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Environmental Ethics > Exam 1 > Flashcards

Exam 1 Flashcards

1
Q

what an individual believes to have worth & importance

A

value

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2
Q

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

A

culture

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3
Q

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

A

worldview

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4
Q

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

A

ethics

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5
Q

What are the key components of an ethical situation?

A

agent, action, consequence, recipient

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6
Q

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

A

environmental ethics

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7
Q

What is the issue with traditional ethics?

A

it is dominated by interpersonal concerns

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8
Q

3 Justifications for environmental ethics

A

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

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9
Q

tries to explain how the world works

A

science

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10
Q

What usually happens to people who lie?

A

empirical question

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11
Q

tries to justify how the world should work

A

ethics

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12
Q

Is lying bad?

A

normative question

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13
Q

the study of values in a neutral, objective way

A

descriptive ethics

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14
Q

What is the goal of descriptive ethics?

A

to determine what moral beliefs & values people hold

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15
Q

an anthropologist studying ethical values of an Amazonian tribe

A

descriptive ethics

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16
Q

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

A

normative ethics

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17
Q

When are value judgements made?

A

in normative situations

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18
Q

What is the goal of normative ethics?

A

to answer questions about what is morally right or wrong

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19
Q

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

A

metaethics

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20
Q

What is the goal of metaethics?

A

to determine the meanings of moral terms

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21
Q

characterize the way the world is

A

descriptive claims

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22
Q

Atmospheric air is mostly composed of nitrogen

A

descriptive claim

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23
Q

propose explanations for why the world is the way it is

A

explanatory claims

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24
Q

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

A

explanatory claim

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25
Q

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

A

predictive claims

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26
Q

the meteorologist says it should rain tomorrow

A

predictive claim

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27
Q

judge things as good or bad, right or wrong

A

evaluative claims

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28
Q

deforestation is bad because it reduces biological diversity of forest ecosystems

A

evaluative claim

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29
Q

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

A

prescriptive claims

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30
Q

people ought to recycle

A

prescriptive claim

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31
Q

Which claims are empirical?

A

descriptive, explanatory, and predictive claims

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32
Q

Which claims are normative?

A

evaluative & prescriptive claims

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33
Q

What is involved in justifying ethical claims?

A

value analyses & argument evaluation

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34
Q

an attempt to convince someone of something

A

argument

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35
Q

What are the 2 central features of an ethical argument?

A

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

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36
Q

Key components of an argument

A

conclusion, premises, and inference

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37
Q

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

A

conclusion

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38
Q

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

A

premises

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39
Q

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

A

inference

40
Q

whether the reasoning is good

A

validity

41
Q

When is an argument valid?

A

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

42
Q

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

A

both valid & sound

43
Q

whether the premises are true

A

soundness

44
Q

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

A

invalid

45
Q

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

A

valid but not sound

46
Q

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

A

sound

47
Q

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

A

argument by analogy

48
Q

What is the general form of an argument by analogy?

A

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

49
Q

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

A

objective facts

50
Q

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

A

subjective facts

51
Q

the Earth orbits the sun

A

objective fact

52
Q

chocolate ice cream is the best

A

subjective fact

53
Q

morality is entirely personal

A

subjectivism

54
Q

What is the attraction of subjectivism?

A

it rules out judgmentalism and makes everyone moral equals

55
Q

What are the implications of subjectivism?

A

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

56
Q

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

A

Issues with subjectivism

57
Q

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

A

relativism

58
Q

What are the attractions of relativism?

A

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

59
Q

What are the implications of relativism?

A

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

60
Q

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

A

Issues with relativism

61
Q

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

A

egoism

62
Q

What is the attraction of egoism?

A

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

63
Q

Justifies illegal & immoral acts

Is blatantly arbitrary & self-serving

Provides no principled means of resolving human conflicts

A

Issues with egoism

64
Q

the view that there is no such thing as morality

A

nihilism

65
Q

sawing a child in half is not morally wrong because “it’s just separating some atoms from some other atoms”

A

nihilism

66
Q

murder is advantageous for survival; survival of the fittest

A

the evolutionary advantage argument

67
Q

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

A

moral objectivism

68
Q

intrinsic goods

A

things that are desirable for their own sake

69
Q

instrumental goods

A

things that are good because of what they lead to

70
Q

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

A

hedonism

71
Q

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

A

consequentialism

72
Q

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

A

impartiality

73
Q

“Each person counts for one and no person counts for more than one”

A

Jeremy Bentham

74
Q

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

A

utilitarianism

75
Q

According to utilitarianism, what determines the right action?

A

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

76
Q

What are the major strengths of utilitarianism?

A

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

77
Q

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

A

utilitarianism

78
Q

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

A

deontology

79
Q

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

A

absolute deontology

80
Q

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

A

hypothetical imperative

81
Q

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

A

categorical imperative

82
Q

rule of conduct

A

maxim

83
Q

When do maxims become categorical imperatives?

A

if they are universalized

84
Q

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

A

Kant’s Principle of Universal Law

85
Q

“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”

A

Kant’s Principle of Dignity

86
Q

“You should not lie”

A

Immanuel Kant

87
Q

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

A

3 Intuitive Claims

88
Q

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

A

moderate deontology

89
Q

7 Prima Facie Duties

A

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

90
Q

we should rely on our intuition to make ethical decisions

A

moderate deontology

91
Q

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

A

ethical intuitionism

92
Q

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

A

Aristotle

93
Q

4 cardinal virtues

A

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

94
Q

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

A

virtue ethics

95
Q

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

A

target-centered virtue ethics

96
Q

What is the primary objection to virtue ethics?

A

it is not sufficiently action-guiding

Environmental Ethics (2 decks)

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