence, recipient

Question 6

branch of philosophy that attempts to answer questions about how humans should understand & relate to the environment

Answer 6

environmental ethics

Question 7

What is the issue with traditional ethics?

Answer 7

it is dominated by interpersonal concerns

Question 8

3 Justifications for environmental ethics

Answer 8

1) Humans depend on nature for survival
2) Nature contributes to human flourishing
3) Nature also has human-independent value

Question 9

tries to explain how the world works

Answer 9

science

Question 10

What usually happens to people who lie?

Answer 10

empirical question

Question 11

tries to justify how the world should work

Answer 11

ethics

Question 12

Is lying bad?

Answer 12

normative question

Question 13

the study of values in a neutral, objective way

Answer 13

descriptive ethics

Question 14

What is the goal of descriptive ethics?

Answer 14

to determine what moral beliefs & values people hold

Question 15

an anthropologist studying ethical values of an Amazonian tribe

Answer 15

descriptive ethics

Question 16

critical reflection on what is true, or right, or rationally defensible

Answer 16

normative ethics

Question 17

When are value judgements made?

Answer 17

in normative situations

Question 18

What is the goal of normative ethics?

Answer 18

to answer questions about what is morally right or wrong

Question 19

concerned with the meaning of ethical terms, nature of ethics, & justification of moral claims

Answer 19

metaethics

Question 20

What is the goal of metaethics?

Answer 20

to determine the meanings of moral terms

Question 21

characterize the way the world is

Answer 21

descriptive claims

Question 22

Atmospheric air is mostly composed of nitrogen

Answer 22

descriptive claim

Question 23

propose explanations for why the world is the way it is

Answer 23

explanatory claims

Question 24

The recent increase in species extinctions is a result of human activities

Answer 24

explanatory claim

Question 25

concern what might happen in the future, not what is or was

Answer 25

predictive claims

Question 26

the meteorologist says it should rain tomorrow

Answer 26

predictive claim

Question 27

judge things as good or bad, right or wrong

Answer 27

evaluative claims

Question 28

deforestation is bad because it reduces biological diversity of forest ecosystems

Answer 28

evaluative claim

Question 29

action-guiding: assert what should or ought to be done

Answer 29

prescriptive claims

Question 30

people ought to recycle

Answer 30

prescriptive claim

Question 31

Which claims are empirical?

Answer 31

descriptive, explanatory, and predictive claims

Question 32

Which claims are normative?

Answer 32

evaluative & prescriptive claims

Question 33

What is involved in justifying ethical claims?

Answer 33

value analyses & argument evaluation

Question 34

an attempt to convince someone of something

Answer 34

argument

Question 35

What are the 2 central features of an ethical argument?

Answer 35

1) It is trying to convince us of something, or prove something to us 2) It supplies some evidence to support the thing it is trying to prove

Question 36

Key components of an argument

Answer 36

conclusion, premises, and inference

Question 37

the thing you are trying to convince someone of (trying to prove)

Answer 37

conclusion

Question 38

reasons offered to persuade someone of a conclusion (claims of supporting evidence)

Answer 38

premises

Question 39

the process of reasoning from what we think is true (premises) to what else is true (conclusion)

Answer 39

inference

Question 40

whether the reasoning is good

Answer 40

validity

Question 41

When is an argument valid?

Answer 41

when the truth of the premises guarantees the truth of the conclusion

Question 42

For an argument to be successful, it needs to be what?

Answer 42

both valid & sound

Question 43

whether the premises are true

Answer 43

soundness

Question 44

Dogs are reptiles. All reptiles are plants. Therefore, dogs are plants.

Answer 44

invalid

Question 45

Dogs are mammals. Humans are dogs. Therefore, humans are mammals.

Answer 45

valid but not sound

Question 46

Mammals produce live young. Dogs give birth to puppies. Therefore, dogs are mammals.

Answer 46

sound

Question 47

we use our intuition about simple situations to try to answer questions about complex situations

Answer 47

argument by analogy

Question 48

What is the general form of an argument by analogy?

Answer 48

1) Action A is morally wrong 2) Action B is morally on par with action A 3) Therefore, Action B is morally wrong

Question 49

true independent of what anyone believes, thinks, feels, etc.

Answer 49

objective facts

Question 50

truth depends on (at least one person's) beliefs, thoughts, feelings, etc.

Answer 50

subjective facts

Question 51

the Earth orbits the sun

Answer 51

objective fact

Question 52

chocolate ice cream is the best

Answer 52

subjective fact

Question 53

morality is entirely personal

Answer 53

subjectivism

Question 54

What is the attraction of subjectivism?

Answer 54

it rules out judgmentalism and makes everyone moral equals

Question 55

What are the implications of subjectivism?

