Intro Moral Psychology Flashcards
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Normative VS descriptive ethics?
NORMATIVE ETHICS:
Attempts to discover which actions are right
or wrong
Analyzes how people should act/behave
✓ Philosophy, theology
The 3 main normative theories:
1. Deontology
+ Devine command theory
2. Consequentialism
3. Virtue Ethics
DESCRIPTIVE ETHICS:
Describes people’s moral beliefs, claims and
behavior
Analyzes how people do act and what their
moral standards are
✓ Psychology, sociology, anthropolog
What is deontology?
Moral laws all persons must follow, regardless of their
desires or current situation.
In other words, there are certain moral truths/rules that should always be followed
(and these come from reason/logic):
• The Universalizing principle: “Act only according to that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction”
• The Formula of Humanity: “Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end, and never as a mere means.”
• Lying is never OK because it robs the person who you’ve lied to of their autonomy (i.e., they can no longer make
decisions according to their own thoughts and interest.
What is consequentialism?
Morality is about doing what has the best consequences
• Most important/popular formulation is utilitarianism:
• Actions that lead to happiness and minimize unhappiness or harm are moral (hedonism)
• The greatest good for the greatest number of people
What is virtue ethics?
Virtue ethics emphasizes moral character before moral deeds
• If one is virtuous (moral) one will tend to behave virtuously (morally)
There are many virtues (e.g., honesty, bravery, generosity, etc.)
The path to virtue is about balance (e.g., be honest, but not too honest; be brave but not too brave or too often; (“the golden mean”)
• By practicing virtuous behavior, we will eventual become virtuous
• Living virtuously leads to a life worth living (“eudaimonia”)
