Exam 1 Flashcards
Ethical Theories
Theories about the best way to live in a moral sense
What is ethics (or moral philosophy)?
Ethics is the philosophical investigation into what constitutes morally good and morally bad conduct.
Philosophical investigation
- use reasoning and logical thinking
- give and argument
Prescriptive discipline
How people OUGHT to live
Descriptive discipline
Describes how people are
What is ethics concerned with?
Values
Values
Form of behavior that represents or expresses the right way to live
What is ethics NOT?
Morals (descriptive)
Taste - subjective to person
Custom
Law - many laws based on moral values
A worldview includes your beliefs about:
- nature of reality, about what exists, about what is objectively true.
- nature of the human person.
- Nature of moral and political values (including political theory)
5 Questions to determine your worldview
- What’s your worldview? (or philosophy on life)?
- Is it reasonable?
- Are you a reasonable person?
- What role do you think your worldview should have in politics?
- What’s your attitude toward worldviews you disagree with?
Pluralism
Many worldviews in the same state.
Problem of Pluralism
How do the worldviews live together since they disagree?
How did pluralism happen?
- Democracy had emphasis on freedom.
- Accepted the dominant worldview.
- Things opened up and people chose other world views.
- PLURALISM
FREEDOM LEADS TO PLURALISM.
What are types of worldviews?
Contemporary worldviews Theistic worldviews (religious) Secularist worldviews (not religious)
What is the Divine Command Theory?
- Moral actions are those that are commanded (or approved of) by God, and immoral actions are forbidden.
- Christian religion: appeal to the Bible, and in particular the Commandments
- Extrapolate more from the Gospel as a whole