Answer 55

1) There are no real moral disagreements 2) Everyone's moral views are just as correct & valid as everyone else's

Question 56

No one can be morally wiser or more mature than anyone else It's impossible to criticize moral views that we find abhorrent If everyone's moral opinions are infallible, there's no point in trying to have informed views on moral issues

Answer 56

Issues with subjectivism

Question 57

what is morally right/good varies from culture to culture (society to society)

Answer 57

relativism

Question 58

What are the attractions of relativism?

Answer 58

1) Seems to promote a tolerant, open-minded approach to ethics 2) Seems to provide an attractive way of dealing with moral disagreement

Question 59

What are the implications of relativism?

Answer 59

1) We cannot condemn other cultures 2) We cannot condemn our own culture 3) There's no such thing as moral progress

Question 60

Rules out critical thinking about moral values Actions of the past cannot be judged If some citizens perform a wrong action enough times, the action can become right

Answer 60

Issues with relativism

Question 61

everyone should pursue their own long-term self-interest, regardless of consequences to others

Answer 61

egoism

Question 62

What is the attraction of egoism?

Answer 62

humans are naturally self-centered, it is pointless to expect us to act unselfishly

Question 63

Justifies illegal & immoral acts Is blatantly arbitrary & self-serving Provides no principled means of resolving human conflicts

Answer 63

Issues with egoism

Question 64

the view that there is no such thing as morality

Answer 64

nihilism

Question 65

sawing a child in half is not morally wrong because "it's just separating some atoms from some other atoms"

Answer 65

nihilism

Question 66

murder is advantageous for survival; survival of the fittest

Answer 66

the evolutionary advantage argument

Question 67

the view that at least some moral claims can be objectively correct, or objectively better/worse than others, in a given context

Answer 67

moral objectivism

Question 68

intrinsic goods

Answer 68

things that are desirable for their own sake

Question 69

instrumental goods

Answer 69

things that are good because of what they lead to

Question 70

the view that happiness is the only thing that is intrinsically good

Answer 70

hedonism

Question 71

only the results of an action determine if that action was right or wrong

Answer 71

consequentialism

Question 72

no one's happiness is more important (more valuable) than anyone else's

Answer 72

impartiality

Question 73

"Each person counts for one and no person counts for more than one"

Answer 73

Jeremy Bentham

Question 74

an action or policy is the right one if, and only if, it causes the maximum aggregate amount of happiness

Answer 74

utilitarianism

Question 75

According to utilitarianism, what determines the right action?

Answer 75

the one that results in the greatest net happiness (total happiness-total suffering)

Question 76

What are the major strengths of utilitarianism?

Answer 76

1) It promises to yield a decision in every case 2) It offers a way to extend ethical concern to animals

Question 77

the only thing that makes an action right/wrong is its consequence

Answer 77

utilitarianism

Question 78

the view that some actions are morally right (or wrong) regardless of their consequences

Answer 78

deontology

Question 79

we have certain moral duties that are absolute and must be fulfilled no matter what

Answer 79

absolute deontology

Question 80

a command (imperative) that you should respond to if you wish to achieve some other end

Answer 80

hypothetical imperative

Question 81

a command (imperative) that you should respond to as a matter of duty, absolutely (no exception) and unconditionally (no "ifs")

Answer 81

categorical imperative

Question 82

rule of conduct

Answer 82

maxim

Question 83

When do maxims become categorical imperatives?

Answer 83

if they are universalized

Question 84

act only in ways that conform to the rules that you would like to see adopted by yourself and everyone else

Answer 84

Kant's Principle of Universal Law

Question 85

"Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only"

Answer 85

Kant's Principle of Dignity

Question 86

"You should not lie"

Answer 86

Immanuel Kant

Question 87

1) There is more to morality than consequences 2) Morality is not simply a list of exceptionless rules 3) When moral duties conflict, we should be able to choose between them

Answer 87

3 Intuitive Claims

Question 88

certain types of action have some wrongness attached to them, but not absolute wrongness

Answer 88

moderate deontology

Question 89

7 Prima Facie Duties

Answer 89

1) Fidelity 2) Reparation 3) Gratitude 4) Justice 5) Beneficence 6) Self-improvement 7) Non-maleficence

Question 90

we should rely on our intuition to make ethical decisions

Answer 90

moderate deontology

Question 91

we have an intuitive grasp of moral truths, with no need for any evidence except the intuition itself

Answer 91

ethical intuitionism

Question 92

believed the natural goal of human existence is eudaimonia (roughly translated as "flourishing")

Answer 92

Aristotle

Question 93

4 cardinal virtues

Answer 93

1) courage 2) justice 3) temperance (self-mastery) 4) intelligence

Question 94

if we are constantly striving to live virtuous lives, then we will naturally make the right moral choices

Answer 94

virtue ethics

Question 95

an action is "morally right" if it "hits the target" of relevant virtues for a particular moral context

Answer 95

target-centered virtue ethics

Question 96

What is the primary objection to virtue ethics?

Answer 96

it is not sufficiently action-guiding